(The following story by Les Whittington appeared on the Toronto Star website on March 31.)
OTTAWA — Jean Pelletier, the former aide to Jean Chrétien who was fired as chair of VIA Rail for belittling onetime Olympic star Myriam Bédard, is seeking $3 million in damages from Ottawa and the crown corporation.
In a suit filed in Quebec Superior Court yesterday, Pelletier accuses the government of acting illegally when it dumped him. He also says the government’s public announcement of his dismissal led to adverse media coverage that damaged his reputation.
Pelletier, former chief of staff in Chrétien’s office, ran into trouble last month when Bédard, a two-time biathlon Olympic gold medalist, said she was pushed out of her marketing job at VIA after raising questions about the rail carrier’s possible involvement in the now-disgraced sponsorship program.
Pelletier dismissed her statement as that of a “pitiful” single mother seeking publicity. He apologized later.
Meanwhile, the sponsorship investigation that could determine blame for the spending fiasco in advance of an expected election descended into open political warfare between the Liberals and opposition MPs.
The fractious pre-election maneuvering at the Commons Public Accounts committee flared anew as Liberal MPs accused John Williams, the Conservative chair, of turning the panel into a circus of partisan infighting. The Liberals cited what they say is Williams’ aggressive questioning of witnesses and his public condemnation of the government based on witnesses’ testimony.
(With files from the Canadian Press.)