(The Canadian Press circulated the following on November 23.)
MONTREAL — The federal government and Via Rail have been ordered to pay Jean Pelletier, a former head of the Crown corporation and longtime confidant of Jean Chretien, more than $335,000 for improperly firing him.
In a written judgment released yesterday, Quebec Superior Court awarded the former Via Rail boss $235,161.47 in compensation for lost wages plus interest from Sept. 1, 2006.
In addition, the government is also on the hook for $100,000 in compensation plus interest for moral damages and for ruining his reputation.
ENTITLED TO MONEY
A Quebec Superior Court justice says Pelletier, 72, is entitled to the money for the way he was dismissed from Via Rail in 2004 for comments he made about former Olympic champion biathlete Myriam Bedard.
Justice Helene Langlois ruled in a 45-page judgment that Pelletier was fired without warning, citing in particular the “cavalier manner and haste in which the government acted.” She added the government’s conduct lacked any consideration for the other party.
“The situation was very difficult to live with, as much for (Pelletier) as his family,” Langlois wrote. “The evidence shows that during this affair, there was a change in attitude towards him: the respect was no longer there.”