Recovery of Funds - Chronology
(September 2006)
Please note that the following chronology covers events related to the Financial Recovery of Funds only. For a more complete chronology, please refer to the Chronology of Sponsorship Activities.
Chronology of the Recovery Activities:
2002
The Government holds back money from a number of communications agencies.
February 2004
Me André Gauthier, a senior lawyer with the firm Cain, Lamarre, Casgrain, Wells is named as Special Counsel for Financial Recovery. His mandate is to pursue all possible avenues, including civil litigation, to recover funds that may have been improperly received by certain parties involved in the delivery of the Sponsorship Program.
March 2005
On March 11, 2005, the Special Counsel for Financial Recovery, on behalf of the Government of Canada, files a statement of claim (referred to as the Claim for the Recovery of Funds
) in the Quebec Superior Court against a total of 19 defendants (11 firms and 8 individuals) for $40.8M.
March 2005
The Government of Canada retains Me Sylvain Lussier’s services, a senior lawyer with the firm Desjardins Ducharme, L.L.P. to manage the litigation phase for the recovery of funds pertaining to sponsorship. A legal team from the Department of Justice will assist Me Lussier, as the Agent of the Attorney General for the Recovery of Funds.
June 2005
June 16, 2005, the Associate Chief Justice, of the Quebec Superior Court, agrees that case management of the Claim for the Recovery of Funds, together with four related claims against the Government, should be by a single judge.
June 2005
Appointment of Mr. Justice Gilles Hébert is made to supervise the case management of this litigation before the Quebec Superior Court.
July 2005
Me Sylvain Lussier, on behalf of the Government of Canada, presents a motion in the Quebec Court (Civil Division) that the case of Gosselin Relations Publiques, Inc. against the Attorney General of Canada should be suspended for the duration of the litigation of the Claim for the Recovery of Funds in the Quebec Superior Court.
August 2005
The judge renders his decision in favour of the GoC motion to have the case of Gosselin Relations Publiques, Inc. suspended.
August 2005
The Government of Canada reaches a settlement agreement with two defendants, Paul Coffin and Communication Coffin. Full reimbursement of $1.6M has been received through the $1M paid by Paul Coffin, through his previously paid federal income tax and through a portion of the money previously held by the Government from Communication Coffin.
September 2005
The Government of Canada and Groupe OSL Inc., (current owners of Publicité Martin) reaches a settlement, in the amount of $50K. The Government has no complaints with the work of Groupe OSL Inc. and will continue to do business with this company. The Government of Canada will continue to pursue its claim against Jacques Paradis, the former president of Publicité Martin.
September 2005
On September 30, 2005, the Government of Canada amends its Claim for the Recovery of Funds based on new evidence introduced before the Gomery Commission. The claim refines the amounts previously claimed ($40.8M), removes claims that have been settled ($1.6M) with three defendants (Paul Coffin, Communication Coffin and Groupe OSL Inc. (the current owners of Publicité Martin)) and adds new amounts ($7.8M) claimed from 13 of the original defendants. The government is claiming a total of $44.1M.
November 2005
On November 1, 2005, the GoC amends its claim to add 12 new defendants and $12.9M. As a result of the amendment, the Government is claiming a revised total amount of $57M against 28 defendants (17 firms and 11 individuals). This amount does not include the $1.6M that has already been recovered through settlement agreements.
November 2005
The Liberal Party of Canada remits on November 1, 2005, $1.1M to the Government of Canada as a result of the findings of the Gomery Report. As a result of this remittance and the out-of-court settlements, the Government has recovered $2.7M.
November 2005
Following the decision of the Associate Chief Justice in June 2005 to have the case management of the Claim and related claims against the government to be by a single judge, in a decision dated November 4, 2005, the case management judge grants a motion that sought to add another court file subject to case management. He is now charged with managing the progress of the Claim for the Recovery of Funds and five other lawsuits through to trial.
May 2006
On May 26, 2006, the Government of Canada amends its Claim for the Recovery of Funds to: add $7M and two new defendants; restructure and format the Claim, refine the amounts previously claimed ($1M) and comply with the Quebec Superior Court’s order to remove certain information. In addition, it takes into account the findings of the Gomery Commission’s forensic accountants’ report Forensic Audit. The Government is claiming a total of $63M against 30 defendants (18 firms and 12 individuals).
September 2006
The Government of Canada reaches a settlement agreement with two defendants, Draft Inc. and Média I.D.A. Vision Inc., which addresses the recovery of $1M of sponsorship funds.
NEXT STEPS
On-going
The case management of the Claim for the Recovery of Funds and related claims against the Crown is before the Quebec Superior Court.
