2 mars 2004
'Unacceptable'. Belittled Olympian B�dard after she blew whistle on sponsorship bills
Elizabeth Thompson
Via Rail chairperson Jean Pelletier was unceremoniously fired yesterday, less than a week after he suggested former Olympic gold medallist Myriam B�dard wasn't credible because she was a single mother and did not have a husband.
Prime Minister Paul Martin made it clear he was making an example of Pelletier and won't allow witnesses in the sponsorship scandal to be attacked.
"The comments made last week by Mr. Pelletier regarding Myriam B�dard were totally unacceptable. I had asked people who had knowledge about possible wrongdoings to come forward. And when they do, I expect them to be treated fairly. This was clearly not the case."
Firing Pelletier is also proof he is serious about change, Martin added. "My government came to office with a commitment to change the way things work. The actions we are taking today reflect that commitment."
B�dard welcomed the news yesterday, saying it should give other witnesses the courage to come forward and ease life for women working at Via Rail.
"I think it is good because it sends the message that we will not tolerate directors of the company terrorizing their employees," B�dard said shortly after a half-hour meeting yesterday morning with Martin's principal secretary, Francis Fox.
B�dard said she remains prepared to testify before a public inquiry or the public accounts committee but sought reassurance from Fox she would be protected.
Pelletier could not be reached for comment yesterday. A woman who answered the phone at his Quebec City home said she did not know where he was before abruptly hanging up. Via Rail officials also said they did not know where he was.
Pelletier - one of the most powerful people in Ottawa when he served as former prime minister Jean Chr�tien's chief of staff - was appointed to the Via Rail job, which has a pay range of $189,700 to $234,300 a year, by Chr�tien's government in September 2001 for a five-year term.
Meanwhile, the fates of the presidents of two crown corporations hung in the balance.
Via Rail president Marc LeFran�ois and Business Development Bank of Canada president Michel Vennat were suspended without pay last week and given until yesterday to present their cases to the government before it takes further action.
LeFran�ois - who was suspended after auditor-general Sheila Fraser revealed questionable financial transactions involving the crown corporation and the sponsorship program - presented a "considerable" response to Transport Minister Tony Valeri's office.
The government will analyze his response along with its lawyers before Valeri makes a recommendation to the cabinet about LeFran�ois's future.
Vennat was suspended after Quebec Superior Court Justice Andr� Denis found he participated in a campaign to oust former BDC president Fran�ois Beaudoin after Beaudoin questioned a $615,000 mortgage loan to the Grand-M�re Inn in Chr�tien's riding. Officials in Industry Minister Lucienne Robillard's office would not say yesterday whether Vennat had presented any arguments in his defence.
The events that culminated in Pelletier's firing began last month in the wake of Fraser's report into the sponsorship scandal, when Martin called on anyone who had information to come forward.
B�dard, who won two gold medals for Canada in the biathlon competition at the 1994 Olympics, fired off a letter outlining questionable practices she had seen when she worked for Via Rail in 2001. When B�dard, 34, questioned bills the crown corporation was receiving from the communications firm Groupaction, saying they appeared out of line with the work actually done, she was sidelined and, eventually, pushed out of the company, she said.
B�dard, who is married and now works administering real estate she owns, said she would like her job back.
Pelletier, 69, responded by questioning B�dard's credibility, saying she deserved pity, "a girl who doesn't have a husband that I know of."
LeFran�ois also challenged B�dard's version of the facts.
"I don't understand these people. Do they dream at night? Do they take pills? I don't know."
Pelletier apologized on Friday for the comments.
LeFran�ois has not issued a public apology.
page mise en ligne le 2 mars 2004 par SVP
