Mr. Chrétien kept the secret of his phone calls to Mr. Beaudoin till November 2000, when Mr. Beaudoin filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal against the BDC bank. In his statement of claims filed November 3, 2000, Mr. Beaudoin states that he was constructively dismissed and that this occurred when he repetitively suggested to foreclose Mr. Duhaime's loan on account of missed payments. This is a very important political interference in the running of a crown corporation, and it affects the integral administration of our institutions. Therefore, the importance of this lawsuit goes beyond the private interest, and I just hope that Mr. Beaudoin will proceed going to court and have a judicial decision which proves the persistent malicious wrongs of Chrétien's government. Anyhow, Mr. Duhaime got his loan and proceeded with the expansion project for his hotel.

As we follow some events characterizing Mr. Chretien's involvement in the Grand Mere's affair, let us keep asking the question: Was Chrétien interested in the welfare of his loyal friends? Or maybe he was interested in the greener amenities of his golf course? Or maybe he was interested in creating jobs for his electoral riding? Your common sense will provide an answer, and as you repeat these questions and as you share your answers, the closer you will get to the truth characterizing Mr. Chrétien's behaviour. The events outlined below have retained, as much as possible, the same English construct as per the original references.

The Grand-Mère Inn's expansion, and the financing partners

One source has stated that Chrétien was very interested in the financing of the Grand-Mère Inn's expansion. In particular, this expansion had an immediate financial reflection on the value of Mr. Chrétien's golf course which was adjacent to the hotel. In the first phone call of April 12, 1996 to François Beaudoin, then president of the federally owned Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Mr. Chrétien mentions a $2-million loan for the expansion of the hotel. However, in his first loan application to the BDC, Mr. Duhaime submitted a $3.5-million expansion project; later the expansion project was scaled down to $1.5-million, and eventually in early 1996 he got a $650,000 loan from BDC. Other financing agencies for the Grand-Mère Inn's expansion project, known to both Mr. Duhaime and Mr. Chrétien were: the Quebec Federation of Labour Solidarity Fund, the local caisse populaire and the Groupe Forces, an economic development agency. It is interesting to notice that in November 2000, while Mr. Duhaime confirmed that there was a fifth financing partner, Mr. Chrétien had denied the participation of a fifth financing partner. Mr. Duhaime has not disclosed yet the name of the fifth partner and Mr. Chrétien has not confirmed the participation of the fifth financing partner.

In the next related articles we will cover a web of relationships connected with the Grand-Mère's business and political environment.

References/endnotes

Relevant political and economics articles http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign

The author can provide specific references of the cited events in the Grand-Mère affair. He also acknowledges the following news organizations: National Post, Canadian Internet Network, The Ottawa Citizen, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Press. The author read articles written by Robert Fife, Andrew McIntosh, Joël-Denis Bellavance, Peter Shawn Taylor, Andrew Coyne, Gordon Gibson, and Diane Francis of the National Post; Paul Adams and Daniel LeBlanc of The Globe and Mail; Lawrence Martin and Kate Jaimet of The Ottawa Citizen.

1. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's involvement with the BDC's $615,000 loan: The granting of the BDC's loan to Yvon Duhaime, by Mario deSantis, December 5, 2000