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As we have mentioned in our previous articles, we find our truths of our own behaviour by finding patterns and relationships of our own experiences or events. The doling of money by the Chrétien's government and the related auditing by the Auditor General(1), has put some light on the need to restore integral values in our governmental administration(2). There have been accusations by the opposing political leaders, that Chrétien's behaviour was unethical when he personally intervened for the granting of a $615,000 loan by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to the Grand Mère Inn owned by Yvon Duhaime.. We have also found out by a governmental official that in 1997, Chrétien personally approved a HRDC grant for $600,000 to the Auberge des Gouverneurs hotel in Shawinigan(3) owned by Pierre Thibault, a self confessed criminal. Today, we are going to provide some additional wheeling dealings of Chrétien's friends.

Chrétien's friend Mr. Claude Gauthier
In March 1998, some $1.2 million in grant money from the Human Resources Department is paid into a trust fund for eventual disbursement to Placeteco, a plastics manufacturer owned by Chrétien's friend Claude Gauthier. The deal violates department spending rules and the HRDC job grant was provided even though Placeteco was before bankruptcy court at the time and was ineligible for the money. Placeteco was later under RCMP investigation over allegations that the cash went to cover a bank loan rather than to create jobs. This Claude Gauthier, is the same Gauthier who in 1997 got a $6.3 million contract from the Canadian International Development Agency for his company Transelec. And I forgot to say that this same Gauthier who in 1996 bought a parcel of land adjacent to Chrétien's golf course, also received a $600,000 grant(4), possibly to create additional amenities for Chrétien's golf course.

Chrétien sells his golf course in October 1999
Chrétien's golf course shares are finally sold in October 1999 to a new buyer, millionaire pharmacy owner Louis Michaud of Montreal. Chrétien's share in the golf course are sold after millions of dollars of governmental disbursed funds have been spent to increase the surrounding private amenities of the course.

Chrétien's friends: the Shawinigan pair Pépin & Lemire Co.
Mr. Mario Pépin and Mr. Paul Lemire, two businessmen in Mr. Chrétien's riding of St. Maurice, have been charged of theft and fraud by the RCMP. Mr. Pépin is a veteran Liberal organizer and supporter of Mr. Chrétien in St. Maurice, while Mr. Lemire is also a long-time supporter of the Prime Minister and accompanied Mr. Chrétien on a trade mission to Asia in 1996. The business pair have since 1995 used up to $300,000 of federal grant money to cover personal expenses such as restaurant meals while they ran Groupe Forces.

We recall that Groupe Forces was an investing partner in Mr. Duhaime's hotel expansion. In addition, Mr. Pépin and Mr. Lemire were charged with theft and fraud last July for allegedly misusing $150,000 in federal job creation money that was awarded to the Canadian Institute of Tourism and Electronic Commerce (CITEC). Mr. Pépin and Paul Lemire used their positions at Groupe Forces to create the defunct CITEC, which itself had received $7-million in HRDC money before it went out of business this fall.

Group Forces was created as an umbrella company to spur economic development, and this company received some $4-million from different federal organizations. And Groupe Forces won an Industry Canada contest last spring designed to promote "smart communities," or projects that expand the use of the Internet. One must wonder what kind of criteria Industry Canada uses for recognizing our best communities of business practice. Mr. Pépin and Mr. Lemire used their executive positions with Group Forces to create more companies for the purpose to pocket governmental money rather than create new jobs. Besides CITEC, Lemire and Pépin created ARC Inc. supported solely by federal government grants. We don't know much about the kind of relationship the Shawinigan pair entertained with Industry Canada, what we know is that Mr. Lemire had previous relationships with the RCMP and Revenue Canada, respectively for fraud and tax evasion(5). However, we know that Industry Canada has recently suspended a $277,000 grant directed to ARC. Inc. as the Shawinigan pair is getting closer to Jean Chrétien's entourage.

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's 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, David Frum, 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. 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, Chapter 2 - Human Resources Development Canada - Service Quality at the Local Level, http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/0002ce.html

2. 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, Chapter 12 - Values and Ethics in the Federal Public Sector http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/0012ce.html

3. Shawnigan is the home town of Mr. Jean Chrétien

4. Scandal industry gives PM an easy ride, David Frum, December 9, 2000, National Post http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20001209/399761.html

5. Crown weighs more charges in PM's riding. Fate of long-time Chrétien supporters hangs in the balance, Kate Jaimet, November 24, 2000, The Ottawa Citizen http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/001124/4929757.html