At first I thought this was a simple story of a company being greedy and cheap—little did I know it was actually a story about a Liberal Party hack who is like a spider in a web of Liberal Party corruption and scandal, in which the victim and the culprit are both culprits and connected in many ways… oh it’s hard to explain.
Liberals are now so accustomed to having their way with taxpayer money that they actually think this sort of behavior is normal. There’s so much winking and nodding going on here I had to grab a squirt of Purell half way through the story.
Ad firm offered help in Quebec ice storm, then sent surprise bill for $11,000
OTTAWA (CP) – A Montreal ad agency offered an emergency generator to help out during the 1998 ice storm that paralysed Quebec – then charged the government nearly $11,000 for the favour, a public inquiry heard Wednesday.
Of course the clue was right there: “Montreal ad agency”. But undaunted I read on…
Odilon Emond, a retired RCMP officer, said Gilles-Andre Gosselin, head of Gosselin Communication, phoned to offer the generator after the storm knocked out electricity to much of the province.
Ah. “Gilles-Andre Gosselin, head of Gosselin Communication”. I know that name. Liberal Party hack, Liberal Party Sponsorship corruption scandal…
The generator had been borrowed from Nova Scotia’s famed Bluenose schooner, which was part of a federal sponsorship project in which Gosselin was involved.
Emond, who was then assistant RCMP commissioner and head of the force’s Quebec operations, said he accepted the offer without hesitation.
“If you remember at the time, the needs were tremendous,” he told the inquiry headed by Justice John Gomery.
“When that generator was offered it was a gift from heaven.”
Emond said he thought Gosselin was making the equipment available for free.
But the company later billed the Public Works Department $8,000 for use of the generator, plus nearly $3,000 in management fees for itself.
[…]
The pieces fall into place—ultimately, another Liberal Party corruption-connected story… but then it starts getting all “conflicty”…
Gosselin Communication was well-known to the RCMP because the firm had been involved in planning the force’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
It is one of several companies whose billing practices have come under scrutiny at the Gomery inquiry.
[…] In the case of the RCMP, Gosselin, Lafleur Communication and Media IDA Vision billed for a combined $244,000 in commissions.
Lafleur and Gosselin also charged $1.08 million between them in production fees.
That meant only $1.7 million of a total $3 million earmarked by Public Works for the anniversary celebration actually found its way to the RCMP.
[…]
…And then the story starts to read like a web of political conflict hallucinations too hard to understand even if you had the stomach. But it’s worth it just so you can have something to tell the grandkids in later years over a cup of Christmas cheer.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
Contact Mr. Johannesen about this article using this form. Please refer to article's title.
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