Angry in the GWN/Steve Janke--a Must Read

Bumped up: new post below -- NJC




If you read nothing else today, do check out the full posts for these. I have posted excerpts that I hoped would indicate the scope and importance. NJC


You might "remember how the Ethics Commissioner decided that David Smith had never acted unethically? .... Moreover, that during his "investigation", the Ethics Commissioner did not uncover the fact that .........."

The Abotech Affair: It was a smokescreen! Steve Janke at 07:55 PM, March 05, 2006 -- TrackBack URL for this entry:

Three firings? Should I hazard a guess and say at least one of those firings was Bill McCann? Was another Louis Vadeboncoeur?

But what of [Frank] Brazeau?

[....] KPMG uncovered "systemic" and "egregious" rule-breaking as well as a "conflict of interest" at Brazeau's unit at CAC, the documents show.

[....] KPMG concluded there was a "referral process to (a) specific contractor." It also cited an individual or firm "used as a conduit for contracting with retired public servants." The conduit's identity was whited out because of Privacy Act considerations.

[....] Public Works Minister Scott Brison ...........

You will recognize some of these from Steve's work in the fall:

Liberal MP David Smith, who sits in Parliament for the riding of Pontiac
aboriginal, ran a company called Abotech
a KPMG audit at PWGSC.
a bureaucrat named Frank Brazeau
sole-sourcing contracts
a problem of process
breezily dismissed by Minister Brison
the emergence of another potentially explosive federal ethics controversy
"Realigning" a hotbed of borderline criminal activity that included one of the Liberal Party's own MP's?
they were cousins
How the Liberals ducked another scandal

How the Liberals ducked another scandal -- As the Martin government braced for the Gomery report on the sponsorship scandal last fall, it also was worried about another potentially explosive controversy. The Gazette, Published: Sunday, March 05, 2006 -- another source but these posts disappear quickly

I always read comments from maz2 which led to the following two articles:

[....] That situation involved contracts let improperly to a family company of Quebec Liberal MP David Smith and other "egregious" contracting irregularities by a federal agency called Consulting and Audit Canada, discovered by outside auditors.

[....] Consulting and Audit Canada was dismantled. There were two police investigations, more forensic audits, and firings of three bureaucrats. Smith was exonerated of any conflict of interest by the House of Commons ethics commissioner.

This report led to the Gazette, page six and more.




Steve Janke / Angry GWN was highly praised by Peter O'Neil for his contribution and for keeping this story alive.

PETER O'NEIL: The scandal that went away -- Fear of fallout Documents reveal the Martin government fretted last fall that another federal ethics controversy might emerge prior to first Gomery report and possible election , CanWest, March 05, 2006 -- link also posted by maz2, March 5, 2006

[. . . . ] "Contracting rules 'encourage' violations," another document noted, referring to the fact CAC could generate revenue more quickly by avoiding costly, time-consuming competitions.

The first two KPMG reviews looked at 89 Brazeau-managed contracts valued at $15 million from March 2001 to March 31, 2005.

KPMG uncovered "systemic" and "egregious" rule-breaking as well as a "conflict of interest" at Brazeau's unit at CAC, the documents show.

There was "evidence of manipulation of procurement process, including apparent manipulation of evaluations," as well as "evidence that in three cases contractors were directed to submit false or misleading invoices," according to one summary of the KPMG reports looking into contracts managed by Brazeau, a "principal consultant" at CAC. [. . . . ]

There is much more.

Search: Scott Brison.