Embattled Canada Post president Andre Ouellet quit his job yesterday, a move that comes on the heels of a damning audit criticizing his $2 million in hospitality expenses and how contracts were awarded under the sponsorship program. Ouellet's resignation occurred two days after a face-to-face meeting in Ottawa with Revenue Minister John McCallum. "The results of the audit were very troubling to the government, and Mr. Ouellet's decision is welcome," McCallum told reporters yesterday. "From the point of view of the government, myself and Mr. Ouellet, this ends the matter." McCallum said Ouellet was getting "absolutely no severance" and refused to reveal what the pair discussed when they met. Ouellet, a longtime Liberal and pal of former PM Jean Chretien, was suspended with pay from his job in February after Auditor General Sheila Fraser found spending discrepancies in the sponsorship program involving government departments and Crown corporations, including Canada Post. Denied wrongdoing Fraser's audit was followed to another one within Canada Post conducted by Deloitte Touche. That audit was completed and made public in late July. It found Ouellet interfered with hiring and the awarding of contracts. As well, it was reported that he spent $2 million over eight years on hospitality and travel expenses, largely without receipts. In a 17-page response to the audit, Ouellet denied any wrongdoing, claiming his expenses were justified and that he simply recommended people for jobs. The veteran Grit also said Canada Post achieved record profits under his leadership. In his resignation letter released by Canada Post, Ouellet suggested he was the victim of politics. "I am conscious that you have a minority government and you don't have much room to manoeuvre. Even if you would like to make a business decision in my case, it is very clear to me that at the end you will have to make a political decision," Ouellet's resignation letter to McCallum stated. NDP MP Pat Martin (Winnipeg-Centre) said "good riddance" to Ouellet. "The sooner we purge the system of that generation of old-style Ottawa mandarins the better off the taxpayer will be because we won't tolerate that kind of stuff anymore," he said. | 
