Public servant who bent rules 'unrepentant': Committee questions bureaucrats in secret in sponsorship scandal

A senior public servant who directed a scandal-ridden program that handed out federal money in Quebec testified yesterday he was justified in bending the rules because that's what it took to fight the "war" against the separatists, parliamentarians said.

But Charles Guite, the retired executive director of the $40-million sponsorship program, refused to answer questions from the public accounts committee on whether he took orders from his political bosses.

Mr. Guite was subpoenaed to appear and the two-hour hearing was held in secret because the committee said it did not want to jeopardize a concurrent RCMP investigation.

But angry opposition MPs on the committee revealed the tone of Mr. Guite's testimony, saying he was unrepentant in blaming the shoddy administration of his program on the separatist threat.

"Mr. Guite made reference a number of times to the fact that we were at war. He used the military analogy as justification for what he called 'bending the rules' for the sake of the well-being of the country," said NDP MP Pat Martin.

"I would certainly characterize Mr. Guite's testimony as unrepentant, evasive and completely defiant in the face of suggestions that his bending or breaking of the rules was in any way appropriate," added Tory MP Peter MacKay.

The Liberal-dominated committee voted yesterday to shut down the hearings, despite complaints from opposition MPs that there are still many unanswered questions. An interim report is expected this fall.

Mac Harb, a Liberal committee member, said it was appropriate to end the hearings after testimony from only five witnesses because it could interfere with the RCMP probe.

Also appearing in private yesterday was Pierre Tremblay, who in 1999 replaced Mr. Guite as the executive director of the sponsorship branch of Public Works and Government Services.

The sponsorship money for sports and cultural events was spent mostly in Quebec after the tight result in the 1995 sovereignty referendum to raise the Chretien government's visibility.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser asked the Mounties to investigate in May after she issued a damning report that the program administrators broke "every rule in the book."

Critics contend that the program smacked of political interference that went as high the Prime Minister's Office.

Canadian Alliance MP John Williams said Mr. Guite shed light on the contract scandal, but Mr. Tremblay "skirted every issue."

Mr. Guite refused comment as he left Parliament Hill.

Secret hearings are extremely rare for the public works committee. It has agreed to seal the testimony for three years or until the RCMP investigation and any subsequent legal action is finished.

Unlike Mr. Guite, who retired from the public service, Mr. Tremblay is still a bureaucrat at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, where he is vice-president of public and regulatory affairs. He was also the chief of staff for former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano during some of the period under investigation.