Gomery Inquiry

Commission of Inquiry Into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities

The Gomery Inquiry was given the mandate to investigate and report on questions raised by the November 2003 Auditor General Report on the federal government sponsorship program and related advertising activities, including the management of the sponsorship program, how advertising agencies were selected, who received funds and how they were used.

The Gomery Inquiry was also asked to make recommendations to prevent mismanagement of similar programs in the future.

Mr. Justice John H. Gomery

• Announced by Prime Minister Paul Martin on February 10, 2004

• Opened in May 2004

• Public Hearings in Ottawa - September 2004 to February 2005

• Public Hearings in Montreal - February 2005 to June 2005

• Fact Finding Reports - November 1, 2005

• Recommendations Report - February 1, 2006 - Summary of Gomery Recommendations From Parliamentary Library

Justice John Gomery claims the inquiry is within the $32-million total budget set by Treasury Board, although that's a good deal higher than the initial $21 million approved by the federal government. The issue of costs gets confused when the federal government adds in an additional $40 million of related costs, including legal fees and a "war room" in the Privy Council Office responsible for responding to the scandal.

Justice Gomery released the final report of recommendations on how to prevent similar problems in the future on February 1, 2006.

• The first phase of the Gomery Inquiry drew more interest in Quebec than in other parts of Canada. Many Quebecers feel the inquiry reflects unfairly on Quebec politics. Liberal support in Quebec plummeted.

• The second phase of the Gomery Inquiry contained enough allegations of political corruption to capture attention across Canada.

• The sponsorship program was established to heighten the visibility of the federal government in the province of Quebec after the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty came very close to succeeding.

• A series of revelations about missing documents and invoices, potential conflict of interest and mismanagement gradually snowballed into a full-scale scandal in May 2002 when Auditor General Sheila Fraser released a special audit on three contracts under the sponsorship program. The Auditor General reported that "senior public servants responsible for managing the contracts demonstrated an appalling disregard for the Financial Administration Act" and other government contracting regulations and policies. Some sponsorship program contracts were referred to the RCMP for criminal investigation.

• Although Paul Martin was finance minister and a senior minister from Quebec during the years of the sponsorship program, when he became prime minister in December 2003 he tried to distance himself from the sponsorship program and any scandal. On his first day as Prime Minister he cancelled the sponsorship program.

• The Auditor General Annual Report 2003 was made public in February 2004. It said that $250 million had been spent on the sponsorship program, with more than $100 million of that amount going to communications agencies in fees and commissions and "there was little evidence of value received for the money spent."

• Paul Martin immediately announced that his government would establish an independent commission of inquiry headed by Mr. Justice John H. Gomery of the Quebec Superior Court.

• The Gomery Inquiry began public hearings in September 2004.