9:35 am: Jean Chretien is chatting with his lawyers.
9:37: Here we go. Justice Gomery has arrived. The Chretien lawyers provide some documents on Human Rights council, but Bernard Roy can't figure out why it is relevant. They move on. Bernard Roy will allow an opening comment by Jean Chretien.
9:42: Swearing Jean Chretien in.
9:43: To govern is important. Democracy must have trust in government. Put testimony in context. Must look at in context if circumstances in Quebec, political uncertainty. Offical opposition was Bloq Quebecois, they wanted to separate. Talking about referendum, how a few thousand votes made the difference. Was afraid the Bouchard might launch another referendum. Have we forgotten that Bouchard said he would have another referendum when the conditions for victory existed. Chretien was criticized for "sleep-walking". People were abandoning Montreal. Had a duty to make sure the winning conditions never existed. Sponsorship program was part of a larger plan. He established that Cabinet was aware of the sponsorship plan and the committee approved. PMO invloved in federalist speeches and Clarity Act.
9:55: Switches to English. Visibility of Canadian government was reduced. There was a vacuum and the Quebec government filled this vacuum.. Restore the visibility of the federal government in Quebec. Match Parti Quebecois, billboard for billboard, radio and tv advertising, community event sponsorship. Had to show that it was more than Ottawa collecting taxes and Quebec delivers services. I regret any mistakes. I take responsibility for good and bad. If some people acted in bad faith, betrayed PM, government and country. Must be punished. Would have been a mistake to leave sponsorships to PQ alone. By 2003 support for Canada had increased to 65% satisfaction with Federal Government. Establishing that he set out guidelines that all programs fit with government regulations.
10:03: When we saw problems, alerted Auditor-General, contacted RCMP and changed management. There is a National-Unity reserve. Set aside $50-million a year. Spending then became a departmental affair. There are two type of ad agencies. Federalist friendly and separatist friendly. No option but to use federalist friendly even though they give money to government. He claims they gave money to Mulroney government as well. Did not make decision based on what is good for Liberal Party. Support Kyoto even though they accepted money from oil-companies. Sponsorship scandal was necessary and right.
10:09: PM does not rubber stamp every memo. Program was done in good-faith. Do not tar the whole government by the actions of the few. In judgment don't make it too difficult for public officials to do their job. Prime Minister was more responsibility that the Auditor-General. Must protect unity.
10:18: Bernard Roy now asking questions. Memo to Minister Dingwall. Government procurement fair, open and competitive.
10:24: Established price should have been a concern but another memo did not include price requirement as a concern. Jean Chretien responds with a statement about how lawyers cost different amounts in different areas. Not sure what he meant by that.
10:27: Involvement in referendum. Blah, blah, blah. Much too boring to continue.
I must admit that Chretien did a good job of framing the need for the Sponsorship Campaign. However whether or not it is required is not the subject of the inquiry. Liberal government corruption is. We'll see how things turn out over the next couple of days.
