Canadian Adscam Scandel: Ex-sponsorship Boss Chuck Guite Begins Testifying at Gomery Inquiry

Chuck Guite, former head of the government sponsorship program, ponders questioning as he is cross-examined at the Gomery inquiry in Ottawa last November.

The National Post of Canada reports that Chuck Guite, head of the Canadian Federal Sponsorship program has begun to testify in the Gomery Inquiry:

Chuck Guite, the man who ran the federal sponsorship program between 1997 and 1999, began testifying at the Gomery inquiry on Thursday.

But with Guite’s testimony subject to a publication ban, Canadians will likely have to wait until early next week to find out what he has told the inquiry.

The ban issued by presiding judge John Gomery also covered the testimony of ad executives Jean Brault and Paul Coffin but was lifted in part after they had finished.

Brault, Coffin and Guite all must stand trial on fraud-related charges arising from the sponsorship program.

Guite has been charged with six counts of fraud and conspiracy related to an alleged scheme with Brault linked to federal gun registry contracts.

In his first appearance before Gomery, last fall in Ottawa, Guite sparked controversy by pointing a finger of blame firmly at his political masters.

He claimed that former public works minister Alfonso Gagliano and Jean Pelletier, chief of staff to then-prime minister Jean Chretien, knew exactly what he was up to in distributing sponsorship cash in the 90s.

Gagliano and Pelletier denied the allegations, saying they gave “advice” but never issued orders on how sponsorship money should be doled out or which ad firms should get a piece of the pie.

With a publication ban in place we may have to wait to discover the details of this testimony.

Stay tuned.