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Reading = Mr=20 Gomery's report, one begins to understand why Warren = Kinsella=20 would have wanted to discredit the "Gomery Pyle" Commission before = it=20 completed its work.

It's still difficult to understand, however, = why the Law=20 Society of Upper Canada would not have looked into such antics on = the part=20 of one of its members.

First, Mr. Gomery is devastating on the = famous memo=20 Kinsella wrote just before leaving government, and he concludes = that the=20 sponsorship program flowed seamlessly from existing advertising=20 programs:

"On November 23, 1995, Mr. Kinsella, the = Executive=20 Assistant of Mr. Dingwall, who was then Minister of PWGSC, wrote a = surprising memorandum to Messrs. Quail and Stobbe, which to be = appreciated=20 must be reproduced in full:

Gentlemen, repeated reviews of the management = of the=20 federal government=92s communications apparatus=97and recent = experience =96 have=20 established a clear requirement for a centralized delivery system = for the=20 procurement and coordination of advertising, public opinion = research and=20 communications products. We have discussed this on previous=20 occasions.

There is also obviously a clear requirement = to work=20 with the Privy Council Office so that communications initiatives = can be=20 tied to overall government priorities. PCO and PMO have recently = expressed=20 similar views.

After discussing this with the Minister, it = is=20 therefore requested that the following tasks be = undertaken;

I. Create a common delivery system for = advertising,=20 research and all communications services products.

II. Develop an information program explaining = the role=20 of functions of the integrated organization to departments of = government=20 including all regions as well as to communications industry = suppliers.=20

III. Work with the Privy Council Office and = other=20 relevant central agencies to develop recommendations for a system = that=20 will generate ongoing strategic communications initiatives around=20 government priorities.

IV. Investigate all =93out-of-home=94 = advertising and=20 potential sponsorship initiatives that are available to = effectively=20 promote government programs.

As the lead agency in the management of = government=20 advertising and public opinion research activities, the = Advertising and=20 Public Opinion Research Sector (APORS) is clearly best suited to = carry out=20 the noted tasks. In my view, Mr. J.C. Guit=E9, current Director = General of=20 APORS should be assigned to carry out this review on a full time=20 basis.

It is requested that he be assigned to a = position that=20 will allow him to carry out these tasks and that he be provided = with the=20 appropriate resources consistent with such an initiative. Central = agencies=20 have requested that his current position should be staffed = immediately=20 with a permanent and qualified person.

The deliverable will be as follows: =

=95 Develop an action plan to accomplish all = of the=20 above-noted tasks by January 15th, 1996.

=95 Provide a written report(s) on the = findings by June=20 1, 1996.

Thank you for your attention to this = matter.

Mr. Gomery continues:

This = communication was=20 rightly taken by Mr. Quail to be a highly inappropriate attempt by = political staff to interfere in the internal administration of = PWGSC,=20 which is entirely within the jurisdiction of the Deputy Minister. = The=20 reference to unidentified persons in the PCO and PMO gives the = impression=20 that the proposed reorganization of government communications = under Mr.=20 Guit=E9 was desired by persons at the highest level. To his = credit,=20 Mr. Quail resisted the temptation to take offence, and replied by = a=20 memorandum reading as follows:

I have your note of Nov 23/95 re: Direction = to review=20 the APORS and would make the following observations:

1. In paragraph 2 you mention the recent = views of PCO.=20 Would you please provide me the name at PCO=97so we don=92t cross=20 lines.

2. The review that you have outlined in your = note=20 suggests this may be seen at the Centre as a Machinery of = Government=20 responsibility which as you know is the prerogative of the Prime = Minister=20 to assign. My experience indicates that it is necessary to ensure = PMO/PCO=20 is aware of the assignment of such issues to a Minister. Will you = confirm=20 this is in place?

3. On page 2 you recommend that we use Mr. = Guit=E9 on=20 this assignment and that the Central Agencies have suggested the = position=20 he =93vacates=94 be staffed immediately on a permanent basis. I = have 2 points=20 on this:

a] I am not aware of any such directions; = please advise=20 who has recommended this action with respect to Mr. Guit=E9=92s = position, so I=20 can discuss the issues I see arising from this proposal.

b] On the assignment of Mr. Guit=E9; my = concern here is=20 that the action you propose, while attractive in one sense, = presents a=20 problem to me in the handling of the EX personnel. There will be a = requirement to find an additional EX position to cover the = assignment=20 period and secondly, no clear assignment for Mr. Guit=E9 once the = work is=20 completed=85We already have a number of these cases and I have = been working=20 over the last two years to get these down to zero. In other words = what to=20 do with Mr. Guit=E9 at the end when no work exists=85

I would like to hear from you before I take = any further=20 action.

Mr Gomery continues:

The matter died = there. Mr.=20 Quail decided that Mr. Kinsella=92s memo was a mistake by an = inexperienced=20 political staffer who did not know better than to attempt to give=20 direction to a senior public servant on how to organize his = department.=20 Mr. Dingwall testifies that he does not remember the incident, but = assumes=20 that he must have instructed Mr. Kinsella to write the = memo.

As to why he would have wanted Mr. Guit=E9 = to be given=20 important new responsibilities, the record is unclear. =

But we do know that Mr. Guit=E9 and his = personnel at=20 APORS were given the whole responsibility for the management and=20 administration of the Sponsorship Program when it came into being = in the=20 spring of 1996. Sponsorship contracts were considered by all = concerned to=20 be a form of advertising, and were so defined in Appendix Q , and = Mr.=20 Guit=E9 was the government=92s expert in advertising = matters.

When CCSB was created in November 1997, it = constituted almost exactly the consolidation of functions that had = been=20 advocated by Mr. Kinsella two years previously."

--Then, there's this from the report, = which=20 confirms that the first sponsorships were handed out by Chuck = Guit=E9=20 when Kinsella was still in government, notwithstanding his = longstanding=20 and oft-repeated defense:

"The =93Sponsorship Program=94 had its origin = in 1994-95=20 when the advertising section of Public Works and Government = Services=20 Canada (PWGSC), under its director, Joseph Charles (=93Chuck=94) = Guit=E9,=20 disbursed about $2 million from its normal operating budget for = what were=20 described as =93special programs,=94 at which federal government=20 advertisements were prominently displayed. In 1995-96, nearly $22 = million=20 was disbursed by PWGSC for advertising rights at similar events = and for=20 expenses related to the promotion of national unity. The objective = was to=20 publicize certain federal programs and the federal presence in=20 general."

--And how about this?

After some mysterious changes in Canadian = ownership=20 rules and a major debate over the inclusion of price as a factor = in=20 competitions, Appendix Q--purportedly designed to clean up = government=20 advertising--is implemented.

Mr Gomery writes:

=93On November 28, 1994, APORS published a = public notice=20 that the Department of Canadian Heritage=85was seeking a = full-service=20 advertising agency =93in support of its mandate to promote = Canada=92s identity=20 and its cultural and natural heritage.=94 =85It may be noted that = the=20 public notice did not refer to a selection process leading to the=20 qualification of a number of advertising agencies, and that it = indicated=20 that one agency only was being sought.

Of the agencies making presentations on = February 2,=20 McKim Communications had the best score, but Scott Thornley was = within the=20 10% margin and was also chosen to be on the pre-qualified = suppliers list.=20 All five agencies that made presentations on the second day = were=20 selected. They were Groupe Everest, BCP Canada, Compass=20 Communications, Palmer Jarvis Communications and Vickers = &=20 Benson=85"

--What was even more interesting was that = the five=20 agencies that were qualified for Canadian Heritage ended up being=20 qualified by the same process for the Department of Public = Works.

Mr Gomery's narrative continues,

In his testimony, Mr. Guit=E9 states that the = use of the=20 Heritage Canada list of suppliers by PWGSC was decided upon during = the=20 pre-referendum period, in consultation with public servants in the = Privy=20 Council Office who were working on unity and pre-referendum = strategy.63=20 Mr. Guit=E9 and Ms. LaRose both acknowledge that the conversion = of the=20 Heritage Canada list of pre-qualified suppliers into a list to be = used by=20 PWGSC was irregular and did not respect the requirements of = Appendix Q. No=20 competitive agency-selection procedure whatsoever led to the = qualification=20 of suppliers of advertising services to PWGSC.

Neither Mr. Guit=E9 nor Ms. LaRose explained = why only five=20 of the seven firms on the Heritage Canada list were declared to be = qualified as suppliers of advertising services to PWGSC.64 It may = be noted=20 that of the five agencies qualified for PWGSC, three of them = (Groupe=20 Everest, BCP Canada and Vickers & Benson) were well known to = have been=20 closely associated with the election campaign of the Liberal Party = in=20 1993.

--Interestingly, after leaving government, = Kinsella=20 went to work at Palmer Jarvis--one of the five firms that were = qualified=20 through this process, but not one of the firms closely associated = with the=20 Liberal election campaign in 1993.

This brings us to this most interesting = exchange=20 during the interrogation of the Diane Marleau, one of the few = Honourables=20 who emerges honourably in the Gomery report:

"MR. COURNOYER: If we go to page 118 under Tab = 17, we=20 have a number of fax reports or fax sheets. At 118 we have a fax = that is=20 dated August 27th, 1996.

Were you aware that Mr. Guit=E9 was exchanging = information=20 with Mr. Warren Kinsella at Palmer Jarvis about this?

MS. MARLEAU: Absolutely not. That would be = highly=20 unusual. Mr. Kinsella had been the Executive Assistant to Minister = Dingwall. My understanding was that he had left Minister = Dingwall=92s=20 office. So that is unusual. But I couldn=92t tell you more about = it. I=20 wasn=92t aware of it.

MR. COURNOYER: You didn=92t have -- well, = superficially,=20 that is what the document seems to be, a fax sent to Mr.=20 Kinsella."

--The good news is that Stephen = Harper's=20 accountability package will go some distance in curbing = some=20 of the activities Judge Gomery addressed, including this = contribution from=20 the 1997 election:

Kinsella,=20 Warren

Palmer Jarvis = Communications

10,=20 = 000

Copyright =A9 2005 Norman Spector Communications = Inc. All=20 rights reserved. Materials may be used with proper = attribution.

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