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Villeneuve embroiled in shocking sponsorship scandal
Ottawa, Mar 25: Former Olympic athlete Myriam Bedard has made some startling allegations about the federal sponsorship program.
Ottawa, Mar 25: Former Olympic athlete Myriam Bedard has made some startling allegations about the federal sponsorship program.
She's told a Parliamentary committee that she heard Formula One racer Jacques Villeneuve was paid $12-million dollars U.S. from a secret fund to wear the Canada logo on his racing suit.
She says she was given the information during a visit to the Montreal Grand Prix in 1997 or 1998. Bedard cited her agent, Jean-Marc St-Pierre, as the source of her ``top secret'' information about Villeneuve but admitted she couldn't confirm if it was true.
St-Pierre, however, told RDS that Villeneuve's name never came up in his discussions with Bedard. He also said he didn't remember Villeneuve actually having such a logo on his racing suit.
Bedard also says she was told by former Via president Marc LeFrancois in 2001 that Groupaction -- an ad company at the heart of the scandal -- was involved in drug dealing.
A week later, she says he told her to forget what he said. Groupaction president Jean Brault denied late Wednesday his company had any involvement in drug dealing. Brault described the allegations of drug trafficking made by Bedard as ``outrageous.''
``This allegation is completely false and was made without one element of proof, without one iota of truth,'' he said, indicating he may sue.
Bedard sparked a political storm in February when she announced she'd been forced from her marketing job at Via Rail in 2002 after questioning inflated payments under the sponsorship program. LeFrancois was fired this month by the Liberal government after responding to Bedard's accusations with personal remarks about her character.
Bureau Report
She's told a Parliamentary committee that she heard Formula One racer Jacques Villeneuve was paid $12-million dollars U.S. from a secret fund to wear the Canada logo on his racing suit.
She says she was given the information during a visit to the Montreal Grand Prix in 1997 or 1998. Bedard cited her agent, Jean-Marc St-Pierre, as the source of her ``top secret'' information about Villeneuve but admitted she couldn't confirm if it was true.
St-Pierre, however, told RDS that Villeneuve's name never came up in his discussions with Bedard. He also said he didn't remember Villeneuve actually having such a logo on his racing suit.
Bedard also says she was told by former Via president Marc LeFrancois in 2001 that Groupaction -- an ad company at the heart of the scandal -- was involved in drug dealing.
A week later, she says he told her to forget what he said. Groupaction president Jean Brault denied late Wednesday his company had any involvement in drug dealing. Brault described the allegations of drug trafficking made by Bedard as ``outrageous.''
``This allegation is completely false and was made without one element of proof, without one iota of truth,'' he said, indicating he may sue.
Bedard sparked a political storm in February when she announced she'd been forced from her marketing job at Via Rail in 2002 after questioning inflated payments under the sponsorship program. LeFrancois was fired this month by the Liberal government after responding to Bedard's accusations with personal remarks about her character.
Bureau Report