Tuesday,
September 26, 2006
Canadian Minister Gagliano Charges Italian
Stereotyping in "The Corridors of Power"
CTV.Canada
News Staff
Monday Sept. 25 2006
In a new book,
former Liberal cabinet minister Alfonso Gagliano blames Italian stereotypes for
ruining his reputation after the federal sponsorship scandal.
Gagliano has
penned an autobiography called "The Corridors of Power," in which he
says he was unaware of any fraudulent spending in the sponsorship program. In
an interview Monday with CTV Montreal, Gagliano said Canadians assumed he was
guilty because he's Italian.
"I strongly
believe that," he said. "If my name wasn't Gagliano, I think I would
have had a better chance to explain what really happened."
Gagliano was a
Jean Chritien loyalist, who in the late 1990s served
as minister of public works and government services. As
On Sept. 5, 1997,
Gagliano and Chritien signed off on the now-infamous
sponsorship program. The year before Auditor General Sheila Fraser's 2003
report on the sponsorship scandal, Chritien appointed
Gagliano ambassador to
Shortly after
release of the report, incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin made it one of his
first acts to fire Gagliano.
Gagliano now says
he was surprised when he was named in Fraser's report, but was not surprised
that Martin responded by firing him.
"The
Corridors of Power" details Gagliano's
acrimonious relationship with Martin. In it, Gagliano describes Martin as a
"weak leader" who lacked charisma and communication skills.
He also
criticizes Justice John Gomery, suggesting Gomery had already formed an opinion on the sponsorship
scandal before conducting his inquiry.
Gomery's report said of Gagliano:
"The evidence is overwhelming that Mr. Gagliano was a hands-on manager who
took a great interest in the Sponsorship Program and an active part in its
direction. He is reluctant to accept responsibility for the errors committed in
the course of that administration and the political interference which his
decision-making constituted."
Gagliano refutes
this, and says Gomery was not receptive to new
information at the inquiry. 'When I went to testify, his mind was already made
up."
In the new book,
Gagliano maintains that he had no idea of any impropriety. He suggests the
federal bureaucrats in charge of the program were responsible for the
fraudulent activity.
The former
minister has repeatedly claimed he was scapegoated in
the $100-million federal sponsorship scandal.
On Monday, he
told CTV Montreal that he no longer expects all Canadians will believe his
innocence after "years of people hammering on me," but he hopes the
book will at least allow him a platform to share his account of the events that
lead to the widespread distrust of the federal Liberal party.
"I think the
facts are there, and now people can judge knowing both sides of the coin."
After the
sponsorship inquiry, Gagliano was banned for life from the federal Liberal
party. He has filed a $4.6 million wrongful-dismissal lawsuit.
"The
Corridors of Power" is currently available in French. Gagliano says he has
plans to release English and Italian versions soon.
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