Possible lawsuit resurrects Adscam for the Liberals
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch Updated 4:50 p.m. May 11, 2006]

OTTAWA  — It's back. 

More than six months after Justice John Gomery released his fact-finding report on the sponsorship program, the scandal that won't die appears to be coming back to bother a new Parliament of Liberals. 

Montreal's La Presse newspaper reported on Thursday morning that government lawyers have been told to prepare for a lawsuit against the Liberal party to recover all the money missing in the sponsorship program. 

According to La Presse, the lawyers were told to go after "all the dirty money." 

In his report, Gomery concluded that a Liberal party organizer used the sponsorship program as "an elaborate kickback scheme," that funneled money from the program through advertising agencies to the Liberal party and its organizers. 

On the same day Gomery's report was released then prime minister Paul Martin announced the Liberal party would pay the government $1.14 million for any ill-gotten money received from the sponsorship program. 

Then public works minister Scott Brison, now a leadership candidate to replace Martin, said the Liberal party came up with the $1.14 million figure because it "reflects the analysis of the facts in Justice Gomery's report." 

However, the Conservatives questioned how the Liberals arrived at the number and Stephen Harper demanded the government have federal lawyers sue the Liberal party to recover the money. 

The Tories estimate that as much as $40 million is unaccounted for in the scandal.

"In our political system, we do not get to decide our own penalty, unless, of course, we believe we are above the law," Harper said in November. 

The La Presse story comes less than a week after a U.S. pollster told a gathering of prominent conservatives in Kanata that they should dig for dirt on the Liberals in order to secure a majority in the next election. 

Harper also promised during the election campaign to have the government sue the Liberal party to get back all the missing money. 

Although the Conservative government hasn't announced its plans to move ahead with a suit, the La Presse story was enough to resurrect questions about Adscam on the Hill for Liberals hoping to turn the page. 

"I think it's a political ploy," said Liberal MP and former Tory Belinda Stronach. "I think that what the Conservatives would like to do is to continue to use this in a political way to make the Liberals look bad."

Brison told reporters Thursday that the Liberal party "paid every cent that was received inappropriately back to the taxpayer.". 

"That was based on the findings of Justice Gomery and on the facts and the financial analysis presented at the Gomery inquiry." 

Brison described the rumoured of the lawsuit as "part of an ongoing smear campaign by the government against the Liberal party."

Liberal MP Denis Coderre said he did not want to comment on a "hypothetical" question when asked about the reported plans for a suit.

"We've been through the commission, we won't relive it again. If the government wants to play politics with taxpayer money then that's their thing," he said. 

While the Liberals aren't happy about the Tory's plan, an NDP MP said he was supportive if the Tories went ahead and sued the Liberals. 

"I don't view this as partisan," said NDP MP Pat Martin. 

"I want my government to recoup every penny that was stolen from me as a taxpayer."

Martin said he doubts the $1.14 million the Liberals paid was the extent of what the Liberal party skimmed from the scandal. 

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