The Abotech Affair: Frank Brazeau has friends
A series of anonymous posts was received at this blog yesterday, apparently from someone who works with or near Frank Brazeau.
Technorati Tags: David Smith, Frank Brazeau, Abotech, Liberal Party, PWGSC, Scott Brison
As you may know, Frank Brazeau was the bureaucrat at Consulting and Audit Canada who was suspended without pay as a result of his yet unrevealed participation in the Abotech affair. Abotech is a computer consulting firm once run by Liberal MP David Smith, representing the riding of Pontiac. Since June 2004, his wife has been running the firm from the family home, and David Smith professes no knowledge of what is going on in the company.
Abotech has had several contracts with the federal government terminated as a result of an audit performed by KPMG at Public Works and Government Services Canada. Public Works Minister Scott Brison insists that Abotech did nothing wrong, but that the contracts were improperly awarded.
Frank Brazeau is being blamed for that mistake and is paying the price.
What makes the story interesting is that Frank Brazeau and David Smith are cousins. Moreover, one of Frank Brazeau's responsibilities at CAC was to report on aboriginal set-asides, contracts that are reserved for aboriginal businesses. David Smith claims to be an aboriginal, and that Abotech meets the definition of an aboriginal business, claims hotly disputed by the Kitigan Zibi band in Maniwaki where David Smith grew up.
There are many facets to this story, and until the truth comes out, we won't know what was significant and what wasn't. For a full list of articles on this blog, peruse this catalog.
So what did this supporter of Frank Brazeau say?
- None of the contracts were set-asides, but there was a serious problem in the way CAC was awarding contracts.
- Frank Brazeau is being punished even though he can't sign contracts.
- There was a probe at the RCMP and there was no wrong doing by Brazeau. Management is embarassed about the issue and are scared of legal reprisals.
- Frank Brazeau has a huge civil suit lodged against the Crown and the media (no specifics provided).
- The government is sitting on this story until after the election.
- This person thinks the Abotech contracts were legitimate.
- "Frank Brazeau was an extremely hard working individual and I am tired seeing his name dragged in the mud. I don`t care about Abotech, Smith, the Liberals or Conservatives. All I want is for his reputation to be restored. He is a great person and does not deserve all this negative publicity."
You can see the original posts here.
All that Abotech research for nothing? Well, if that's the truth of the matter, then that's it. Of course, this person has a certain point of view, and access to a certain amount of information. I'm still interested to see what the Ethics Commissioner comes up with with the resources at his disposal.
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Comments
I've left a message with the Ontario Superior Court in Ontario. Court pleadings are public documents, and I am going to find out if Brazeau did file a lawsuit.
I don't know where Brazeau is currently located, but if he sued the Crown, Ottawa would have jurisdiction over any civil suit he filed.
Posted by: JulieM at November 24, 2005 01:44 PM
You're so smart.
Posted by: Angry in T.O. at November 24, 2005 01:57 PM
Most people do have friends, Angry. I'd go out on a limb to say that Liberal gummint lackeys have more than most.
Posted by: Rob R at November 24, 2005 02:25 PM
VOICEONLINE.COM
... the House of Commons by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs
finds the Ethics Commissioner, Bernard Shapiro, in contempt of Parliament. ...
www.voiceonline.com/voice/thisweek/newsroundup.php - 77k
Posted by: maz2 at November 24, 2005 02:45 PM
I heard that Brazeau cannot file a lawsuit until he is fired and that has yet to happen. I also heard is that he was interviewed by the RCMP, but never by PWGSC, CAC or KPMG. I know for a fact that he was exonerated by the RCMP, since no criminal charges were laid on the matter.
Posted by: at November 24, 2005 04:35 PM
Do you have a source for what you heard?
I'm a licensed American lawyer and would like to explore whether or not a person can sue their current employer. Though I need to research it (and don't have time now), I think they can, unless there is some contractual clause preventing it. Obviously, if an employee did such a thing, the employment relationship would probably end pretty quickly.
So for the same of argument, let's say that Brazeau does have a serious defamation case against the Crown, must be fired before he sues, and being suspended without pay is not enough to qualify as terminated.
If he does have a case, why not just quit and be done with it? Sue the Crown and clear your name.
He's not getting paid, anyway.
Posted by: JulieM at November 24, 2005 05:39 PM
Unfortunately the government of Canada has very deep pockets, suing them would put any normal human being in the poorhouse very quickly. Especially if he has a legitimate case and when every federal judge in the country has been appointed by a Liberal prime minister.
Posted by: kelly at November 24, 2005 08:02 PM
True enough, kelly, and now I'm thinking that Canada doesn't have the situation, as it is in the U.S., where a lawyer can represent a civil plaintiff and charge him/her nothing up front, but just get a percentage of any settlement or judgment.
I'm not sure about this, but if Canadian law does require payment on an hourly basis, then yes, it would be very difficult to sue the government for civil damages.
(Criminal cases would be different because accused people have the right to an attorney).
Posted by: JulieM at November 24, 2005 08:23 PM
The KPMG forensic audit into affairs at the RCMP was just that: a forensic audit which found no criminal wrong-doing. Treasury Board policy states that all audits must be made public. So it is indeed curious that before the audit was finalized, the scope of the audit was changed to include management practices at CAC, for which Frank Brazeau is the only one being punished, as if he was the only guy responsible for management practices. And, has anyone noticed the audit is no longer an "audit"? Brison now calls it a "management review", presumably so he doesn't have to make the document public.
Isn't also curious that PWGSC deputy minister David Marshall has a close friend at the Globe and Mail - the reporter who "broke" this story without the KPMG report ever being made public? What gives? Why would the government leak this false story if it wasn't trying to deflect attention from itself?
And where is this Director General of Consulting? Did Bill McCann disappear? He was Brazeau's old boss. And where is the Director General of Corporate SErvices, Louis Vadeboncoeur? If I recall, these two guys were the ones who originally sent Brazeau home, with pay, without telling him why. Now they apparently are on extended sick leave. What's the deal? Have they been punished too?
Makes you wonder why the government is going to such lengths to keep the truth buried. Is it because there really were funny things going on at CAC that the management endorsed? Were contracts given to companies or individuals linked to politicians? Wasn't there a story a few years back about Lansdowne Technologies, a company owned by Canada Steamship Lines (PM's company) receiving millions of dollars worth of contracts via CAC?
See, here's the problem: Brazeau did exactly what everyone else did at CAC, that is, help to identify skilled private sector resources for government clients. Why is this important? CAC was a fee-for-service special operating agency. It's livelihood depended on revenue from other departments. It charged for finding contractors, and also charged a mark-up on professional fees. For many years, it was in the red; therefore, management silently endorsed anything that would bring in revenues, including issuing contracts through dubious processes.
But, contracts can only be signed by those who have delegated authority. Brazeau did not have the delegated authority, so he never signed any contracts; he had no authority to do so (maybe McCann did and that's why he's "sick"). What Brazeau did was everything CAC management asked him to do, and he did it very well.
Meanwhile, The Gripe and Wail is spreading false information about Brazeau being a "contracting officer". This is simply not true. I guess the reporter didn't have time to check the material before printing it. Maybe if it's leaked from the deputy minister or from the minister, it doesn't need to be checked. Isn't there a word for that? Defamation? Slander?
You asked why it is that more people haven't come forward. I would suggest that those who are at CAC know that if this became public, they would really be in deep &@(* because their activities were way worse than anything Brazeau ever did.
But hey, shhhhh.... there's an election now and no one wants to embarass the governing party, right?
Posted by: at November 30, 2005 11:50 AM
well i don't know about any of that, but i do know that, as a public servant, if i wanted to get the contractor i wanted, i would go through cac. they could give me the resource i wanted, and no hassles with public works.
Posted by: at November 30, 2005 05:30 PM
This story is very disturbing, given the fact that I am a fully status native Canadian and that I come from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community, which coincidentally Frank “CLAIMS” he comes from. What has got me extremely upset is the fact that he is claiming he is a status native Canadian, which people from my community know that it is a complete farce. By the way, claiming that you are native and not required to provide proof can really help someone when appointments or applications for any position are up for grabs in the government. The second most unsettling thing is that he was put in charge of a unit that was to ensure that native owned businesses got certain grants and contracts, and the president of Abotech is…..you guessed it, a non native Canadian citizen. I though this genius would have known that given that they are first cousins. Seems to me like both people love to claim things that will get them ahead and don’t think twice about who or what cultures they insult. I am as friendly as any Canadian person you may meet, but being native I have experienced certain disadvantage in my life because of my culture, language and skin color. It irks me when I hear about things like this and I had to voice my 2 cents.
Posted by: Bidou at December 7, 2005 02:54 PM
 
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