Bloc wants Martin to tell Gomery 
about Earnscliffe 
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch Updated 4:45 p.m. January 31, 2005]

OTTAWA — The Bloc Quebecois hinted Monday the lobbying and communications firm with close links to Prime Minister Paul Martin may come up when the PM appears before the Gomery inquiry next week. 
  
In the House of Commons, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe tried to gain reassurances from the government that its lawyers at the inquiry will not object to having the PM answer questions about the firm Earnscliffe when he appears before the inquiry. 

Some partners at Earnscliffe have had close ties to the PM over the years, including Michael Robinson, who headed up Martin's transition team, and David Herle who co-chaired the Liberal federal election campaign. Herle has since started a separate communications firm. 

Public Works Minister Scott Brison brushed aside Duceppe's question. 

"I thought it was bad enough when the opposition was commenting on testimony that already occurred at the Gomery commission, now they want to comment on testimony that they hope to occur before the Gomery commission," he said. 

Not satisfied with the response, Duceppe asked, "Am I to assume from the minister's answer that in his testimony before the Gomery commission, the prime minister will be quite willing to answer the questions about Earnscliffe and the government prosecutor will not be objecting to the Earnscliffe matter being discussed by the Gomery commission, that this be part of the mandate of the Gomery commission?"

While Earnscliffe came up numerous times when MPs on the Public Accounts committee investigated the sponsorship scandal, it has not made headlines out of the Gomery commission. 

Gomery has focused his attention on the issue of sponsorship and advertising, while the research end of Earnscliffe concentrates on polling and communications work. 

While the Bloc is seeking reassurances from the government that its lawyers won't intervene, it is more probable that the inquiry's lawyers will object. 

When Warren Kinsella was cross examination by his lawyer at the inquiry earlier this month he was interrupted by inquiry counsel Neil Finkelstein when he started to discuss problems Public Works had in the mid 1990s when awarding polling contracts. 

"Sir, this is obviously not in our mandate," Finkelstein said to Gomery. 

Gomery said during the cross-examination that testimony should be limited to contracting of advertising. 

Meanwhile, questions about former prime minister Jean Chretien's efforts to have Gomery recused were the main focus of the Conservatives' questions in the first question period this year. 

Conservative MP Peter MacKay accused Chretien of "putting the Shawinigan handshake on the Gomery commission."

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pressed the PM to denounce Chretien's attempts to have Gomery removed for comments he made to the media about testimony. 

"Has the Prime Minister told Mr. Chrétien in no uncertain terms that his actions are inappropriate and unacceptable?" Harper asked. 

The PM did not say whether he spoke with Chretien, but noted that federal lawyers at the commission are opposed to Chretien's motion. 

Martin repeated that it was his government that set up the inquiry in the first place. 

"We did it because we want the Canadian public to have all of the answers," he said. "That was our position, it is our position now and it will be our position tomorrow."

In another Gomery development from question period, Brison revealed that a complaint the commission had filed with the federal government over documents given to Gomery had been resolved. 

The inquiry released a letter last week that Gomery sent to Alex Himelfarb, the clerk of the Privy Council, in which the judge requested to see confidential documents not given to the inquiry.

"Justice Gomery is very much satisfied with the response of the government because he knows that the prime minister and the government have provided full cooperation, openness and transparency, and support for Justice Gomery's work," Brison said.

Brison said there was no change in the amount of information given to Gomery but that after discussions with government lawyers, inquiry lawyers agreed the information handed over "was fully consistent with the government's commitment to provide all the cabinet confidences that pertain to the mandate of the Gomery commission."

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