The Federal Court has ordered Ottawa to pay $200,000 to former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien. The money is compensation for legal fees Chrétien incurred while he
fought the findings of a federal inquiry into the sponsorship scandal. The Federal Court agreed with Chrétien in 2008 that Justice John
Gomery had made inappropriate comments to the media about the former PM
that compromised the process. The federal government unsuccessfully appealed that decision, and
Chrétien was awarded $25,000 early this year for having to fight that
round in the Federal Court of Appeal. Chrétien had said he spent $300,000 for the initial Federal Court
review of the conclusions written by Gomery in his 2005 report on the
scandal. The Attorney General of Canada argued Chrétien should only get
$36,205.20, but Judge Francois Lemieux used his discretion to award an
amount above the usual guidelines for compensation.
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