Olympic athlete paints picture of sponsorship program corruption

[dArKeR]

By LUMA MUHTADIE

Myriam Bédard characterized the sponsorship program as being rife with corruption during her testimony before a Commons public accounts committee investigating the scandal on Wednesday.

The two-time Olympic biathlon gold medalist said that during her tenure in the marketing department at Via Rail, she was told that driver Jacques Villeneuve was secretly paid $12-million (U.S.) to wear the Canadian logo on his racing suit at the 1998 Montreal Grand Prix and that Groupaction was involved in drug trafficking.

Ms. Bédard told the Commons committee that in September of 2001, Marc Lefrançois, then the president of Via, suggested that she start her own advertising agency, because Groupaction is "building a huge empire and they're not doing things the right way.

"'They are involved in drug trafficking,'" Ms. Bedard recalled him saying, "sooner or later someone is going to have to take over Groupaction's contracts."

http://theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040324.wspon0324/BNStory/Front/

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. I am shocked. Shocked, I tell you.

well, duh!