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Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, whose Liberal Party is under investigation for alleged misuse of public funds in the name of promoting national unity, testified Tuesday that the program was necessary to win over rebellious French Canadians.
The “sponsorship scandal” outraged the public when it was uncovered in 2002, contributing to the party’s loss of its majority in Parliament. The program was developed to promote national unity in Quebec after the narrow defeat of a separatist referendum in the French-speaking province in 1995. Advertising agencies with Liberal ties allegedly received tens of millions of dollars in exchange for little or no apparent work.
