Mr. Doucet gets his counsel
Fred Doucet may not be a household name any more. But back in the day, well, in the 1980s, he was certainly well known on Parliament Hill.
Doucet was then prime minister Brian Mulroney's chief of staff and a very senior political adviser. After that, he became one of Ottawa's top lobbyists.
Rosemary Barton
Then along came Karlheinz Schreiber, the German-born, international deal-maker.
Schreiber alleges that it was Doucet who requested cash transfers be made to Mulroney, while he was still in office, through a lawyer in Geneva.
Doucet denies all of it. In fact, Doucet and Schreiber disagree on most things.
So, not surprising then that Doucet will be a key player in the judicial inquiry to examine the financial dealings between the former PM and Schreiber.
Judge Jeffrey Oliphant, the Manitoba justice who will be conducting the inquiry, agrees. That is why he has decided the commission will cover Doucet's legal fees.
Doucet argued that with failing health and retirement investments that are uncertain given the state of the economy, he needs a little financial help to cover costs.
Oliphant says Doucet's testimony will be "necessary and involved" and so the commission will pick up the tab for 100 hours of Doucet's lawyer to be present in the hearing and 50 hours of preparation time.
The commission will also cover reasonable travel costs.
—Rosemary Barton
About the Authors
- Rosemary Barton started her television career reporting from Quebec City where she covered the ins and outs of Quebec politics. She moved to the CBC Parliamentary Bureau in 2007. She also stood on the side of road awaiting U.S. President Barack Obama's motorcade for hours in the cold. When she finally spotted him, all of Canada heard her shriek, "I saw him!"
- Alison Crawford worked in Fredericton, Calgary and Winnipeg before returning to her hometown to work in the CBC parliamentary bureau. Her beats include the RCMP, justice, public safety and the Liberals. Alison credits her investigative skills as well as a national etiquette column and coverage of a ferret Christmas party, with having prepared her for covering national politics.
- Andrew Davidson is a producer for the CBC politics page in Toronto. He joined CBCNews.ca's national desk in 2006 and was the lead news writer for the website's 2008 federal election coverage.
- Chris Hall is the National Affairs Editor for CBC News. He's been a member of the CBC Parliamentary Bureau since 1998. That adds up to 11 budgets, four elections, three prime ministers and too many confidence votes to count. Chris started his career in print before moving to the CBC in 1992. Since then, he's worked in Toronto, Halifax and St. John's, as well as Ottawa.
- Leslie MacKinnon Leslie's been working in news and current affairs since newsrooms used teletype, televison was shot on film and radio tape was edited with a razor blade. She saw through The Journal's long run on CBC-TV, and since then has worked in Halifax, Toronto and Ottawa in the CBC's various permutations. Right now, she's a TV news reporter in the political bureau, and likes certain parts of Ottawa - the canal, the Hill - a lot.
- Janyce McGregor has been a television producer in the CBC's Parliamentary Bureau since 2001. She started her career working for Studio 2 on TVOntario. In 2005 her then-doctoral student husband persuaded her to follow him to the U.K., where she worked for BBC World Service Radio in London. Janyce is originally a farm girl from southwestern Ontario. Her most important job title is "Norah's Mom."
- Chris Rands has been a member of the Parliamentary bureau since 2001. He started at Toronto's AM Radio giant CFRB before moving to CBC's National Radio News in 1996. Chris has worked in Toronto, Moncton, Sudbury, Regina, Washington and St John's. Every time Chris walks up to the Peace Tower, he wants to throw his hat in the air like Mary Tyler Moore.
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