Ottawa, 12 September, 2005: The following statement was released today by Sheila-Marie Cook, Executive Director and Commission Secretary for the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities:

«The Commission fully expects to meet the target date for the presentation of the Inquiry Report by November 1, 2005. The response from the public consultations announced by Mr. Justice Gomery in August has exceeded the Commission's expectations. This result will impact on the target date for the completion of the Final Report - the Recommendations Report. The Commission is confident that the report may be completed by December 15th however there will be a delay in the report production schedule. Report production includes translation, editing and printing and is expected to take six weeks which is the norm for such publications. While every effort will be made to accelerate the process, the Commission is now targeting February 1, 2006 for presentation of its final report».

For further information contact:

François Perreault
Commission Spokesperson
(613) 992-1834