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- By his Application dated December 21, 2005, Mr. Marc LeFrançois asks that the Commission recommend to Treasury Board that he be reimbursed the sum of $64,645.02, the total of the fees and disbursements paid by Mr. LeFrançois to his lawyers for their services in connection with his participation in the work of the Commission.
- In January 2005 Mr. LeFrançois was granted the right to participate as an intervenor in the work of the Commission. At that time he had been advised that he would not be indemnified for his legal expenses by his former employer VIA Rail, as appears from a letter to him dated December 8, 2004 from Me. Carole MacKaay. As well, it is to be noted that there is no explanation in the letter for this decision, reversing an earlier decision by the Board of Directors of VIA on February 17, 2004. Nevertheless he chose to delay the presentation of his application to obtain a recommendation for funding until a time when the hearings of the Commission had finished and its initial report had been delivered to the government.
- The relevant paragraph of the Order in Council creating the Commission reads as follows:
- (h) for purposes of the investigation referred to in paragraph (a), the Commissioner be authorized to recommend funding, in accordance with approved guidelines respecting rates of remuneration and reimbursement and the assessment of accounts, to a party who has been granted standing at the inquiry, to the extent of the party's interest, where in the Commissioner's view the party would not otherwise be able to participate in the inquiry;
- The Rules of Practice and Procedure adopted by the Commission include the prerequisites for admissibility for a funding recommendation. They are enumerated in Rule 11 which reads as follows:
- In order to qualify for a funding recommendation, a party must:
a) establish the party's inability to participate in the Inquiry without funding and the absence of an alternative means of funding;
b) provide a satisfactory plan as to how it intends to use the funds and account for them;
c) demonstrate sufficient interest and proposed involvement in the Inquiry; and
d) establish a special expertise or experience with respect to the Commission's mandate;
- It is obvious, upon reading this disposition as well as what is cited above from the Order in Council, that an application for a funding recommendation should normally be presented before the hearing at which the person involved will participate. An application presented at a later date is too late.
- Furthermore the application of Mr. LeFrançois fails to indicate in any way that he did not have access to an alternative source of funding, or that he would be unable to participate at the hearings without the financial assistance requested. On the contrary, Mr. LeFrançois declares that he has paid fees to his lawyers for their services and he does not allege that he did not have the means to do so.
- FOR THESE REASONS, the Commission dismisses the motion.
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John H. Gomery, Commissioner
Signed at Montreal, January 20, 2006 |
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