A secret U.S. dossier on the Airbus affair, shared with high-ranking members of Brian Mulroney's government, alleged that the then prime minister directly intervened in Air Canada's 1988 decision to purchase the planes, as his political friends pocketed commissions and his Progressive Conservative party grew fat on donations from Karlheinz Schreiber and campaign funds connected to the deal. The seven-page report, recently obtained by Maclean's, was presented as the product of inquiries by the FBI and other American agencies. Passed on by the U.S. ambassador on the eve of the November 1988 election, it traces the roots of the Airbus deal back to 1979, and paints a picture of a wide-ranging conspiracy that saw Conservative lobbyists, cabinet ministers, senior government advisers, bureaucrats and Air Canada management collude to ensure the European aircraft consortium got a toehold in the North American market.
The article provides some evidence that Mulroney perjured himself at his 1996 libel case (in addition to the alleged perjury in his statement that he had no business dealings with Schreiber):
When concerns were expressed [at the March 30, 1988 Air Canada board meeting where the Airbus purchase received final approval] about the potential U.S. reaction to an Airbus deal, the [US government report on Airbus] alleges proceedings were put on hold while "phone calls were made to Mazankowski and Mulroney." The U.S. government account of the board meeting appears to be at odds with the former prime minister's repeated assertions that he had nothing to do with the Airbus decision. "I neither directly nor indirectly at any time influenced Air Canada," Mulroney testified during discoveries for his 1996 libel suit against the federal government. "This was exclusively an internal decision by Air Canada, the government had no influence on it whatsoever."
It is so frustrating that Canadians are not learning the truth of what may be massive government corruption. The RCMP didn't even start an investigation of Airbus bribes until 1995, and has never released its findings. This US government report was not made public until now. It has been left to investigative journalists to tell us everything we know. And now, when it has been proved beyond doubt that Mulroney accepted masses of cash in questionable circumstances, the Harper government is still trying to prevent a full inquiry.
1 comment:
Fascinating article by Macleans; let's hope that the Ethics Committee members have read and re-read it, and add some of those people who refused to return Macleans calls to their list of witnesses to be called.
The last two paragraphs - Crosbie's statements about Airbus - are especially alarming.
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