OTTAWA, May 27 (UPI) -- Alfonso Gagliano, the former Canadian public works minister, Thursday filed a $3.3 million suit for wrongful dismissal, personal damages and lost wages.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday that Gagliano sued Canadian federal government and Prime Minister Paul Martin over the Liberal government's handling of the sponsorship scandal.
Gagliano had been public works minister under Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He was in charge of the ministry at a time when it was spending hundreds of millions of dollars promoting Canada and federal unity by sponsoring public events in Quebec.
The scandal broke over exorbitant commission fees paid by Gagliano's ministry to advertising firms linked to Liberal politicians.
"Martin played a dominant role in the firing of the plaintiff and sought to make him bear all the political responsibility of what he (Martin) described as a scandal without waiting for the slightest light to be shed on the whole affair," the lawsuit said. "In doing so, he greatly exceeded the boundaries of his duties as a government leader."
