J. Charles (Chuck) Guité (born 1943 or 1944 in
Dugas, Quebec, on the
Gaspé peninsula), raised in
Campbellton, New Brunswick
Campbellton is a city in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Canada.
Situated on the south bank of the Restigouche River opposite Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Campbellton was officially ...
, is a former
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
civil servant, appointed by
Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government. He held his position under the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government of
Jean Chrétien and was in charge of the federal
sponsorship program from 1996 to 1999.
On April 2, 2004, previously confidential testimony from a 2002 inquiry into suspicious
Groupaction
Groupaction Inc. is a Canadian advertising agency at the centre of the 2004 Canadian sponsorship scandal. It was incorporated in 1983 as Groupaction Marketing Inc. and received its first federal advertising contract in 1994 with the Canadian Rad ...
contracts was made public. In it, Guité admits to having
bent the rules in his handling of the advertising contracts but defends his actions as excusable given the circumstances, saying, "We were basically at war trying to save the country... When you're at war, you drop the book and the rules and you don't give your plan to the opposition."
He became head of federal government advertising in the 1980s, and left the public service in 1999.
On June 6, 2006, a jury in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
found Guité guilty on all five counts of defrauding the
Federal Government. On June 19, he was sentenced to 42 months in jail. He appealed his conviction and sentence and both appeals were dismissed in 2008. Since he was granted bail pending appeal, his 42-month sentence did not begin to run until 2008.
On December 23, 2008 the
National Parole Board
The Parole Board of Canada (french: Commission des libérations conditionnelles du Canada; formerly known as the National Parole Board) is the Canadian government agency that is responsible for reviewing and issuing parole and criminal pardons i ...
authorized Guité's conditional release making him eligible for day parole on February 15, 2009 and full parole on September 16, 2009. Under Canadian law, first time non-violent offenders are allowed an accelerated review and a possible early release.
References
External links
Chuck Guité
20th-century Canadian civil servants
1940s births
Living people
Corruption in Canada
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