Bureaucrats did not back charges / RJR demands their testimony
Jump to full article: Toronto (Ont) Star (ca), 2005-11-15
Author: TRACEY TYLER LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER
Intro: A Canadian tobacco firm was charged in connection with a massive cigarette smuggling conspiracy even though senior federal bureaucrats told the RCMP the company wasn't involved, according to court documents.
Lawyers representing the federal government and the high-ranking civil servants are now trying to stop a court from hearing their testimony.
Among them is Bank of Canada governor David Dodge, who served as deputy finance minister from 1992 to 1997.
According to documents filed in the Superior Court of Justice, Dodge told the RCMP on Aug. 29, 2001 that Canadian tobacco companies were "quite keen" to deal with the problem of tobacco smuggling.
He also told the Mounties there was no indication that cigarette maker RJR-MacDonald Inc. was involved in cross-border smuggling alleged to have cost the Canadian government $1.2 billion in taxes in the mid-1990s, according to material filed in court by the company.
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