FINA FINANCIAL FILES OPENED
After a seven-year legal battle with the city, The Gazette has obtained financial documents relating to the troubled FINA World Aquatics Championships held in 2005. The records shed some light on the mystery of what happened to the public’s money, Linda G
What is FINA?
The Fédération internationale de natation (FINA) is the international governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and open water swimming. Montreal hosted the 11th FINA World Championships from July 16 to July 31, 2005. The event was almost entirely funded by the three levels of government, particularly the federal government. What happened during the preparation of the 2005 FINA event in Montreal?
The FINA world body withdrew the event from Montreal on Jan. 19, 2005 after the Montreal organizing committee for the event suffered financial problems and failed to come up with sufficient sponsorships. Yvon Desrochers, executive vicepresident and director general of the organizing committee, committed suicide on Feb. 2, 2005, days before he was slated to appear before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. The federal government was seeking an accounting for the $13 million it had provided to the organizing committee. Meanwhile, Mayor Gérald Tremblay successfully lobbied the FINA body to return the event to Montreal later in February. He promised the city would mop up any deficit. He then named a new organizing committee, and appointed himself one of its co-chairmen. How much did the FINA event cost taxpayers?
The event left the city of Montreal with a $4.77-million deficit to cover. The federal government committed $19 million to the organizing committee’s operations, including $13.36 million from Sport Canada between 2001 and 2004. The city contributed $4.6 million for goods and services, and spent $7.1 million on municipal equipment and infrastructure upgrades. The city also gave the organizing committee a $12 million loan in 2005, most of which – except $4.77 million – was returned. The Quebec government contributed $14 million to the city’s equipment and infrastructure upgrades to the municipal pools used for the event at Île Ste. Hélène. The three levels of government also loaned the services of their personnel to organize the event. The event had a revised budget of $38 million in 2005. Tremblay and the organizing committee said the event drew 1,900 athletes from 145 countries and injected at least $72 million into Quebec’s economy. What is Société des Internationaux du Sport de Montréal?
ISM is a private, non-profit company that submitted the bid for Montreal to host the 11th FINA World Championships in 2001. The organizing committee paid ISM $277,341 out of the $16 million in federal government funding for the 2001 bid. ISM first bid on the 2003 FINA championships in 1999, but lost. What did The Gazette ask for in its access-to-information request?
The newspaper filed an access-to-information request in March 2005 with the city of Montreal for all of the FINA organizing committee’s financial documents. Why did The Gazette file the access request?
The newspaper believes the public has the right to know where all the taxpayer money went. As well, all three levels of government had representatives on the board of the organizing committee. In fact, Tremblay named the city manager at the time and an assistant city manager to the board when he took over as co-chairman.
A lot of information has been kept secret, including what commissions and fees the organizing committee paid to Desrochers and to two companies he owned, Productions Nadis and 6017517 Canada Inc., between 2002 and 2005. After Desrochers’ suicide, the organizing committee board of directors ordered an examination of all fees and commissions paid to him and the two companies on March 21, 2005. The Gazette filed an access-to-infor mation request with the city for the results of that examination as well, but the city rejected it saying there is no written document. The city and the committee maintained the report was given orally at a board meeting. What arguments did the city make to refuse the access request?
The city argued the organizing committee is a third party, so the city does not have legal possession of its documents. What was the final ruling on the access to information request?
Quebec’s access to information commission ruled in January the city has legal possession of the financial records behind the event and must retrieve them from the organizing committee. The city then had 50 days to decide if any of the documents it retrieved from the organizing committee are not accessible under Quebec’s access to information law.