Ex-Premier Sues Canada, Mounties Over Allegation
Irate at being linked to alleged kickbacks in an Airbus deal, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney filed a $37-million lawsuit Monday against the government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The lawsuit seeks the biggest libel award in Canada and is the first to be filed by a former prime minister against the government.
Mulroney has assembled Canada’s version of the “dream team” to handle his case--five of the country’s most renowned lawyers.
Mulroney, head of a Progressive Conservative government from 1984 until 1993, was linked by the Justice Department to the alleged kickbacks from Air Canada’s $1.8-billion purchase of 34 Airbus jetliners in 1988.
Mulroney has denied any direct or indirect role in an Airbus kickback scheme, and no charges have been filed in the case.
Mulroney’s spokesman said the former leader accepted the government’s right to investigate the alleged kickbacks but objected to being named as a possible wrongdoer in a letter last year to Swiss authorities. The letter requested Swiss help in freezing certain bank accounts.
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