It was not an entirely happy Liberal caucus that met with Prime Minister Paul Martin yesterday morning and heard him say he was right to have called an inquiry into the sponsorship scandal.
Mr. Martin received a standing ovation when he arrived near the end of the 90-minute meeting. But it came amid grumbling that Mr. Justice John Gomery, who had just released his commission's first report, played favourites. Although the judge exonerated Mr. Martin, he laid blame at the feet of former prime minister Jean Chrétien.
What rankled even more for some were a series of talking points released earlier to MPs. Prepared by senior Martin staffers to ensure all Liberals sing the same tune, they did nothing to support the former prime minister: "Q. What was the role of the former prime minister Jean Chrétien?
"A. The government appointed Judge Gomery to give us answers about what happened with the sponsorship program. And he's done that. The report speaks for itself -- including the role of Mr. Chrétien."
"They're hanging him out to dry," one caucus member said. "A lot of people in the party are disappointed . . . [that Mr. Martin]is isolating the man who had honourable intentions from the get-go."
The mood was sombre as Liberal MPs gathered in their Centre Block caucus room at 10 o'clock yesterday morning to be briefed. Two huge television monitors broadcast CBC coverage of the report -- one in English, the other in French.
Treasury Board President Reg Alcock, one of the three cabinet ministers assigned to speak on Judge Gomery's report, tried to "message" caucus members that Liberals should unite as one happy family, one insider said.
Public Works Minister Scott Brison and Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, the Prime Minister's Quebec lieutenant, joined Mr. Alcock at the front of the room, which was only about half full, according to several insiders. Scattered applause accompanied the news of Mr. Martin's exoneration.
Unlike his caucus members, the Prime Minister had been aware for nearly 16 hours of the report's contents. Mr. Martin received an advance copy just after 6 o'clock Monday evening. He began reading it an hour later, after finishing with the trick-or-treaters who had come to 24 Sussex Dr., and spent his first hour on the report's executive summary.
On the fourth to last page of that summary, Judge Gomery clears him: "Mr. Martin, whose role as Finance Minister did not involve him in the supervision of spending by the PMO or [Public Works] is entitled, like other Ministers in the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct."
And so it is not surprising that the Prime Minister's first words to his senior staffers, according to a senior source, were: "We created Gomery; we will accept every word of Gomery."
Between 8 and 9 o'clock Monday night, Mr. Martin left his residence for his office in the Langevin Block, where senior ministers were gathered on the fourth floor.
Mr. Brison, Mr. Alcock and Mr. Lapierre were joined by Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Lucienne Robillard, Government House Leader Tony Valeri and Senate Leader Jack Austin. They reviewed the report along with Alex Himelfarb, the Clerk of the Privy Council, and other senior officials. All were required to sign confidentiality undertakings to view the documents.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister worked on his statement, which he delivered yesterday afternoon. Around 10:30 p.m., he met with the ministers to review the report's findings and ratify key decisions, according to the source.
He left his office just before midnight.
"Overall, you have to understand this," the source said. "The Prime Minister had divided advice from his cabinet and advisers last February as to whether or not to create a commission of inquiry. Ultimately it was his call to move ahead."
The source said Mr. Martin did not want to leave the Liberal Party and government under a cloud.
"To this day, some say it was a mistake," the source said. "He doesn't believe that -- not because the report exonerated him but because the report exists."