MONTREAL - Former advertising executive Jean Brault, a key player in the federal sponsorship scandal, has reached a deal with the government that will see both sides drop their lawsuits against each other.
As part of the deal, Brault will testify in Ottawa's lawsuit against other figures in the now-defunct program.
The government has agreed to drop its $8-million lawsuit against Brault, which it launched as part of a broader attempt to recoup the millions of dollars that went missing during the program.
In turn, Brault will give up his attempt to claim $3 million in unpaid sponsorship work and fork over an additional $250,000 to the government.
Along with his testimony, Brault will also provide information or documents that could help Ottawa prepare for its lawsuit against the remaining sponsorship players.
That lawsuit is expected to head to trial in September.
"All the lawsuits that implicate Mr. Brault and all his companies and the government of Canada have been settled, including those in which he is suing us for services rendered to the government,'' said government lawyer Sylvain Lussier.
He added that the $250,000 sum Brault will pay to the government represents his entire life savings.
"He is giving us his assets, which means Mr. Brault is starting again from zero,'' Lussier said.
"The government had no interest in continuing with a lawsuit to get to a point where Mr. Brault would have spent the rest of his life savings on lawyer's fees.''
Brault's lawyer, Pierre-Hugues Miller, said it was important for his client to make some kind of amends.
"One of the important considerations for Mr. Brault was to reimburse the government the total amount for which he was found guilty of fraud,'' he said.
Miller also indicated that his client could be called to testify for either the government or on behalf of the defendants.
Brault is among five people to have been charged in the scandal. He was sentenced to 30 months in jail after pleading guilty to criminal fraud charges in 2006.
Ad executive Jean Lafleur was ordered to pay back $1.6 million and sentenced to four years in jail, the harshest sentence of those charged.
Others sentenced were ex-ad executive Paul Coffin and former federal bureaucrat Chuck Guite, who were handed terms of 18 months and 42 months respectively.
Jacques Paradis, who was charged with defrauding the federal government of $58,000, was acquitted earlier last year.
