OTTAWA — In his long-awaited first report, Justice John Gomery says former prime minister Jean Chretien and his closest advisers must shoulder most of the responsibility for the sponsorship spending fiasco that Gomery describes as "a depressing story of greed, venality and misconduct."

But Gomery "exonerates" Prime Minister Paul Martin and other members of Chretien's Quebec cabinet, saying they didn't know about the program because it was shrouded in "a veil of secrecy."

Following are the major findings of Part I of the report from the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities headed by Justice John Gomery.

These findings are described in more detail in a three-volume report released Tuesday that runs in total to more than a thousand pages.

On former prime minister Jean Chretien and his chief of staff Jean Pelletier:

Gomery characterizes Chretien as the architect of the program and his chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, as the man who implemented it.

"They are to be blamed for omissions. Since Mr. Chretien chose to run the Program from his own office, and to have his own exempt staff take charge of its direction, he is accountable for the defective manner in which the Sponsorship Program and initiatives were implemented. Mr. Pelletier, for whom Mr. Chretien was responsible, failed to take the most elementary precautions against mismanagement."

On Prime Minister Paul Martin:

"There is no basis for attributing blame or responsibility to any other Minister of the Chretien cabinet, since they, like all members of Parliament, were not informed of the initiatives being authorized by (Chretien's chief of staff Jean) Pelletier. (Prime Minister Paul) Martin, whose role as finance minister did not involve him in the supervision of spending by the (Prime Minister's Office or Public Works), is entitled, like other ministers in the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated from any blame for carelessness or misconduct."

There is no credible evidence that Martin, as finance minister for the Chretien administration, sought to steer sponsorship business to advertising executive Claude Boulay, who worked on his campaign for the Liberal leadership in 1990.

On former public works minister and senior Liberal organizer in Quebec, Alfonso Gagliano:

Gomery didn't accept Gagliano's testimony that he offered only advice and suggestions.

"The evidence is overwhelming that Mr. Gagliano was a hands-on manager who took a great interest in the Sponsorship Program and an active part in its direction. He is reluctant to accept responsibility for the errors committed in the course of that administration and the political interference which his decision-making constituted."

On Jacques Corriveau, former vice-president of Liberal Party in Quebec

"Jacques Corriveau was the central figure in an elaborate kickback scheme by which he enriched himself personally and provided funds and benefits to the (Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec)," Gomery said.

On Michel Beliveau, executive-director of the Liberal Party's Quebec wing

Beliveau and three others "deserve to be blamed for their misconduct, whether or not they derived personal profit from the money that passed through their hands."

Major Findings

• Clear evidence of political involvement in the administration of the sponsorship program.
• Insufficient oversight at the very senior levels of the public service that allowed program managers to circumvent proper contracting procedures and reporting lines.
• A veil of secrecy surrounding the administration of the sponsorship program and an absence of transparency in the contracting process.
• Reluctance, for fear of reprisal, by some public servants to go against the will of managers who had access to senior political officials.
• Gross overcharging by communication agencies for hours worked and goods and services provided.
• Inflated commissions, production costs, and other expenses charged by communication agencies and their subcontractors, many of which were related businesses.
• The use of the sponsorship program for purposes other than national unity or federal visibility because of a lack of objectives, criteria and guidelines for the program.
• Deliberate actions to avoid compliance with federal legislation and policies, such as the Canada Elections Act, the Lobbyists Registration Act and the Access to Information Act.
• A complex web of transactions among Public Works and Government Services Canada, Crown Corporations and communication agencies, involving kickbacks and illegal contributions to a political party in the context of the sponsorship program.
• Five agencies that received large sponsorship contracts regularly channelling money, via legitimate donations or unrecorded cash gifts, to political fundraising activities in Quebec, with the expectation of receiving lucrative government contracts.
• Certain agencies carrying individuals on their payrolls, who were, in effect, working on Liberal Party matters.
• The existence of a "culture of entitlement" among political officials and bureaucrats involved with the sponsorship program, including the receipt of monetary and non-monetary benefits.
• A pattern of activity whereby a public servant in retirement did extensive business with former recipients of sponsorship program contracts.
• The refusal of ministers, senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office and public servants to acknowledge their responsibility for the problems of mismanagement that occurred.