Payment scandal touches Trudeau's new cabinet

The newly-elected Canadian government of Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is already being shaken by scandal, reports Monitor contributor David Milne. An investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has revealed that Gerald Regan, federal minister of labor, accepted questionable payments from October 1965 to at least 1976, during which he served as Liberal Party leader in Nova Scotia and provincial premier.

The payments, intended to supplement his relatively modest official salary, came from businesses through the Liberal Party in Nova Scotia. The RCMP investigation showed that about 50 businesses in the area had made such contributions to the Liberal and Conservative parties for a number of years. RCMP documents showed that payments to Mr. Regan, which ranged from $6,000 to $ 13,000 (Canadian) and wer channeled through a Halifax accounting firm.