John Gomery, judge who led inquiry exposing Quebec sponsorship scandal, dead at 88

John Gomery, judge who led inquiry exposing Quebec sponsorship scandal, dead at 88
(Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Retired Quebec Superior Court Justice John Gomery, who became a household name after heading the inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal, has died.

MONTREAL — John Gomery, the judge who led a public inquiry that helped sink a federal government, has died at age 88.

One of his four children, Elizabeth Gomery, confirmed his death late Tuesday night on social media.

“He was a giant, an extraordinary man and a superb father and my heart and whole body aches now that he’s gone,” she wrote on Twitter.

Gomery was a Quebec Superior Court justice when he was named to head an inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal in 2004.

The revelations of kickbacks and illegal fundraising ultimately helped lead to the defeat of the once-dominant Liberal government.

Gomery studied law at McGill University and worked in private practice in Montreal before being named a judge in 1982.

He retired to his farm southwest of Montreal after leaving the bench in 2007, but he remained active in public life.

He leaves behind his four children,

The Canadian PressThe Canadian Press

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