The first person to be criminally convicted in the federal sponsorship scandal won't have to pay for his abuses by going to jail. Instead, in one of his main acts of penitence, he will have to speak out publicly about business ethics and the story of his downfall.
Paul Coffin, the Montreal ad executive who admitted to defrauding the federal government of $1.55-million in ad contracts, was sentenced yesterday to two years less a day, to be served in the community.
His conditions include a 9 p.m. weekday curfew, giving up his Canadian passport and addressing the public on one of the topics at the heart of the sponsorship scandal: ethics in the business world.
His first public act of contrition comes next week when he addresses 180 students at McGill University.
Several business schools in Montreal have also accepted his offer to address students about the error of his ways.
Mr. Coffin, 63, stood stone-faced while hearing his sentence in Quebec Superior Court, then swept past reporters without comment.
In granting a community sentence, Mr. Justice Jean-Guy Boilard accepted the recommendation of Mr. Coffin's lawyers, who raised his clean record and expressions of remorse as mitigating factors.
