Not long after (quietly) announcing an agreement to open new production facilities in China and then tabling overly optimistic revenue expectations, several key Nortel managers cash in their stock options at a very profitable and overly inflated premium prior to reporting actual profits. The ensuing sell-off prompts the Toronto Stock Exchange to cancel trading at least once and Nortel ultimately lays off roughly 40,000 employees and cripples the stock portfolios of a lot more Canadians, most of them pensioners or soon to be retired – which is exactly what those Nortel managers are today; although their nest eggs are apt to be a little more intact than ours.
Runner Up: In an attempt to distance himself from the Shawinigate scandal, Prime Minister Jean Cretien eliminates the middle-man by identifying Shawinigan in the return address labels on most Canadian income tax returns.