INTRIGUE, LEAKS AND QUESTIONS
Inside the police-vs.-Liberals scandal is a murky mess of motives, accusations and denials, writes Andy Riga.
Is it about camouflage pants, Pierre Karl Péladeau’s revenge or a governing political party corrupt to the core?
Here’s a look at the leaks, intrigue and unanswered questions that have marked the growing police vs. Liberal government scandal over the past two weeks.
Q What was the biggest bombshell?
A Québecor media outlets on April 24 reported that Quebec’s anti-corruption unit UPAC investigated former premier Jean Charest and top party fundraiser Marc Bibeau as part of a corruption probe — code-named Mâchurer — into possible illegal financing by the Liberal party in exchange for public contracts for construction and engineering firms.
The leak was a treasure trove of official documents, including files on Charest and Bibeau, as well as a list of flights taken by Charest and an “illegal political financing” flowchart that featured Charest, though his alleged role was not specified. No charges were laid.
Testifying before a National Assembly committee on Thursday, UPAC commissioner Robert Lafrenière confirmed the leak came from UPAC, calling the disclosure a criminal act. He vowed to hunt down the person who leaked the information. Lafrenière said the Mâchurer investigation continues, though he did not reveal details. Who leaked the information — and what was the goal of the leak?
Q Were Liberal MNAs under investigation?
A Yves Francoeur, head of Montreal’s police union, claimed in a radio interview with Paul Arcand of 98.5 FM on April 27 that prosecutors had enough evidence in 2012 to charge two Liberal MNAs, one of whom remains in the legislature, but, under the order of superiors, did not do so to protect the government. He said the case involved alleged fraud and influence-peddling related to Liberal party financing and a real-estate developer linked to a member of the Italian Mafia. The topic of the interview with Arcand wasn’t about corruption — it was about the Liberal government legislation that would end a police pressure tactic that involves cops wearing camouflage pants.
On Thursday, Lafrenière said UPAC looked into Francoeur’s allegations and found no evidence of the investigation. He said UPAC twice tried to reach Francoeur after the interview, but was unable to.
On Tuesday, five days after Francoeur’s allegations, Annick Murphy, Quebec’s director of criminal prosecutions, announced the Sûreté du Québec will investigate Francoeur’s allegations. The police union on Thursday said Francoeur has met with SQ investigators. Why didn’t Francoeur reveal what he knew to UPAC earlier? And why did it take Murphy so long to launch a probe?
Q How about Liberal party officials?
A On Wednesday, Le Journal de Montréal suggested that Violette Trépanier, head of Liberal fundraising between 2001 and 2013, did not tell the truth about her activities when she testified at the Charbonneau corruption inquiry in 2014. At the time, she said she did not play a role in helping party friends land appointments to the boards of government bodies. Le Journal published emails that it says contradict that contention and other Trépanier testimony. If Trépanier did indeed not tell the truth, did any current Liberal MNAs and ministers know about her actions when she was at the party?
Q Is it true the Liberal government tried to give a safe seat to the head of Montreal’s police union?
A Radio-Canada reported on Tuesday that in early 2017 the Liberal party offered Francoeur a safe Liberal seat in the next provincial election. That seat — Marguerite-Bourgeoys — happens to have a sitting MNA: Robert Poëti. A former police officer himself, Poëti lost his job as transport minister in 2016. Afterwards, Poëti complained that he had hired an independent analyst to help him clean up the transport department, but was kicked out of cabinet by Premier Philippe Couillard before he had time to see her report. With its multibilliondollar budget, Transport Quebec awards the most public contracts in the government.
Québecor media outlets reported that it was high-profile Liberal Patrice Ryan who made the offer. Francoeur confirmed he was approached by the Liberals (he said he quickly rejected the idea). But the Liberal government has denied it was looking for someone to replace Poëti in the next election. If a Liberal did indeed court Francoeur, was the aim to keep him silent on corruption, or to finally get rid of Poëti once and for all?
Q What does all this have to do with pants?
A The timing of the leaks coincides with the Couillard government’s decision to introduce legislation that will compel police officers to wear their full uniforms. Under the new law, announced on March 29 and tabled on April 27, cops who continue the pressure tactic could face fines of up to $3,000 per day.
Angry over a law that rolls back pension plans for municipal employees, Montreal police officers have been wearing camouflage and other types of pants since 2014. Did the leaks start in retaliation for the trouser clamp-down? Did the Liberal government delay the legislation — it first made noises about it in 2015 — because it was afraid of the police backlash?
Q Didn’t Pierre Karl Péladeau retire from politics?
A The former Parti Québécois leader returned to the helm of Québecor as CEO in February. Several of the police-related leaks have come from Québecor, which owns Le Journal de Montréal, Quebec’s mostread newspaper, and the TVA television network, the province’s most-watched. Péladeau tweeted one of the Journal stories about Charest, praising the “essential” work of his company’s investigative team. And last week, Péladeau toured the investigative team’s offices in Quebec City. Treasury Board president Pierre Moreau lashed out at Québecor on Wednesday, suggesting its reporters jumped to conclusions in its Trépanier reporting. La Presse also questioned the reporting and noted that Québecor has significantly beefed up its staff in Quebec City to cover the Liberal government.
In a column headlined Journalistic Jealousies, Journal columnist Antoine Robitaille this week defended Québecor, noting the company is investing in investigative journalism while other media outlets are cutting back on reporters. Robitaille also said Péladeau plays no role in deciding which stories to cover.
Q Haven’t the police also been hit by scandals?
A The Chamberland public inquiry is investigating Quebec police forces that spied on reporters to root out officers leaking information. And Montreal’s police force has had to transfer all ongoing internal affairs investigations to the SQ after allegations that officers fabricated evidence to silence whistleblowers who had details of corruption within the force.
Montreal’s police force has had to transfer all ongoing internal affairs investigations to the SQ.