Corruption probe nets Quebec politician
QUEBEC — A long-serving member of the Quebec legislature who was also in the provincial police force for about three decades was arrested Wednesday by the province’s anti-corruption unit, according to a government source.
The source told the Canadian Press that Guy Ouellette, 65, was arrested in connection with an investigation by Quebec’s anticorruption unit, known as UPAC, into an information leak to the media last April.
News of the arrest was first reported by the Montreal newspaper La Presse.
Ouellette’s arrest is allegedly linked to a UPAC probe called Machurer, which looked into suspected illegal financing within the provincial Liberal party under former leader Jean Charest.
UPAC has been investigating leaks from within the organization.
The April leak revealed UPAC had been investigating the comings and goings of Charest and Liberal fundraiser Marc Bibeau up until 2016.
A news organization had published emails dating from 2011 between Bibeau; Jean-Louis Dufresne, the former chief of staff to Premier Philippe Couillard; and Hugo d’Amour, a spokesman for Charest. In the emails, a contract to repair a Montreal-area bridge was discussed.
Ouellette came out publicly in April to denounce the major information leak that was given to a Montreal news organization and which proved embarrassing to the Liberals.
He said at the time he was “disgusted by the situation, disgusted by all these leaks, disgusted by all these conflicts of interest.”
Ouellette, who has represented the Montreal-area riding of Chomedey since 2007, was head of the legislature committee that recently held hearings into the leaks.