Letters spell out alleged misdeeds
The Charbonneau commission’s bark was worse than its bite.
The corruption inquiry sent out hundreds of “notices of blame” to individuals and companies, warning they might be singled out in its final report. In the end, however, no one was singled out and the warning letters were never made public.
But after the commission issued its report, it published lawyers’ response letters from some of those who received the notices. Some spell out the alleged misdeeds for which those people and companies thought they might be reproached.
Here is a look at some of what we learned about four people and one company.
GÉRALD TREMBLAY, FORMER MONTREAL MAYOR
Notice: Ignored links between political donations and Montreal municipal contracts, and had heard that his Union Montreal party’s lead fundraiser, Bernard Trépanier, was collecting three per cent of the value of contracts to bankroll the party.
Response: Tremblay denies any wrongdoing. His lawyer suggests he is a “collateral victim” of the commission, at which he was unjustly tarnished. In a 6,500-word response, Tremblay rebuts the 13 points in the commission’s notice. On being reproached for not doing anything about contract kickbacks going to his party, for example, Tremblay said he was never informed of the practice. The former mayor says he heard “vague” rumours about the practice in 2008 or 2009. The rumours were published by newspapers at the time. Despite that, “not only Mr. Tremblay but nobody, including the police, was able to intervene if such a practice was taking place. It would be more accurate to say that in view of the
rumours, absolutely nobody was able to act.”
Quote from the response: “No one has questioned the honesty of Mr. Tremblay.”
Commission report: Tremblay “took few initiatives” to require that city employees and senior officials meet the highest integrity standards. “He only took actions when scandals broke, or when he feared they might explode.”
PAULINE MA ROIS, FORMER QUEBEC PREMIER
Notice: As leader of the Parti Québécois, she permitted the use of “sectorial fundraising” (targeting construction and engineering companies for donations to the party), and she did not monitor party fundraisers who allowed “a certain proximity between political financing and the granting and management of public construction contracts.”
Response: Marois denies any wrongdoing. As party leader, she played no “surveillance” role when it came to fundraising. She says the party did not target certain industries for fundraising, noting that the PQ relies heavily on donations by party members. If individual PQ members took part in illegal activities, they were isolated cases without Marois’ knowledge. Marois pressed the Liberal government to hold an inquiry into corruption and to now blame her would be “paradoxical, counter-productive and unjust.”
Quote from the response: “She served Quebec for many years with integrity and irreproachable honesty. ... It is simply inconceivable that the commission intends to draw negative conclusions against her.”
Commission report: The commission found that some of the PQ’s fundraising activities contravened the spirit of Quebec’s election law.
MARC BIBEAU, FUNDRAISER, LIBERAL PARTY OF QUEBEC
Notice: Used his position at the Liberal Party of Quebec to influence the doling out of contracts in exchange for political donations, among other things.
Response: Bibeau denied all of the commission’s conclusions regarding his activities. He complained that he was never given a chance to testify publicly and the commission ignored testimony Bibeau gave to the commission under oath, behind closed doors.
Quote from the response: “The extremely serious unfavourable conclusions being contemplated against Mr. Bibeau would seriously damage his reputation and leave a major stigma. ... We respectfully submit that the commission did not fulfill its duty of procedural fairness to Mr. Bibeau."
Commission report: Bibeau played a leading role in Liberal fundraising that targeted construction and engineering companies in activities that contravened the spirit of Quebec’s election law.
NATHALIE NORMAN DE AU, FORMER QUEBEC DEPUTY-PREMIER
Notice: No details revealed, but suggests she was involved in misconduct.
Response: Normandeau denied any wrongdoing. In her testimony at the commission, she was “frank, accurate and complete.” Normandeau “respected all laws and regulations (and) at all times an impermeable wall was erected to appropriately separate her roles of minister” and Liberal party member.
Quote from the response: “There is no evidence casting a shadow on her testimony. There is no evidence to cast doubt on her credibility and reliability.”
Commission report: Normandeau’s testimony illustrated Liberal party “double talk” about fundraising activities involving construction and engineering firms. “When it comes to attracting contributors to party activities, Liberal fundraisers did not hesitate to promise direct access to decision-makers (the premier and ministers). However, when questioned about this process, the ministers argue that donors did not derive any benefit.”
SNC-LAVALIN, ENGINEERING COMPANY
Notice: Thirteen unfavourable conclusions, including being involved in collusion with other engineering companies, financing former mayor Gérald Tremblay’s party in return for municipal contracts, giving gifts to Montreal and Transport Quebec ofcials in exchange for contract favours and breaking political financing rules.
Response: Denies wrongdoing. Complains that the commission’s work has been characterized by “a lack of consistency (and) perhaps rigour.” In response to one of the conclusions, the company suggests that it wasn’t part of a secret pact to deceive the city under former mayor Tremblay. Instead, the “system set up by the city of Montreal together with the political party in power looks much more like a form of blackmail by which they cashed in on political power via the awarding of municipal contracts.”
Quote from the response: “The potential unfavourable conclusions contained in the notice are incorrect. They are not based on any conclusive evidence whatsoever, and in some cases are not even supported by any evidence presented at the hearings.”
Commission report: The company’s employees contributed far more than any other engineering firm to provincial political parties between 1998 and 2011. They donated more than $2.5 million, with more than half going to the Liberals. The three companies whose employees contributed the most generously (SNC-Lavalin, Dessau and CIMA +) received the most Transport Quebec contracts.