Charbonneau Commission
The Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry (French: Commission d'enquête sur l'octroi et la gestion des contrats publics dans l'industrie de la construction, also known as the Charbonneau Commission) was a public inquiry in Quebec, Canada into potential corruption in the management of public construction contracts.
The commission was enacted on 19 October 2011 by the provincial Liberal government of Jean Charest, and was chaired by Justice France Charbonneau.[1] The mandate of the Committee was to:
- Examine the existence of schemes and, where appropriate, to paint a portrait of activities involving collusion and corruption in the provision and management of public contracts in the construction industry (including private organizations, government enterprises and municipalities) and to include any links with the financing of political parties.
- Paint a picture of possible organized crime infiltration in the construction industry.
- Examine possible solutions and make recommendations establishing measures to identify, reduce and prevent collusion and corruption in awarding and managing public contracts in the construction industry.[2]
The commission completed its work on 25 November 2015. It led to the resignation of Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay, as well as the arrests and respective convictions and guilty pleas of interim Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum and Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.
Testimony
At the Charbonneau inquiry, an "ex-construction boss said that for years, three per cent of the value of all contracts he received from the city of Montreal went to the mayor's party, and another one per cent, known as "la taxe à Surprenant," went to a city official."[3]
In 2009 the president of the construction division at
In September 2012, American
Witnesses detailed a system of bid-rigging that saw a cartel of engineering and construction firms obtain public contracts from the city of Montreal in exchange for political donations. Collusion in the construction industry extended across the river to the city of
Julie Boulet, the Quebec Minister of Transport during the Liberal government of Jean Charest, contradicted herself when she denied her previous day's testimony that she was well aware of the requirement that cabinet ministers needed to raise funds annually in the amount $100,000. That is, in order to obtain and maintain a cabinet-level job in Quebec one must be able to provide or shepherd $100,000 in campaign contributions.[9]
Unité permanente anti-corruption (UPAC)
By July 2018, Quebec's Unité permanente anti-corruption (UPAC)—anti-corruption police force—which was established in 2011, had 114 convictions. UPAC prosecutors had laid "criminal charges against 331 people and companies".[10] The UPAC undertook investigations stemming from testimonies from the Charbonneau Commission. Convictions from these investigations included those related to "operation Lauréat", former-Mayors Gilles Vaillancourt, Gérald Tremblay, and Michael Applebaum.
According to a November 28, 2018 Global News report, UPAC Officer Jean-Frédérick Gagnon, told the inquiry in 2014 that "operation Lauréat" was an investigation into "the biggest corruption fraud in Canadian history"
In October 2012 police searched two residences owned by then-mayor of Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt, as well as municipal buildings, and safety deposit boxes rented by Vaillancourt. On 24 October Vaillancourt announced that he would be temporarily leaving his function as mayor for health reasons. On 9 November he resigned as mayor, denying all of the corruption allegations against him. On May 9, 2013 he was arrested at his home by the police and charged with gangsterism.[12]
Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay resigned on November 5, 2012 as a direct result of revelations made in the Commission.[13]
As a result of the testimonies by witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission, on June 17, 2013 Montréal interim mayor Michael Applebaum was arrested on charges of
In popular culture
Charbonneau (portrayed by Claudia Ferri) and the commission was portrayed in the television drama series Bad Blood, which debuted in 2017, surrounding the Rizzuto crime family.
See also
References
- ^ "Commission d'enquête sur l'octroi et la gestion des contrats publics dans l'industrie de la construction: La Commission". Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- ^ "Commission d'enquête sur l'octroi et la gestion des contrats publics dans l'industrie de la construction: Mandat". Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- ISSN 2817-5069.
- ^ Hamilton, Graeme (May 22, 2014). "SNC-Lavalin VP says he was given 'no choice' but to cheat on hospital proposal". National Post.
- ^ "Arthur Porter: timeline of a corruption scandal by Roberto Rocha". The Gazette. 2011-11-10. Archived from the original on 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
- ^ cjad.com: "Arthur Porter wants out of prison" 27 Mar 2014
- ^ "'Donnie Brasco' testifies at Quebec corruption inquiry". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-04-22. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ Van Praet, Nicolas (March 18, 2013). "SNC-Lavalin bid-rigging scam extended beyond Montreal, exec tells inquiry". Financial Post. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ "Boulet maintient qu'elle ignorait l'objectif de 100 000 $". La Presse Canadienne (in French). 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2023-12-03.lapresse.ca: "Boulet maintient qu'elle ignorait l'objectif de 100 000 $" 15 May 2014
- ^ Perreaux, Les (July 4, 2018). "Quebec's anti-corruption crusade has resulted in many arrests but few convictions. Here's what has happened so far". The Globe and Mail. Montreal. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ Valiante, Giuseppe (November 28, 2018). "MUHC deserves the millions in criminal's bank account: lawyer". Global News. Montreal. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "Laval mayor resigns amid corruption allegations". Montreal: CBC News. 2012-11-09. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay resigns amid Charbonneau Commission corruption allegations". National Post. November 5, 2012.
- ^ "Mayor of Montreal arrested". Associated Press. June 17, 2013. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Bernstien, Jaela; Shingler, Benjamin (January 26, 2017). "Ex-Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum found guilty of 8 corruption-related charges". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ Woods, Allan; Sher, Julian (June 17, 2013). "Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum charged with 14 offences". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 21, 2019.