Quebeckers Confront Corruption

The spirited defence put up by Quebec politicians and journalists, arguing against the Maclean's magazine article that described the province as the most corrupt in Canada, seems to run counter to the underlying public perception by ordinary Quebeckers that indeed, Quebec is a very corrupt place.

Reading the online comments, attached to the articles discussing the story, one would expect the majority of reader opinions to echo the professionals and defend their beloved province, but surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly at all, such was not the case.
Quebeckers remain deeply humiliated by the allegations made by the magazine because most know the charges to be true.

Whether Quebec is the most corrupt province in Canada is largely beside the point, that it is perceived by almost all Quebeckers as extremely corrupt, is entirely the issue.

Quebeckers didn't need the magazine to remind them that corruption is a problem in Quebec, we already knew.
It's more than likely that the article itself was borne from the growing public debate and outrage that has gripped the province over corruption. The issue has become the number one political topic and has far eclipsed even that of sovereignty.

Perhaps the greatest failing of the Maclean's article was to ignore the ongoing public reaction in  Quebec and so leave the impression that it is business as usual.

It is most certainly not!

Quebeckers across all political stripes have been howling for a cleanup. Most believe that Premier Charest's refusal to call an inquiry into the construction industry, perceived by the public to be the most corrupt and corrupting element in Quebec society, is evidence that he and his party have a lot to hide. His calling of an inquiry over the lessor issue of whether undue political influence was brought to bear in the naming of judges was seen as a diversion and even that hasn't worked out that well. While Marc Bellemare, the ex-justice minister who made the allegations of interference, hasn't made a great case for himself, the exposure of the inner machinations of the political party system, it's fundraisers and their influence, even legal, has left a decidedly sour taste in the public's mind.

Corruption has always been around, but it remained hidden from the public under a layer of secrecy, worthy of the mob code of secrecy - 'Omerta'

Frank Zampino

That all changed drastically one day, two years ago, in May, 2008, when Frank Zampino, the City of Montreal's number two elected official and boss of its finances, resigned rather hastily.  LINK

I remember the press conference distinctly because it was the germ that led to me start this blog.

I remarked to my wife how surprised I was that all the reporters attending the news conference, were falling for Mr. Zampino's story that he was retiring to look for new challenges and that he didn't have anything lined up. Not one reporter challenged him.

If there's one thing that I know, (and reporters should know too) it's that 48 year old politicians, with families to support, don't retire at the zenith of their careers for no reason, it just doesn't happen. They retire because they have to, be it a political, sex or corruption scandal or possibly caused by health reasons or a helluva better offer of employment elsewhere. You pick'em.

Tony Accurso

Eventually the truth came out. Zampino was intimately connected to Tony Accurso, a very big wheel in the Quebec construction industry and whose various companies had a dizzying amount of criminal investigations surrounding them. It started with the news that Zampino had vacationed on Accurso's yacht in the Caribbean and escalated when Accurso gave Zampino a job after he left the city.

All this led to the exposure of the 'Water Meter' scandal, whereby it is alleged that Zampino facilitated a bid by an Accurso consortium to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of water meters to the city of Montreal. That contract was eventually cancelled amid cries of corruption.
It's been downhill since then.

Reporters finally started doing their jobs and the long hand of corruption was exposed at almost every level of government.

Benoit Labonté

In light of the Water Meter scandal, the political fortunes of up and comer Benoit Labonté seemed to rise and for a while he looked like the right man to clean house at Montreal City Hall. But alas, he too was exposed as being corrupt himself, having accepted campaign money from none other than one Tony Accurso and then brazenly lying about it before being outed by the press. LINK
It was quite a shocker!

Eric Duhame wrote in the National Post about the dubious connection between unions, politicians and the underworld;

"...in March 2009, a Radio-Canada investigation discovered alleged links between the general-director of the powerful FTQ-Construction, the biggest union of the industry, and the underworld. In September, further investigation uncovered a cost fixing scam among construction companies on public jobs, mainly road construction or repair. It involved bikers intimidating the competition and brown envelopes used to buy politicians and bureaucrats.
Many analysts and commentators started to wonder if such corruption could explain why it costs between 35% and 40% more to build roads in Quebec than in Ontario."

On and on it goes....

Three out of four Quebeckers are demanding that a commission look into the corruption and tens of thousands have signed an online petition.

Premier Charest's attempt to quell the rage hasn't exactly worked out.

He hired ex-Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau to head a team to investigate the 15,000 yearly contracts given out by the Ministry of Transport.

But it seems even that has turned sour.
Ethical questions have been raised over Mr. Duchesneau's departure as head of CATSA,  the government organization that screens passengers in federal airports. 

Apparently, he was pushed out as president.

"His abrupt exit came a day after a CATSA board meeting. Directors talked for 40 minutes by telephone before passing a resolution -- now kept secret by the government -- and just six months after his contract was renewed until 2010, the documents show." LINK

Here's a full account explaining why he was let go in a LCN report in French.

Here's a somewhat more abbreviated version in English.
In another blow to Mr. Duchesneau's reputation, an investigative report in June, claims irregularities in the campaign financing of his unsuccessful 1998 run for the mayorship of Montreal. LINK

At any rate, it seems that the Premier was unaware of all this at the time of the hiring  and now insiders tell me that he has completely lost confidence in Duchesneau. Suffice to say that things are not going well.

All these public revelations, as well as the Maclean's article. have contributed to the impression that Quebeckers are more dishonest than other Canadians, a perception that despite the prima facie evidence, I contend is not true.

I shall write about that in another post, but if you visit Quebec and get stopped by a cop for speeding, I wouldn't recommend offering him a bribe. You'll be sadly surprised at his reaction and might even find yourself behind bars.