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Quebecers Should Encourage Whistle-Blowing: Charbonneau the Canadian Press Statement

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Quebecers Should Encourage Whistle-Blowing: Charbonneau the Canadian Press Statement 16 Canada WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2014 Quebecers should encourage whistle-blowing: Charbonneau The Canadian Press statement. crats, engineering executives and tainly not jump to the conclusion “Laws and regulations are not construction bosses about wide- that all companies and everyone MONTREAL — The judge who enough to overcome collusion and spread collusion aimed at hiking who works for them are dishon- spearheaded the Quebec probe corruption, so that’s why we must the price of contracts. est,” said the Superior Court jus- into systemic wrongdoing in the all do our bit. We must seize the Various witnesses revealed that tice who has to submit her report province’s construction industry opportunity to change things for companies, the Mafia, political by next April 19. urged all citizens on Friday to do the benefit of everyone.” parties and crooked bureaucrats Allegations at the commission their part to fight corruption and The Charbonneau Commission, all benefited from the proceeds. claimed the careers of many engi- collusion. which then-premier Jean Charest But Charbonneau emphasized neers and city employees and one “Whistle-blowing must no lon- created in late 2011 amid sus- the importance of not casting the major municipal figure – Montre- ger be viewed as an act of betrayal tained public and political pres- entire construction industry in a al’s mayor, Gerald Tremblay. but needs to be strongly encour- sure, went on to shed light on the bad light. Tremblay, who was faced with aged as a gesture of great loyalty construction industry and its ties CHARBONNEAU “We want to point out that damning testimony from a party to companies, the civil service to organized crime and political while the stratagems we heard aide, resigned in November 2012. and society as a whole,” France parties. in May 2012 were followed by about tainted the construction He later defended himself before Charbonneau said in her closing Charbonneau’s opening remarks startling testimony from bureau- industry as a whole, we must cer- the inquiry after allegations he turned a blind eye to the financing of his municipal party. The anti-corruption climate also killed the political career of Laval’s mayor, Gilles Vaillancourt, who quit following corruption- related criminal allegations. His abrupt departure after more than two decades at the helm of Que- bec’s third largest city came just days after Tremblay’s. The first witness to drop a bombshell was Lino Zambito, an ex-construction boss who faces corruption-related charges. He testified for days about his personal involvement with a bid-rigging cartel, a Mafia tax on projects and corrupt city officials who accepted kickbacks. Another high point was the testimony of powerful former construction mogul Antonio Ac- curso. He insisted he didn’t cater to organized crime figures or woo politicians for favours on The Touch – his now-famous luxury yacht. At the provincial level, testi- mony revealed that engineering firms pumped cash into political parties through middlemen – despite laws banning corporate donations. The highest-ranking former politician to appear was ex-deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau, whose name had been mentioned frequently during testimony. She was accused of benefiting from illegal financing, accept- ing gifts and favouring funding for projects involving firms that donated heavily to the Quebec Liberal party. Normandeau testified and denied any wrongdoing, refuting allegations she received gifts like Celine Dion concert tickets and roses from Zambito. The inquiry also looked into the Quebec Federation of Labour’s construction wing, which had been infiltrated by organized crime. Testimony surfaced about a wiretap where union bosses al- leged they had a deal with the husband of then-Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois to stop the inquiry from taking place. Marois and spouse Claude Blan- chet denied the allegation but the question haunted her during this year’s election campaign, which ended with the PQ getting ham- mered by the Liberals. Hints of the influence of Vito Rizzuto, the reputed Mafia boss who died in December 2013, also emerged. The inquiry heard how Rizzuto once helped decide who should win a certain bid for a road project in Quebec. Zambito testified he was once invited to a restaurant owned by his competitor and, sitting there as a mediator, was Rizzuto himself. The Mafia kingpin suggested Zambito didn’t have the expertise for the job, so he decided not to bid on the contract. Police video of Mafia backroom dealings was played at the inqui- ry, including memorable footage of Nicolo Rizzuto Sr., Vito’s father, at meetings with construction-in- dustry players where he received wads of cash and stuffed them into his socks. Even an FBI legend, the officer who famously passed himself off to mobsters as “Donnie Brasco,” dropped by the inquiry. Joseph Pistone’s appearance, where he was hidden behind a screen, served as a primer on the Mafia’s long-standing infiltration of the construction industry. Professor extradited The Canadian Press OTTAWA — An Ottawa sociol- ogy professor has been extradited to France for questioning about the 1980 bombing of a Paris syna- gogue after a Supreme Court of Canada decision clearing the way for his removal. Donald Pratt with the Hassan Diab Support Committee confirms Diab left Canada around 5:30 a.m. Friday. The Supreme Court said Thurs- day it would not hear Diab’s ap- peal of the extradition order..
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