Anti-corruption unit ends probe of Quebec Liberals

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This article was published 27/02/2022 (1033 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL – Former Quebec premier Jean Charest on Monday welcomed the end of an investigation by the province’s anti-corruption police into alleged illegal party financing of the Quebec Liberals under his leadership.

Calling the probe “senseless,” Quebec’s premier between 2003 and 2012 issued a statement saying the investigation was for him and his family “an injustice imposed on us for almost eight years of our lives.”

The news came as Charest collects support from across Canada to run for the leadership of the federal Conservative party to replace Erin O’Toole.

Earlier in the day, the police force known as UPAC issued a news release stating it ended the probe that began in 2014 after its director, Frédérick Gaudreau, sought and received a legal opinion from the prosecutor’s office on what to do about the case.

“Considering the legal opinion obtained as well as all the rigour and resources already invested in this investigation, (Gaudreau) considers that there is no reason to pursue it and therefore puts an end to it,” the release said.

UPAC officers interviewed more than 300 witnesses for the investigation, dubbed Mâchurer, to determine whether the Liberals under Charest committed crimes in connection with party financing activities between 2001 and 2012. The anti-corruption unit investigated an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving some of the biggest construction companies in Quebec, with industry officials saying they felt pressure to donate or risk losing influence with the Liberal government at the time.

Charest, who was Liberal leader from 1998 to 2012, was never charged and has always maintained his innocence.

He sued the Quebec government in 2020, blaming the province’s anti-corruption police for leaking personal information to the media, including his finances, passport information and details of his trips across the United States border. The lawsuit filed in Montreal is seeking $1 million in punitive damages and $50,000 in moral damages.

Charest did not return a request for interview on Monday.

The end of the investigation is good timing for Charest and for the upcoming federal Conservative leadership election, said Olivier Jacques, assistant professor at Université de Montréal who is an expert in political science.

Charest was considering running for the Tory leadership in 2020 but had the UPAC investigation weighing over him, Jacques said in an interview.

The former Quebec premier eventually decided against running in the last leadership race, citing his busy career as a lawyer and strategic adviser.

“The investigation was also one of the reasons why he decided to not be a candidate back then,” Jacques said.

Charest, who was leader of the federal Progressive Conservatives from 1993 to 1998 before entering provincial politics, has received big-name support to run for the Tories — including from Tory MP Gerard Deltell, critic for the Department of Innovation.

Jacques said he believes the Conservatives under Charest would win more seats in Quebec than with MP Pierre Poilievre, the only person who has officially entered the race so far. But Charest might not do as well in other provinces, Jacques said.

“He’s a Quebecer considered to be corrupt,” he said. “This is something that could harm him considerably.”

Quebec Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade issued a tweet on Monday, saying her party, its volunteers and its members deserve an apology for the nearly eight-year investigation.

Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault on Monday said the government wouldn’t comment on UPAC’s decision because of the ongoing lawsuit by Charest. “It is up to UPAC to explain its decision,” Guilbault said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 28, 2022.

— With files from Caroline Plante.