October 27, 2009

Ottawa won't participate in Quebec construction corruption probe

OTTAWA

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson insists the federal government will not get involved in Quebec’s investigation into Mafia corruption in the construction industry.

Nicholson said Oct. 23 he’s confident the three-year, $26.8-million police investigation called by Premier Jean Charest is “an appropriate way” to handle the issue, even if provincial politicians are implicated in the scandal.

“My understanding is that the government of Quebec has launched an inquiry into this and we’ll leave it at that,” Nicholson told a news conference.

“The administration of justice is within provincial jurisdiction for the most part and so I think things are proceeding as they should.”

The minister did not address the possibility that federal infrastructure money may be involved in the scandal, in which 14 Montreal-area firms are alleged to be involved in a price-fixing scheme.

A retired Quebec bureaucrat-turned-whistleblower has said outside firms would be intimidated and shut out while participating companies would alternately set the bid price on contracts. The rest would then submit higher bids.

The collusion is reported to have driven up the price of public-works projects in the Montreal area by 35 per cent.

Mafia experts have said the practice exists elsewhere in Canada but is particularly worrisome now that Ottawa and the provinces are embarking on the most expensive infrastructure program in Canadian history.

Benoit Labonte, a former borough mayor, has said the city of Montreal’s political structure is “rotten” and “gangrenous” and riddled with Mafia-related corruption.

The province has assembled a unit of specialized officers who will oversee the corruption investigation, dubbed “Operation Hammer.”

-Canadian Press

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