August1991 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 The sad thing about all of this is that the mayor, Gerald Tremblay, will probably get re-elected in November. In some ways, Quebec politics are dysfunctional and for similar reasons, Montreal municipal politics are dysfunctional too. One wouldn't see this elsewhere in Quebec. RCMP officers raided the offices of a major Quebec construction company on Tuesday as part of a corruption investigation that has led to the arrests of two Canada Revenue Agency officials.One of the officials works for a branch of the federal agency that deals with black-market activities, and the other works for a branch that does tax-avoidance probes, the Globe and Mail reported. So far, no charges have been laid. The corruption scheme is alleged to have involved at least one employee who gave favourable treatment to certain companies, reported the CBC's French-language service, Radio-Canada. The Canada Revenue Agency said it will hold a news conference Wednesday to provide more details on the investigation. RCMP and Canada Revenue Agency officials raided the offices of Montreal-based Simard-Beaudry Construction Inc., the largest firm in the business empire of magnate Tony Accurso. CBCFrank Zampino, former city councillor and president of the Montreal executive committee, has confirmed in writing that he spent time on the yacht of Antonio (Tony) Accurso while the businessman was trying to secure a $355-million contract for the installation and management of city water meters. Zampino said he vacationed twice on Accurso's yacht in 2007 while he was the top-ranking councillor in the Tremblay administration. The two-page letter was made public late Thursday by Mayor Gérald Tremblay. Tremblay said his former right-hand man did not "make the best decision" when he opted to take boating trips with Accurso, who happens to be one of Zampino's longtime friends. CTVLes dépenses considérables d'un ex-directeur général de la FTQ-Construction, Jocelyn Dupuis, représentent «un cas individuel, pas collectif», assurent les nouveaux responsables du syndicat.Se présentant devant les médias pour la première fois depuis les révélations explosives de la semaine dernière, les actuels président et directeur général de la FTQ-Construction ont tenu hier à rassurer leurs quelque 70 000 membres. Depuis le 12 novembre dernier, une nouvelle équipe a pris les rênes du syndicat. La Presse The director of the QFL's construction wing, Jocelyn Dupuis, was shown the door last fall after he rang up $125,000 in expenses in the space of six months. The president of the QFL, Michel Arsenault, confirmed last week that Mr. Dupuis' name had also surfaced in a police money-laundering investigation involving organized crime. Then Mr. Arsenault himself was put on the defensive after reports he carried on a cozy relationship with a major Quebec developer. National PostToo many people would prefer to ignore this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdobbin Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 The sad thing about all of this is that the mayor, Gerald Tremblay, will probably get re-elected in November. In some ways, Quebec politics are dysfunctional and for similar reasons, Montreal municipal politics are dysfunctional too. One wouldn't see this elsewhere in Quebec. Only in Montreal? I think you forget about the corruption from 1968 to 1975 in the construction industry in Quebec. It was very widespread and as much as a problem in Quebec City as it was Montreal. I am still confused about what the heck is happening. It may be that the federal government receives quite a black eye from this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August1991 Posted April 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2009 Only in Montreal?[I simply meant that in other municipalities in Quebec, the mayor would not get re-elected. In Montreal, Tremblay may well get re-elected.Montreal is split along a federalist/nationalist divide and along a franco/anglo/allo divide, in addition to all the other divides of any North American city. It is hard to be mayor of Montreal, almost as hard as being PM of Canada. Tremblay is a francophone federalist from NDG who served in Bourassa's cabinet. He is a smooth talker, reassuring. Elsewhere in Quebec, these divides or fractures don't exist. It is in this sense that I say that Montreal politics are dysfunctional. I think you forget about the corruption from 1968 to 1975 in the construction industry in Quebec. It was very widespread and as much as a problem in Quebec City as it was Montreal.The comparison is apt, as is likely the call for another Commission Cliche (in which Mulroney first made his name). But somehow, this is different. IMV, it reminds me more of the 1940s.It may be that the federal government receives quite a black eye from this.According to Wikipedia, Benoît Labonté, the presumed opposition candidate to Tremblay in November, was associated with Mulroney. (Labonté was head of the Montreal Chamber of Commerce. The current head of the Chamber of Commerce is Isabelle Hudon, once Mila Mulroney`s PR person. I digress.)Perhaps more important, Benoît Labonté was once a member of Tremblay`s team. (Montreal has municipal political parties, unaffiliated.) Then he left to form his own team. So, the federal angle? I don't know who is leaking this story but it may well be the feds. I am intrigued that the RCMP have charged several CRA employees. If so, there will be no sympathy outside Montreal for these shenanigans. Harper may be playing a sophisticated card. ---- I haven't followed thsi story closely so I may be wrong. But there are two quotes that struck me. First, Charest has said that he doesn't want a public enquiry: Le premier ministre du Québec ne croit pas qu'il soit nécessaire de tenir une enquête publique sur l'industrie de la construction, malgré les récentes allégations d'infiltration de membres du crime organisé dans ce secteur économique. R-CTo me, this quote means that Charest is afraid that he has lost control of the agenda. (For example, what would happen if Harper called for a federal enquiry?) Second, Michel Arsenault, currently heasd of the FTQ, wanted to solve this problem "internally": Le président de la Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), Michel Arsenault, était «estomaqué» par l'ampleur des notes de frais de Jocelyn Dupuis, l'ex-directeur général de la FTQ-Construction. Il souhaitait régler le problème à l'interne. CyberpresseIOW, what other stories have been solved "internally" before this one happened to see the light of day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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