L'Industrie de la Corruption

[August1991]

This book is explosive but it has received no notice in English Canada and at most, there have been a few PR interviews in French Canada after its release this past summer. Since then, it seems to have disappeared.

You can download it from Archambault: L'Industrie de la Corruption

It should be translated into English immediately. I think that every federal cabinet minister hould read this book, and anyone ambitious in Canada.

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Sadly, the book is badly written and this detracts from its very serious points. "Badly written?" Let me give four meanings.

1. Punctuation, spelling. Grammatical errors.

2. The book is badly organized. The author discusses Quebec electoral law, then his life in Vermont, and then jumps to his construction projects in Montreal. His footnotes are sad inserts attempting to fix this problem.

3. It is not always clear what the author means to say. Sometimes, I tried to translate the paragraph in my mind (this is a test of clear writing) and I came up nought. I often had to read a paragraph twice, and imagine him saying it to me à vive voix. Then, I think I understood what he meant.

4. The author is logically wrong on occasion. For example, he falsely claims that Lévesque`s party subsidy was worse than Chrétien`s. In fact, there is no practical difference.

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The good?

I havie never read such an honest description of how politics and business mix in a "small society". He could have been describing Newfoundland politics, Bulgaria, or Sri Lanka. When people know one another, this is what happens.

The book is also fascinating because he names names. I didn't know for example that Jean Charest (John James Charest as he presented himself in 1984 when Mulroney named him to the federal cabinet) had a brother who was plumbing contractor with contracts in Quebec hospitals.

A must read.