Tag: Charbonneau Commission

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The making of an informed people

Image via Flickr.
Image via Flickr.

They don’t have the power to put criminals behind bars. They don’t have the power to take people to court. They certainly don’t have the power to accuse witnesses of wrongdoing. However the Charbonneau Commission has the ability to inform the people and in a society like ours, an informed people is the greatest power of all.

“The commission’s investigations are going well, in terms of one of the purposes of the commission, which was to make public the corruption in Montreal,” said Marcel Danis, Concordia University professor, lawyer, and former politician, in an interview with The Concordian.

The Charbonneau Commission was created by Jean Charest’s Liberal party on Oct. 19, 2011. As I look at the past year, I must say, I’m fairly impressed with the work this commission has done. As a result of the testimonies made by witnesses on the stand at the commission, two major Quebec politicians, Gerald Tremblay, now ex-Montreal mayor, and Gilles Vaillancourt, ex-Laval mayor, have resigned amid corruption allegations.

This is what Montreal’s corrupt construction industry, and the system as a whole, needs; a fresh start. The Charbonneau Commission, chaired by Justice France Charbonneau is doing just that. Although they don’t have the power, like I said, to accuse people in court, they have shed substantial light on the process in which public contracts are given out, and many politicians, Vaillancourt and Tremblay among them, were ratted out in the process.

The commission, however, does have certain drawbacks. Not only can they not make arrests, but witnesses who testify are completely protected. This, according to Danis, has pushed many people to come and testify.

“One of the bad things about the commission is that when someone goes to testify at the commission, what they say cannot be used against them,” said Danis. “That’s why some police officers were against the fact of creating the commission in the first place.”

However, one must not focus on that aspect of the commission, because it seriously undermines what the commission is actually doing, which is more valuable; scaring corruption out of the industry.

Lino Zambito, ex-construction boss and one of the more popular witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission, said it himself that the “process really hasn’t been the same lately.” People are finally aware of how corrupt the process was, and measures are being put in place to try and fix the system. This, all thanks to the commission.

“There’s no doubt that one of the good things of the commission is that it will scare people who are civil servants to work in the city of Montreal,” said Danis. “They’re more likely to be very careful at least for a number of years.”

According to Danis, prices for public contracts have dropped substantially since 2009, having “gone down between 25 and 30 per cent for sewer work and sidewalk work.”

More importantly, the commission is enlightening the people. Montreal is littered with corrupt politicians and a large mafia. Joe Pistone, also known as Donnie Brasco, infiltrated the New York mafia in the 1970s and ‘80s, and was invited to testify at the Charbonneau Commission. His experience has taught him a lot about the inner workings of the mafia, and he put it simply enough.

“Without that corruption, they really can’t operate,” said Pistone. “And as soon as the public realizes that, it lessens the impact that the mafia can have on us.”

Montreal needs to get back on track as one of the best cities in North America. The first step is by cleaning up our streets, and we have the Charbonneau Commission to thank for the progress we’ve made this year.

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Corruption by the numbers

Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Photo by Madelayne Hajek

24-25 – The number, in billions, awarded in public contracts every year by the provincial government.

1 – The anti-corruption bill tabled by the Parti Québécois in an effort to eliminate collusion in the public sector and clean up municipal offices. To ensure that the public tendering of contracts is fair, the provincial government’s legislation aims to subject companies to a screening process to prove they are honest and free of corruption.

2 – The number of mayors who resigned as a result of the testimonies implicating them in the Charbonneau Commission. Following allegations of corruption within the Union Montreal, Gérald Tremblay stepped down from his position of the mayor of Montreal Nov. 5 following an extended vacation. Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt ended a 23-year career when he stepped down Friday, Nov. 9.

2.5 – Construction boss Lino Zambito accused Vaillancourt of taking 2.5 per cent of every public contract for his own gain. According to Zambito’s testimony, Vaillancourt pocketed the money as kickbacks.

76, 83, 45 – In a Léger Marketing poll for the Journal de Montréal Oct. 31, with a total number of 629 participants, 76 per cent felt it was necessary for Tremblay to resign. Additionally, 83 per cent felt Tremblay’s budget proposal for 2013 including an increase in municipal taxes by 3.3 per cent was unacceptable and 45 per cent of participants felt it was impossible to eliminate the Mafia’s presence in the construction industry in Quebec.

99 – The difference of votes that saw Vision Montréal’s Cindy Leclerc win a byelection in Rivière-des-Prairies Nov. 11 over Union Montréal’s Nino Colavecchio. The results mean that Union Montréal will have less power in City Hall after its opposition campaigned heavily on integrity. Approximately 21 per cent of the borough’s population voted in the byelection.

$700,000 – The approximate total in thousands of dollars that retired city engineer, Gilles Surprenant, received in bribes. Initially, Surprenant testified to taking $600,000 in kickbacks and blowing a portion of it gambling but the actual number was closer to $700,000.

91 – The number of contracts that Surprenant worked on during his career as a city engineer. Throughout a nine-year period spanning from 2000 to 2009, Surprenant fixed a total of 91 contracts and the cost of public works initiatives and projects rose by as much as 35 per cent.

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Gérald Tremblay steps down

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay announced his resignation from office due to ongoing allegations of corruption on Monday evening.

Tremblay held the press conference at 7 p.m. but met with councillors from his party at city hall hours before he officially stepped down.

Tremblay said he dedicated himself to the success of Montreal and he denied allegations of misconduct, specifically those made recently at the Charbonneau Commission relating to his own party.

“Under these circumstances, I cannot help anymore,” said Tremblay. “The success of the city is much more important than my personal interests.”

Several executives of Union Montreal, the mayor’s party, have been accused of taking kickbacks in exchange for awarding municipal contracts, during testimonies at the Charbonneau Commission. Tremblay went onto say that he remained skeptical and asked questions over the years but was only ever given documents and memos after the fact.

He accepted full responsibility for what happened but claimed that every time he was informed of corruption or collusion he gave the information to the proper authorities. Tremblay insisted he was unaware of the dishonesty that is currently rocking Quebec politics.

“In politics, perception matters more than the truth. Especially when it is manipulated by multiple factors and agendas, and when the chance to tell the truth is not stated or believed,” he said. “One day, justice will prevail.”

Tremblay took an extended weekend following a testimony from Martin Dumont, former organizer of the Union Montreal, that alleged Tremblay was aware of the scandals going within his office and ignored it. Residents and opposition were quick to criticize a budget tabled by council that aimed to raise taxes by three per cent last week before council reconsidered.

There will not be a municipal election since Tremblay resigned after Nov. 3 and instead city council will appoint a temporary mayor.

With files from Kalina Laframboise

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Opinions

Mayor Tremblay needs to take a hint

Graphic by Jennifer Kwan.
Graphic by Jennifer Kwan.

A famous American author by the name G. Edward Griffin once said that “to oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism.”

He was right. Why live in a society run by a corrupt leader? Why live in a society which wastes people’s money in hopes of being re-elected? Why put up with the antics of a leader such as Gerald Tremblay?

Mr. Tremblay, Montrealers have had enough. In the past few weeks, a chorus of people have put their voices together, screaming out corruption in City Hall and in the good old construction business. This came after allegations brought forth at the Charbonneau Commission when an expert witness showed and alluded to corruption “so deep, so systemic, that kickbacks to the Montreal mayor’s political party and payments to the Italian Mafia were handled by the same person,” wrote the Huffington Post.

The Charbonneau Commission was created by the Charest government in 2011. Its goal is to bring forth allegations of corruption in Quebec’s construction industry all while protecting witnesses and victims alike. It was set to run a two-year mandate and is being chaired by Judge France Charbonneau.

The expert witness was Lino Zambito, former construction boss, who further testified that the cost of construction was driven up by corruption and that for every contract, three per cent of it went to the mayor’s political party, Union Montreal. He continued, giving amazing details about how contracts were handled, and naming everyone who got a share of the cut. Major mafia strongholds in Montreal were mentioned more than once, such as Rizzuto, Accurso, and Nicolo Miloto.

“People knew about it at the city. The business people knew about it. The suppliers knew it… [It was] business as usual… There was wilful blindness. It was accepted,” said Zambito.

These recent allegations made by Zambito have turned many people against the Tremblay government. The most prominent name was Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood. He said that recent allegations have “tainted” his view of the Tremblay administration and has publicly asked the provincial government to come in and strip Tremblay of his power.

“It’s unbelievable in the circumstances that we always have to go to the Tremblay administration to have them approve our orientation, our budget, our priorities because all the corruption allegations that we heard lately are very severe,” he said.

Whether or not Tremblay is actually corrupt remains to be seen by the authenticity of Zambino’s testimony. Although he may not be accused of corruption yet, he’s definitely being accused of making major mistakes as mayor of Montreal.

Suzanne Decarie, city councillor for the Pointe-aux-Trembles district for Vision Montreal, said publicly that his behaviour is unacceptable.

“One cannot let himself be so naive as mayor of Montreal,” said Decarie. “Whether it was voluntary or involuntary, Mr. Tremblay was blind and laid his trust in too many people.”

There’s a serious problem in Montreal. The Charbonneau Commission is a step in the right direction, but it’s only the beginning. When substantial evidence is shown against the mayor of a city you’re trying to clean up, the mayor in question has no choice but to step down.

But not here. Not for Tremblay. Tremblay is so used to having it his own way that the recent allegations have him smiling and even considering running for another term.

“I will not comment on the everyday happenings of the Charbonneau commission,” said Tremblay in a press conference after Zambito’s testimony. “As far as the funding of our political party, Union Montreal, [Quebec’s chief electoral officer] verified on a regular basis our financial statements and found no wrongdoing.”

Corruption will always have a place in politics, whether we like it or not. However, when the majority of people know the details of just how the government is going about its dirty dealings, changes need to be made. A Leger Marketing survey for QMI Agency conducted over the internet on October 3, suggests that 62 per cent of Montrealers want the mayor to step down. According to the survey, 67 per cent believe corruption is built into Montreal’s political system.

My message to Montrealers: wake up! In any other city, a politician accused of this much corruption would’ve been long gone. We know what’s happening, and we can’t sit and watch while our city crumbles.

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