MONTREAL – A timeline of various events related to Quebec’s construction scandal:
April 2009: Calls in Quebec legislature for public inquiry into construction corruption, following allegations of ties between the industry and criminal underworld.
September 2009: City of Montreal cancels $355-million water-meter contract – largest in city history – after irregularities with tendering process are uncovered. Allegations surface that influential politicians vacationed on yacht owned by one of the businessmen awarded the contract.
October 2009: Controversy explodes after Radio-Canada investigative program alleges widespread corruption in construction-bidding process. Group of Montreal-area construction companies, known as the “Fabulous Fourteen,” reportedly acts as cartel, colluding on bids and shutting out competitors. A former deputy transport minister says Mafia controls 80 per cent of contracts and is linked to those companies. Prices for projects in Quebec are higher than elsewhere as a result.
October 2009: Days before Montreal’s municipal election, Maclean’s magazine runs November issue with cover that reads: “Montreal Is a Corrupt, Crumbling, Mob-Ridden Disgrace.”
October 2009: Quebec announces launch of Operation Hammer, a provincial police-led unit assembled to investigate corruption and collusion.
March 2010: Former Quebec justice minister Marc Bellemare says Liberals received generous donations from fundraisers in order to influence selection of judges. Premier Jean Charest calls inquiry into judicial appointments.
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May 2010: Liberal MNA Tony Tomassi forced to resign after reports he was using personal credit card supplied by private company that had received government money. He had also been accused of cronyism in awarding permits for subsidized day-care spaces. Tomassi now faces three criminal charges over the credit-card accusation.
August 2010: Quebec engineering firm fined after it is discovered it gave more than $150,000 to Quebec’s three largest political parties – including $113,000 to the Liberals – through illegal donations.
October 2010: “Mafia Inc.,” a book by investigative journalists Andre Noel and Andre Cedilot, reveals as many as 600 businesses pay protection money to Montreal Mafia.
October 2010: Maclean’s makes waves again, this time dubbing Quebec as “The Most Corrupt Province in Canada” with cover depicting province’s beloved Bonhomme Carnaval snowman clutching briefcase stuffed with cash.
November 2010: Quebec Federation of Labour announces support for public inquiry, leaving Charest virtually alone in being against public inquiry.
November 2010: Liberals survive non-confidence motion in legislature aimed at toppling Charest government over corruption issue. Premier delays trip to France with two ministers to ensure Liberals narrowly survive vote, 61-57.
January 2011: Inquiry into judge scandal finds no evidence of cronyism in appointment of judges in Quebec.
February 2011: Seven people are arrested including a former mayor and councillor of suburban Boisbriand, Que., construction executives, an engineer and two consultants; charges laid include fraud, extortion, uttering threats and breach of trust.
February 2011: Quebec announces creation of permanent anti-corruption unit, modelled on New York City’s Department of Investigation.
April 2011: Another former mayor of Boisbriand, Que., is arrested by Quebec’s anti-corruption squad and accused of fraud and breach of trust.
September 2011: An explosive report by Jacques Duchesneau, an ex-Montreal police chief and head of the collusion squad in Quebec’s anti-corruption unit, says a weak civil service, criminal gangs and construction companies are jointly responsible for driving up the price of public-works projects in Quebec. Some of the loot is then allegedly shifted to political parties as illegal campaign contributions. The report causes an uproar after someone leaks it to various media.
September 2011: Based on Duchesneau’s advice, the government begins considering the possibility of calling a two-tier inquiry – partly public but mostly private.
October 2011: Charest meets Liberal caucus members to gauge opinions on inquiry into allegations of corruption and collusion in construction industry. Official inquiry announcement expected Wednesday.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version incorrectly said the book “Mafia Inc.” was released in 2009.
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