MONTREAL – Former Quebec premier Jean Charest is denying a report linking him to a political fundraising scheme with engineering giant SNC-Lavalin in the year before he took office.
Charest, who was premier from 2003 to 2012, says he has never participated in any illegal party financing activity.
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Charest made the comments in a statement following a Radio-Canada report Friday that said Quebec’s anti-corruption police unit is looking into whether he was involved in a financing operation with SNC-Lavalin in 2002.
According to Radio-Canada, Charest and a Quebec Liberal Party fundraiser approached SNC-Lavalin’s chairman as part of an effort to raise $50,000 from the firm’s employees.
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Radio-Canada says it wasn’t able to determine whether the Liberals ever got the money. SNC-Lavalin denies any wrongdoing.
Charest says the report reconstructs events of 12 years ago in a “tendentious” manner.
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