Criminals weren’t running Quebec’s largest labour union: former head

MONTREAL – The former head of the construction wing of Quebec’s biggest labour federation insists that criminals weren’t running it while he was director between 1997 and 2008.

But Jocelyn Dupuis said Wednesday that he was happy to assist individuals he knew had criminal records by getting them solid footing in the industry.

READ MORE: Quebec union boss says Mob, bikers not in control of construction under his watch

Through witnesses and wiretaps, Dupuis has been a key figure at the inquiry looking into corruption in Quebec’s construction industry as it probes the infiltration of organized crime into the wing.

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Watch: Ex-union boss at Charbonneau Commission

Dupuis insists he wasn’t an intermediary between mobsters and bikers and the Quebec Federation of Labour’s construction wing.

The former crane operator told the inquiry that the industry has always given people a second chance.

But he says he wasn’t always aware of how high up some of those people were in the criminal hierarchy.