Jacques Duchesneau, the outspoken investigator whose exposé of well-oiled corruption in Quebec’s construction industry put the Liberal government on the defensive, has been fired.
Mr. Duchesneau clashed publicly with his boss, Robert Lafrenière, over the best way to root out rot in the province. On Friday, he learned he was being axed by Mr. Lafrenière, commissioner of the Quebec permanent anti-corruption unit.
Mr. Duchesneau, former Montreal police chief, caused an uproar last month with a damning report detailing bid-rigging, organized crime involvement and attempted political payoffs. He continued to make waves by saying the province’s anti-corruption squad should be headed by a retired judge rather than by police.
Some of his recommendations prevailed, because Premier Jean Charest finally gave into intense pressure last week and named Superior Court Justice France Charbonneau to head a public probe into the construction industry.
But Mr. Duchesneau’s outspokenness roiled tensions with Mr. Lafrenière, a long-time police officer and former director of the Sûreté du Québec. He argued against an inquiry and said he wouldn’t allow Mr. Duchesneau to discredit his squad.
The confrontation came to a head on Friday. Mr. Lafrenière’s office said Mr. Duchesneau’s views made it impossible for him to continue within the anti-corruption unit, known through its acronym UPAC.
“The position he expressed challenged the credibility of the UPAC,” spokesman Anne-Frédérick Laurence said. She added that he was being let go over a matter of loyalty, not competence.
The Charest government wasn’t commenting on the firing, portraying the anti-corruption squad as an independent, arm’s-length unit. But opposition critics questioned whether Mr. Duchesneau was dismissed because he embarrassed the Liberals.
“If Mr. Duchesneau is being fired today, it’s because he’s being reproached for talking too much. For revealing some things. For disclosing information that some people would prefer to keep secret,” said Parti Québécois public security critic Stéphane Bergeron.
Sylvie Roy of the Action démocratique du Québec said the departure undermines the anti-corruption squad’s credibility. She called Mr. Duchesneau an “efficient, honest and competent” person who “couldn’t be controlled or manipulated.”
Mr. Duchesneau was Montreal police chief in the mid-1990s, ran unsuccessfully for mayor, and later was head of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, the Crown corporation created by Ottawa in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was named last year to head a unit probing corruption within Transport Quebec, which was later integrated into Mr. Lafrenière’s permanent squad.
Mr. Duchesneau was not commenting on Friday on the termination of his contract, which was not due to expire before next March.
