Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt speaks to reporters about allegations of offering improper campaign contributions Tuesday, November 16, 2010 in Laval, Quebec.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Quebec's special anti-corruption police squad is investigating the mayor of Laval for allegedly trying to make illegal cash contributions to two provincial candidates.
Bloc Québécois MP Serge Ménard and Liberal MNA Vincent Auclair both publicly alleged Tuesday that Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt offered them envelopes of cash - in 1993 in Mr. Ménard's case and 2002 for Mr. Auclair.
Mr. Vaillancourt categorically denied the accusations and immediately called on Mr. Ménard and Mr. Auclair for a retraction or face a libel suit.
"I never offered any money to Mr. Ménard or Mr. Auclair," Mr. Vaillancourt stated at a news conference on Tuesday. "I deny it and I will continue to deny it."
Quebec Premier Jean Charest called the allegations "troubling" and said Mr. Auclair, who sits as a Liberal in the National Assembly, should have told him earlier.
"Mr. Auclair should have informed me," Mr. Charest said. "Mr. Auclair will have to explain and I'll let him explain why he did not choose to raise it."
Tuesday's allegations are the latest to shake the Charest government, which has been hit hard by corruption and influence-peddling allegations. Mr. Charest has refused repeated and growing calls for a public inquiry.
Mr. Ménard told Radio-Canada that during the 1993 by-election when he was the Parti Québécois candidate in the riding of Laval-des-Rapides, Mr. Vaillancourt offered him an envelope filled with $10,000 in cash.
"It was an envelope. It was white, not brown. It was half open when he laid it down on the desk. There was a thick wad of bills of different colours. I saw pink bills. My impression was that there were some thousand-dollar bills," Mr. Ménard told Radio-Canada's French language news service.
Mr. Ménard, who held many portfolios in the PQ government including justice minister and minister of public security, kept the allegation secret for 17 years until confronted in an interview.
Mr. Vaillancourt, who has been the mayor of Quebec's third largest city since 1988, allegedly made a similar offer to Mr. Auclair in a 2002 by-election.
"It's true that I refused an envelope that the Mayor of Laval Gilles Vaillancourt offered me in 2002," Mr. Auclair said at a news conference on Tuesday, confirming that the special police unit Opération Marteau has contacted him as part of its investigation.
Laval has been part of the controversy over alleged unethical practices in Quebec politics. Media reports have questioned possible collusion and patronage involving local Laval construction and engineering firms. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs has been called in to examine the allegations.
Two neighbouring municipalities - Terrebonne and Mascouche - faced similar problems, forcing their mayors last week to step aside pending the result of an investigation.
Construction firms have become the focus of the public debate over corruption in Quebec. Over the past year allegations have arisen ranging from payments by 14 construction firms to the Rizzuto crime family for control of major projects, to bid rigging on government contracts, and a minister resigned amid allegations of conflict of interest involving a paving company. Even the awarding of daycare permits got tangled up in allegations of unethical practices by the government.
With each new revelation, pressure has mounted on Mr. Charest to hold a public inquiry into the construction industry and political party financing. But the Premier has adamantly refused, putting his faith in police investigations to eradicate corruption.
The government announced Tuesday that 15 detectives have been added to the Operation Marteau squad as well as an additional $7.9-million over three years for a total budget of $36-million.
Rhéal Séguin