QUEBEC - After two years of brushing off the idea of an inquiry into corruption in Quebec, Premier Jean Charest hinted Wednesday that there might be one after all.
The premier has repeatedly resisted calls for an inquiry into ties between the Mafia and other crime groups, the construction industry, crooked civil servants, and political parties.
But Charest informed the legislature Wednesday that he will consider a proposal by the province's anti-collusion watchdog.
That proposal from Jacques Duchesneau is for a two-phase inquiry: the first part would be held behind closed doors, where witnesses would testify about cases of corruption.
The second step -- to be held in public -- would hear witnesses propose solutions to the problem.
Duchesneau says the inquiry should be run by three judges selected by the legislature. He says that approach is based on a common practice in Australia.
He says such an approach offers two benefits.
First, he said witnesses are far more willing to cough up information when they're guaranteed anonymity. Also, he said such discreet testimony would avoid tipping off criminals to the evidence police have against them.
The premier was pressed by the opposition Wednesday -- as he has been for two years -- on his refusal to hold an inquiry.
Since 2009, Charest's answer has been the same: that police are well-equipped to handle cases of corruption and that he has instituted enough legislative and investigative measures to deal with the problem.
This time, the reply was different.
"The government will study the ideas (Duchesneau) put forward," Charest said, in response to a question from Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois.
Charest's choice of language appeared intentional. One day earlier, two of his ministers also appeared to leave the door open to a closed-door inquiry.
Duchesneau laid out his case for an inquiry during a fascinating evening of testimony before a legislative committee late Tuesday.
The ex-Montreal police chief and former head of the federal airport security agency insisted it was not too late to heal Quebec's gangrenous construction.
But he cast it as a daunting challenge.
The problem begins, Duchesneau said, with a withered Transport Department that has lost its best experts to private industry. The department has left oversight of construction projects to engineering firms with a vested interest in boosting the price tag, he said.
Organized crime thrives in that vacuum, he said.
Duchesneau said groups like the Mafia and bikers not only use construction companies to launder money but also act as enforcers for their favoured firms.
The result, he said, is inflated costs on public-works projects -- meaning Quebecers pay too much for too few services.
Political parties wind up being involved in the scam, he said.
Some of the money from public-works projects winds up being kicked over as contributions to political parties at the municipal and provincial level, he said.
The provincial elections watchdog has already met with Duchesneau and plans to investigate his claims. In Quebec, donations from companies to political parties have been illegal for almost 35 years. So are donations over $1,000.
On Tuesday, Duchesneau made it clear that the scheme wasn't a case of drug-traffickers stuffing wads of cash into party bosses' briefcases.
He said the modern Mafia has graduated to new levels of respectability. Today's Mob is run by pillars of the business community and considered respectable by general society, he said.
The people now pulling the strings are active in their communities and ever-present at political party fundraisers -- because, Duchesneau said, they're always looking for powerful friends.
"They've graduated from Secondary 5 to doctorates," Duchesneau said of how the Mafia has evolved since the 1970s.
"It's sad, but it's the hard reality... We're talking about a parallel system ... where money, slowly but surely, makes its way into the political world."
Duchesneau says it won't be easy to loosen the influence of crime in public life.
He said today's criminals have such tremendous wealth that the state can hardly compete: "No police service will ever have the means these people have," said Duchesneau, who once headed the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.
That's why all of society needs to rise up and speak out -- with an inquiry serving as an ideal vehicle, he said.
He said he personally witnessed over the last year how sources will be much more forthcoming with information if they believe their identity will be protected.
"Witnesses behind closed doors will be very, very voluble," he said. But in public, he said, "they forget names."
He said 17 cases from his research have already been sent to police for investigation, four more than the number previously cited.
But he said it will take a public inquiry and not just a criminal probe to restore public trust. He added that things could still change in Quebec.
"I will tell you, no, it's not too late."
As an example, he said a year's negative publicity about corruption in Quebec had already appeared to scare some crooked actors into flying a little straighter.
He estimates the province has saved almost $350 million in construction costs over the last 18 months, compared with what projects had been costing previously.
