Quebec corruption probe looks at allegations of intimidation on construction sites

CTV Montreal: Hydro-Quebec kept quiet Hydro-Quebec was allegedly aware of corruption and favouritism in construction unions, but kept quiet. Stephane Giroux reports.

MONTREAL -- Shady practices by the province's biggest construction union working on Quebec's North Shore frequently drove up the price of projects there by as much as 30 per cent, the Charbonneau corruption inquiry heard Monday.

As the inquiry shifted gears to study allegations of extensive intimidation and extortion on work sites in the province, inquiry investigator Michel Comeau painted an image of a lawless region where the Quebec Federation of Labour's construction wing representatives held ultimate power on when, how and what work would be done.

None of the witnesses would talk on the record or appear to testify before the inquiry, leaving Comeau to tell their stories.

The veteran investigator said that intimidation, threats, and vandalism meant that contractors working in that region needed an extra 20 to 30 per cent set aside to deal with alleged union shenanigans.

Comeau said many of the projects in that region were done at the behest of Hydro-Quebec, meaning taxpayers were on the hook for the union's alleged handiwork.

And the union brass, based in Sept-Iles, Que., operated a sort of terror state on those sites. The man in charge was Bernard "Rambo" Gauthier and he had several lieutenants who ran the sites.

"Over there, Rambo was considered a God," Comeau said. "He was an influential person on the work sites."

Certain contractors and their employees that met with Comeau said Hydro-Quebec ended up paying the bills.

"Hydro closed its eyes because the work needed to get done," the investigator said.

Comeau outlined a few of the obstacles to working in the region, using the example of the Romaine Complex, just north of Havre-Saint-Pierre on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

He said the union in that area frowned on outsiders getting work in their region and would force their own people to be hired in order for work to progress on sites.

Any criticism of their own work by an employer was met with swift union protests and work slowdowns on sites. Equipment was often broken in an effort to slow work down and to ensure employees be paid longer. The equipment sent to be repaired often reeked of marijuana smoke.

Foremen were not allowed to give orders to workers. Instead, those orders came from the union delegate on site.

Comeau recounted that when one contractor tried to fire several union employees for incompetence, he was attacked and met with threats of violence at his own home. According to the employee of another firm, a provincial police officer told him they felt intimidated by the QFL construction union's local brass.

Another witness told them that workers were paid travel and housing fees, changing their addresses on the paperwork even if they were locals. A contractor who refused to pay travel had his equipment wrecked the following day.

Earlier Monday, Comeau recounted that he and his team also visited other areas of Quebec to gather information.

In one example, Comeau said crane operators from Quebec were paid two years worth of salary to do nothing on a Hydro-Quebec site after a German company won the bid for the contract.

Quebec workers were unhappy that the German firm, Bauer, had won the contract on the Peribonka hydro site, in Saguenay-Lac Saint Jean. The German employees were met with intimidation and there was frequent work stoppages as a result.

After negotiations with the Quebec Federation of Labour's construction wing, the local employees were hired and paid to observe as Bauer only wanted to use their own employees with their own technology.

Comeau said for the most part, workers were paid to do nothing but play cards, watch television and stay in a trailer on site. They were even paid night and weekend differentials. At least two were paid to stay home -- sometimes at double their regular salaries. It went on for two years.

"It was tolerated and everyone knew," Comeau said.

In another North Shore case, Comeau said workers felt there was something strange about the quick pace of work during the expansion of an Alouette aluminum refinery in 2005.

Several workers told inquiry investigators the site had been "bought."

Comeau said union executives were being paid off to ensure the work was done quickly and efficiently and false billing was used to pay off the representatives with cash. There were also fishing holidays and fancy dinners.

"There was union peace that was out of the ordinary, we finished three months in advance," Comeau said one worker told him.

Comeau spoke to about 70 people across the province, who agreed to talk to him as long as they were never identified.

Comeau, a longtime provincial police investigator, said workers were fearful of meeting with investigators or even being seen talking to them on the sites themselves. They didn't want to be thought to be snitches or informers, Comeau explained.

"We quickly realized that, on construction sites, there was a kind of code of silence," Comeau said.