Former dissident commissioner Renaud Lachance breaks his reserve seven years after denying the existence of a link, even indirect, between paying a contribution to a provincial political party and obtaining a public contract from the state of Quebec , a nexus at the heart of the Charbonneau commission report.
The Chartered Professional Accountant is confident that history proves him right, ‘so far’, however. “But there may be an element that will emerge in the future through other investigations,” he agreed in an interview with The duty Friday.
The report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Construction Industry (CEIC) caused a sensation when it was published on November 24, 2015: less for its 60 recommendations, more for the “disagreement” between the two commissioners — France Charbonneau and Renaud Lachance — whether there is a link between paying a donation to a provincial political party and obtaining an engineering or construction contract from the Quebec government.
mmyself Charbonneau glimpsed through the testimonies “a sort of more or less tacit united pact[ssant] the actors within this system in which the payment of political contributions is rewarded by a certain number of contracts’ – an indirect link – but not Mr Lachance.
More than one commentator has judged the dissidence of the former auditor general of Quebec (2004-2011) as “ostentatious”, “incomprehensible”, “inexplicable”, even “heartbreaking”. Solidarity MP Amir Khadir had criticized Renaud Lachance for “no [avoir] saw the elephant in the room that everyone watched as they followed the work of the Charbonneau commission”, even though he was sitting in the front row.
For Judge France Charbonneau, Mr Lachance’s dissent is simply “unfortunate”.
“When you’re not telling people what they want to hear, you have to be sure of where you stand. Then, I don’t say what I don’t think, I don’t write what is not supported [par la preuve] “, argued Renaud Lachance in a conference room of the Must. “I did what I had to. »
Inconclusive investigations
The former commissioner is convinced of this, today more than ever, now that the investigations conducted by the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit into the financing practices of the Liberal Party of Québec (PLQ) — Machurer, Yoke et Ivy – they drew a blank.
“I, I would have loved that the trial of Mmyself [Nathalie] Normandeau takes place ”, says Renaud Lachance more than two years after the termination of the proceedings against the former deputy prime minister, in particular.
The latter had been the subject of accusations of fraud, conspiracy, corruption and breach of trust: “charges that have mortgaged almost five years of [la] life” of the former politician. “I was very curious to know the proof that [le Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales] had to accuse Mmyself Normandeau,” adds Lachance.
Over the past seven years, liberals, including former Quebec premier Jean Charest, have repeatedly voiced their dissent to dismiss allegations of illicit funding strategies for the PLQ. “It didn’t surprise me,” said Renaud Lachance.
According to him there is no doubt, however, that “those who obtained public contracts were solicited, even harassed, to make a political contribution”. “But they didn’t get a contract even indirectly because of that,” he outlined in an open letter he handed to Must.
Quebec’s public administration prevented this, he said. In his eyes, pretending otherwise fuels “cynicism,” as well as “encourage[r] the denigration of Québec”.
break the silence
Mr Lachance says he has kept himself silent all these years so as not to influence the course of police investigations and political activities, including the latest campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, in which Jean Charest took part, this ‘year.
“I am interested in politics, that is clear. But I don’t do partisan politics. I didn’t want to be quoted anywhere. So I was discreet,” she says.
To the questions “Is he a liberal?” », « He is an outcast? and “Has he asked and is he waiting for the elevator to return?” “, Renaud Lachance replies “no”, “no” and “no”, seven years after the end of the work of the Charbonneau commission. He assures that he has no political knowledge… except at the turn of the 1980s, when he supported the efforts of the Parti Québécois, then led by premier René Lévesque, which aimed to obtain a second mandate.
Expressions of impatience
Renaud Lachance now feels freed from his duty of discretion by judge France Charbonneau, with whom he maintained a relationship – “professional”, he repeats – for almost four years, from autumn 2011 to autumn 2015. “Each of us did what we thought we should do. And then, there is no animosity in my relationship between me and France or anyone else, “he explains, recalling that the 60 recommendations were not the subject of” any disagreement “between the two Commissioners.
However, he reiterated that the decision not to appoint a replacement for Commissioner Roderick Macdonald, who died during the commission’s work, was a “mistake”. “If M.And Macdonald had been there, it would have been very different,” he says.
Having said that, he admits that he showed signs of impatience during the drafting of the voluminous report, especially the parts on the Ministry of Transport and on party financing, which gave him a hard time.
I’m interested in politics, that’s for sure. But I don’t do partisan politics. I didn’t want to be quoted anywhere. So I was discreet.
Occasionally, a writer would offer a “reinterpretation” of testimony heard at public hearings or construct a “theory,” he says. “Sometimes it’s not even a summary of testimonials, it’s an opinion. […] Despite the footnotes, the text was not always corrected in later versions. In the end, at times, I admit that I was a little, I would say, impatient ”, she admits, while emphasizing that“ the work of a commission of inquiry ”is“ quite intense ”.
If the Charbonneau commission has not found “nothing really serious at the provincial level”, it has identified more than one “case of corruption and collusion” in the municipal world. The Autorité des marchés publics, set up by the Couillard government and then strengthened by the Legault government, following the recommendations of the Charbonneau commission, is keeping an eye on the situation, notes the HEC Montréal professor with satisfaction.
More than a decade after the creation of the CEIC, “some” of his students occasionally ask him questions about the years of the Charbonneau commission (2011-2015). “Where I am most recognized is in the funeral homes, because the elderly people have followed the work of the commission a lot. […] They almost touch me [et me demander] : “It is you ?” »
