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Quebec’s Ex-Deputy Premier Arrested on Corruption Charges

Nathalie Normandeau, a former deputy premier under the previous Liberal government of Jean Charest, was swept up by the province's anti-corruption unit, UPAC, that targeted members of the Quebec Liberal Party and the opposition Parti Quebecois.
Nathalie Normandeau and former Quebec premier Jean Charest. (Photo by Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

A corruption scandal that has gripped Quebec for several years revved into high gear on Thursday, with the arrest of seven people, among them two former high ranking provincial politicians.

Nathalie Normandeau, a former deputy premier under the previous Liberal government of Jean Charest, was swept up by the province's anti-corruption unit, UPAC, that targeted members of the Quebec Liberal Party and the opposition Parti Quebecois.

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Normandeau faces charges that include conspiracy, corruption, breach of trust and bribery in relation to the awarding of a contract to build a water-treatment plant in Boisbriand, Que, CBC reported.

Former veteran minister Marc-Yvan Côté also faces fraud and corruption charges for alleged incidents dating back to 2000. Normandeau's former chief of staff, Bruno Lortie, was also arrested, along with employees of engineering firm Roche, Mario Martel and France Michaud, in addition to Ernest Murray, a former political aide to former Premier Pauline Marois, and François Roussy, former mayor of the town of Gaspé.

"Today's arrests are the fruits of marathon type investigation that happened over many years," said Robert Lafrenière, who heads up UPAC, at a press conference in Montreal Thursday morning.

"The defendants at different times and in different ways circumvented the law to gain unfair advantage," added an Inspector André Boulanger at the press conference, in some cases obtaining gifts or political financing in exchange for awarding public contracts.

"These serious charges are not only in violation of the law but they undermine the principle of democracy," said Lafrenière. "It's unfair and unequal to use public contracts as a political tools."

The CBC reported that public documents show Normandeau overruled senior bureaucrats to award the $11-million contract to engineering firm Roche while she was municipal affairs minister.

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Roche also reportedly did fundraising for Normandeau during her time as an MNA and Liberal candidate.

Normandeau had testified in the Charbonneau Commission, which was struck in 2011 following years of allegations of collusion between Quebec's largest construction union, construction magnates, and officials from the Quebec government.

Related: Now We Know How Dirty Politics Is in Quebec

"The inquiry confirmed that there was a real problem in Quebec, and it was broader and more deeply rooted than we imagined," Justice France Charbonneau said in releasing her report last year.

Current Liberal Premier Philippe Couillard reacted to news of the arrest by stressing that his party has cracked down on illegal fundraising.

"We've completely changed the way we do things because of laws, because also the way we've done things internally, creating a code of ethics," he told reporters in Quebec City.

"Since we've dropped, on top of other measures, the [donation] limit to $100 per person per year, I can tell you the ambience is totally different. Fundraising is not an issue for us."

The arrests came on the same the Quebec Liberals are set to unveil their budget. That timing, according to Lafrenière, was coincidental, and he stressed that the UPAC was "completely independent."

When asked whether the investigation was over, Lafrenière told the press that he could not confirm nor deny that they are still investigating.

"It'll be done when it's done," he said.

Brigitte Noël contributed to this report.

More to come