Donations from Quebec corruption suspects to federal parties begs investigation

An exclusive report found on Thursday that more than $2 million was donated to federal parties by people who have been charged in Quebec’s ongoing corruption sweep, yet very little will be done with that information.

Those confirmed donations are just the latest connection between the efocus of the Charbonneau Commission and federal politics, leading to more questions about whether a federal investigation is necessary.

The Canadian Press reports that 45 suspects — nearly half of those charged in Quebec's anti-corruption sweeps — have made donations to a federal party.

The amount of donations made is more than $2 million, and is connected not only from individuals but also companies tied to the corruption allegations.

The details of those donations, which would be certainly relevant had they been to provincial political parties, will not be addressed at the inquiry, which returned from summer break this week.

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The Charbonneau Commission is focused on corruption in the construction industry on a provincial level, specifically omitting any investigation into higher levels of government.

Inquiry officials explicitly stated early on that potential federal corruption was beyond their purview. Any question about federal politics are said to be out of bounds and beyond the mandate of the commission.

“You'd need another commission," inquiry spokesman Richard Bourdon said last year. "It's very clear that we're not going to touch the federal sphere."

Yet this is not the first time the commission would be forced to turn a blind eye to irregularities on the federal level. On occasion, witnesses have even been stopped from speaking about event on a federal level.

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The inquiry has revealed mafia ties to companies that competed for federal jobs. An engineering executive testified this week that the federal Economic Action Plan was ripe for collusion — with construction companies working together to drive up the price of federally-funded projects.

Former Montreal city manager Robert Abdallah, once promoted by the Prime Minister's Office to be a candidate in the Port of Montreal, has been tied to corruption schemes.

And now we have millions of dollars worth of donations being funneled into federal politics. For what purpose, and to what end? Unless we believe corruption ends at the Quebec border, we should really try to find out.

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