5 questions with Montreal inspector general Denis Gallant

Montreal's brand new inspector-general, Denis Gallant,has begun his first day of work today at city hall.

The new office, which comes with a $5 million budget, wasone ofMayor DenisCoderre'skey campaign promises.

In his new position, Gallantwill be in charge of weeding out corruption connected to the awarding of city contracts.

• Denis Gallant named Montreal's first inspector-general

Gallant, best known for his work as a lawyer fortheCharbonneauCommission,has a long history of fighting organized crime. He also worked as a Crown prosecutor specializing in the fight against organized crime andillegal drugs.

Gallant visited CBC'sDaybreakstudio on his first day of workto talk to MikeFinnertyabout his new role and his plans for the city.

Mike Finnerty: What are you going to do, exactly, as an inspector-general?

Denis Gallant: The job will give me the power to inspect every contract that involvesMontreal taxpayer money. It could involve a range of industries, includingthe construction business, the computer business andsnow removal.

MF: Despite all the work that's been done by theCharbonneauCommission, is it possible that we still have this endemic corruption problem?

DG: I don't know, but that's my first goal to see if there's any more corruption.It's possible ...It's quite possible.

MF: What will you do if you do find something that you think is fishy or corrupt?

DG: Stop the proceedings. I can stop an ongoing contractbefore they give it to the winning bidder. If I have reasonable grounds to see that there is corruption under the criminal law, my duty is to send that to the police.Then those people could be charged and prosecuted.

MF: Who do you want to work for you as a part of your office?

DG: I want lawyers, I wantspecialists in contracts, former investigators, people who know the city.

MF: You have spent quite a few months at the Charbonneau Commission. You have uncovered a lot and people have been shocked in many instances. When you found these things out, were you surprised, were you disgusted, were you angry?

DG: Let me tell you, I was not surprised, but I was surprised to see how deep it was. We heard a lot of people, journalists, talking about it. You would read information about corruption and collusion, but that deep... I was surprised.