Quebec MNAs to question UPAC chief on contents of USB key

Robert Lafrenire, the head of Quebec's anti-corruption squad(UPAC)will present the contents of the USB key at the centre of troubling allegations about senior officials in the Transport Ministryto a legislative committee Friday.

Parti Qubcois MNA Carole Poirier, who chairs the National Assembly's public administration committee,says her colleagues decided to callLafrenire after she received a troubling letter on Tuesday.

In it,Annie Trudel a former investigator with the provincial anti-corruption unit who washired by former transport minister Robert Poetito investigatethe department alleges that documents submitted by Transports Qubecofficials to the committee may have been falsified or contain erroneousinformation.

"I'm very disappointed," said Poirier about those allegations."When a [ministry] is sending us a document, it's a real document. It's true."

She said sheexpects ministry officials, UPAC and the auditor general to verify the authenticity of the documents her committee received.

• Philippe Couillard accused of demoting Robert Poeti for flagging problems in Transport Ministry

• Top bureaucrat, chief of staff lose jobs at Transports Qubec amid corruption allegations

Daoust wants examples of allegedwrongdoing

Quebec Transport Minister Jacques Daoustsaid Wednesday thathis officials found nothing wrong with the documents that Trudel says were falsified.

Daoust said Trudel told staff they could correct or add comments if necessary and he encouragedher to come forward with specific examples of wrong information.

He said Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc will look into Trudel'snewallegations as part of her new inquiry into the investigator's findings at the Transport Ministry.

"If they're true, well, justice has to be made,and I will take every step necessary to correct the situation," Daoust said.

• Quebec asks auditor general to investigate practices at Transport Ministry

Crisis reignited

This latest letter from Trudelhasreignited the crisis which has been doggingthe Couillard government since allegationsabout Transport Ministry corruption became public two weeks ago.

In an L'actualit interview about shady practices at his former department, Poeti claimedthat Transports Qubec employees were being intimidated into awarding contracts to certain peopleand that cost overruns on public projects were being hidden.

Former deputy transportminister Dominique Savoie denied the allegations on May 18, when she appeared before the legislative committee on transportation while still deputy minister.

Savoie was removed from her post the next day, after a resignation letter from Trudel,sent last April to Poeti's successorJacques Daoust, became public.

In it,Trudelwrote that top officials in the department sabotaged and stonewalled her investigation.

Trudel says all the information about her investigation is on a USB key that she gave to Daoust.His office sent the key to UPAC, but untilnow, UPAC has refused to provide itscontents to the legislative committee.

Closed-door meeting

Coalition Avenir Qubec MNA and committee member ric Caire is pleased Lafrenire will appear before the committee at aclosed-door meeting.

However,he says it is only a first step. He wants Lafrenire to hand over a copy of the USB key to MNAs.

"We will appreciate what he has to say to us and what is important for his inquiry and what is not," said Caire. "We will see after that if we can go further."

Lafrenire is scheduled to appear on Friday at 11 a.m.