Quebec MNAs get hands on sought-after USB key

The USB key at the center of an investigation intoirregularities at the Ministry of Transportation has been handed over to MNAs.

Robert Lafrenire, the head of Quebec's anti-corruption unit, arrived at the National Assemblyon Fridayfor ameeting with the committeeof the public administrationwith copies of the key for representatives of each political party.

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The key contains roughly 2,500 documents complied by an independent investigator hired to look into allegations of corruption, collusion and intimidation within the transport department.

In handing over the key,Lafrenire informed committee members that his unit has 15 ongoing investigations into suspicious practices at Transports Qubec.

Lafrenire was initially reluctant to hand over the USB key to politicians. The office of the speaker of the National Assembly ruled, however, that parliamentary privilege trumpedLafrenire's concerns about privacy and harming an ongoing investigation.

"All the documents that are related to the investigation should be made public," said Parti Qubcoiscommittee member Martine Oullet.

The committee will meet next week to prepare the documents for public release, redacting any sensitivematerial. It will also hear from Annie Trudel, the investigator who compiled the contents of theUSB key in the first place.

In a letter to the committee earlier this week, Trudel alleged that it may have received falsified documents from transport officials.

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