Charest rejects influence-peddling testimony

Quebec Premier Jean Charest has denied the sworn testimony of his former justice minister, who said Tuesday that Charest had personally approved the nomination of two people as judges, based on pressure from a Liberal Party fundraiser.

"I didn't want [false] information to be floating out there, without Quebecers hearing from me that neither I nor the government were influenced to nominate judges," Charest said following Marc Bellemare's testimony before the Bastarache Commission.

Bellemare told the commission on Tuesday of a 90-minute meeting he had with Charest on Sept. 2, 2003. It was during this meeting while he was justice minister, he said, that he voiced his complaints about pressure to nominate certain people as judges.

In earlier testimony on Tuesday morning, Bellemare told the commission that Liberal fundraiser Franco Fava spoke to him in 2003 about Marc Bisson, a lawyer he was told should be named to the bench because he is the son of an influential Liberal party organizer who helped elect national assembly members in the Outaouais region.

Liberal Party fundraiser

Fava, a retired construction entrepreneur and former lawyer, has worked for decades as a Liberal Party fundraiser.

Bellemare said Fava also pushed him to name Michel Simard assistant chief justice of the Quebec Court.

The former justice minister said he was surprised when Charest, during their first private meeting on that day in September, told him that Fava was a personal friend and if Fava said to nominate Simard and Bisson, "then do it."

Bellemare also named Line Gosselin-Després as another Quebec judge he says he appointed based on recommendations from party organizers.

Bellemare appeared in front of the Bastarache Commission in Quebec City Tuesday as the inquiry's key witness.

Charest called the commission following Bellemare's accusations last spring, in which he alleged Liberal party bagmen pressured him to name certain judges to the bench while he served as Liberal justice minister in 2003 and 2004.

Charest denies allegations

Charest spoke out after Bellemare's testimony wrapped up on Tuesday.

The premier grimly told reporters that his former justice minister did not approach him about influence peddling regarding the nomination of judges. He also reiterated that he did not tell Bellemare to nominate anybody to the bench.

The premier also said Fava is not a close friend of his, and that he only sees him a few times a year at Liberal party functions.

Charest said he would not comment on every day of testimony at the Bastarache commission, only when he deems it necessary.

Charest has already filed a $700,000 defamation suit against his former justice minister.

PQ calls for broader inquiry

The opposition Parti Québécois's justice critic, Véronique Hivon, said revelations at the Bastarache commission reinforced the need for a broad inquiry into allegations of corruption in the province.

Hivon said the Tuesday's testimony revealed a trend of influence peddling in the awarding of daycare and roadwork contracts, and not just judgeships.

Bellemare's testimony is expected to last two days.

The government has spent an estimated $1.3 million on the commission so far.