Almost eight years after opening it, the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit puts an end to the investigation chewwithout having laid a single charge.
Anti-Corruption Commissioner Frédérick Gaudreau made the announcement Monday in a press release. The procedures, which aimed to shed light on the financing of the Liberal Party of Quebec from 2001 to 2012, will therefore not have produced any results.
After meeting with “more than 300 witnesses,” UPAC recently demanded an independent legal perspective on Mâchurer. A team led by retired judge André Rochon conducted the review.
“Considering the legal opinion obtained as well as all the rigor and the resources already invested in this investigation, the commissioner considers that there is no reason to prosecute the latter and is therefore putting an end to it”, indicated the Commissioner, Monday .
Since his arrival at the head of the UPAC in 2019, Mr. Gaudreau has repeatedly repeated that he preferred not to see the investigations of the police force prolonged. Already, in recent years, several public figures had urged the investigators to put the key under the door of chew.
This is particularly the case of former Prime Minister Jean Charest, leader of the Liberal Party throughout the period covered by the investigation, and who is now expected to be a candidate in the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Two years ago, he formally demanded the end of the investigation, which, he pleads, harms his image.
In 2020, the former Liberal leader filed a lawsuit for punitive and moral damages against the Quebec government. He believes that Quebec and UPAC have failed in their duty to protect the information collected as part of the investigation and accuses them of having violated his privacy – several elements have been the subject of media leaks.
In mid-February, the current leader of the PLQ, Dominique Anglade, also called for the conclusion of chew.
Further details will follow.