The Director General of Elections of Quebec (DGEQ), Jean-François Blanchet, affirms that it will probably be impossible to divulge all the documents of an investigation into the financing of the No camp, during the 1995 referendum, following of a request made unanimously by the National Assembly.
Mr. Blanchet replied in a letter that he will first have to analyze a publication ban issued in 2007 by Judge Bernard Grenier, who presided over the inquiry mandated to shed light on the question.
“Given the extent and nature of the documentation involved, such an exercise will take some time and will likely not allow full disclosure of all of the testimonies and documents referred to,” Mr. Blanchet wrote in a response filed Tuesday in Bedroom.
Mr. Blanchet said that if parliamentarians want “rapid and comprehensive” disclosure, they can adopt a law on this subject or use the provisions of the Act respecting the National Assembly.
At the end of May, the deputies of all parties in the National Assembly had adopted a resolution asking the DGEQ “to disclose and make public all the testimony and documents of the Grenier commission as soon as possible”.
The DGEQ mandated Judge Grenier to shed light on the revelations of a book on the financing of the activities of the No camp, during the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
Justice Grenier found in 2007 that $539,460 was spent illegally during the referendum campaign by two federalist organizations, Option Canada and the Council for Canadian Unity (CUC).
In his report, Judge Grenier ordered that all the documents collected by his commission remain secret. However, he left the DGEQ the freedom to judge whether these elements can be communicated to third parties.
Discretionary power
PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who moved the motion calling for the documents, accused the DGEQ of ignoring “the unanimous directive” of the National Assembly.
“In my opinion, we are faced with a Chief Electoral Officer who puts his opinion and his discretionary power before the very clear will of all the elected members of the National Assembly,” he said in a press briefing.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon has announced his intention to table a bill that would target the disclosure of requested documents.
“We will not leave it to the discretion of the DGEQ to choose which documents will be made public or not,” he said. The law will be short, clear and will require full disclosure of all documents and testimony. »
A spokeswoman for the DGEQ, Julie St-Arnaud Drolet, said that even if it proves possible to lift the order, “it is likely that testimonies and documents cannot be made accessible in their entirety”. .
Among the documents held by the DGEQ are copies of cheques, correspondence, investigation files on individuals containing personal addresses and telephone numbers, accounting documents, subpoenas and thousands of pages of transcripts of testimony given in camera.
In the case of testimonies, the disclosure of their contents could reveal the identity of a witness who agreed to participate in the investigation, explained the spokesperson.
“In a context where he was promised confidentiality, there could be harm if he is identified,” said Ms.me St-Arnaud Drolet.