Quebec premier denies influence peddling allegations

Jean Charest’s former justice minister says he was pressured into appointing judges

Quebec Premier Jean Charest called a hasty press conference yesterday to defend himself against allegations that he allowed Liberal party fundraisers to influence the appointment of three judges in the early days of his premiership. The allegations were made by Marc Bellemere, who served as Charest’s justice minister in 2003, at a commission looking into how judges are chosen in the province. Bellemere testified that prominent Quebec City fundraiser Franco Fava repeatedly asked him to appoint his friends as judges, and when he told Charest he was being pressured the premier told him to go along with it.