Charest to Set Up Corruption Agency, Remains Defiant on Inquiry

In the wake of a by-election defeat on Monday, the Québec premier says he is taking permanent steps to fight corruption.

From allegations that the premier fixed judicial appointments to a Mafia arson war consuming Montreal’s restaurant industry, scandals have hit virtually every level of Québec society this year. Jean Charest has been under intense pressure to call a public inquiry into corruption, but has staked his political life on the belief that such an inquiry could quickly spin out of control and take down his government. After losing a by-election in Kamouraska to the PQ on Monday, Charest has announced he will set up a permanent anti-corruption agency modeled after New York’s Department of Investigation, set up in 1873 to fight government graft. Calls for an inquiry continue, but the move could buy Charest some time.