Charest Braces for Release of Bastarache Report

The findings of a hearing into corruption allegations surrounding Québec judicial appointments will be made public Wednesday.

Somebody is lying. That will likely be the result of a long-awaited report to be released tomorrow by former Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache, who was tasked with verifying allegations leveled against Premier Jean Charest by his former justice minister Marc Bellemare. Bellemare alleges Charest told him to accept the recommendations of Liberal fundraisers when appointing judges, a charge Charest denies. Charest is extremely unpopular thanks to a slew of corruption allegations against him, but Bellemare’s credibility has also been called into question, particularly because he waited six years to alert anyone to the alleged improprieties. Bastarache isn’t expected to fully blame either man, but the public’s glimpse at the unseemly judge-appointment process could be the nail in the coffin for Charest’s government.