Charest Vindicated in Judge-Fixing Report, But Suspicions Remain

The long-awaited Bastarache report found that accusations against Charest were baseless, but that Quebec’s judicial system is ripe for corruption.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest declared victory yesterday, after the release of the Bastarache report that found there was no evidence he interfered with the judicial appointment process in 2003. The accusations had been made by Charest’s former justice minister Marc Bellemare, whom the report declared was not a credible witness (his main evidence was notes he had scribbled on a piece of cardboard). But the report also found that the Charest government’s system for appointing judges contains many weak points that could be exploited by politicians looking to interfere, adding to the popular perception that Charest’s Liberal government is corrupt. The report recommended forming an independent selection committee to oversee the process.