The director general of Quebec elections (DGEQ) denies wanting to exclude certain documents from the Grenier investigation into Option Canada’s activities that the elected representatives of the National Assembly are demanding he publish. However, he fears that he may be prosecuted.
Jean-François Blanchet, who succeeded Pierre Reid last December, asked to meet with elected officials to explain the issues that concern him. In a press release sent on Tuesday afternoon, the day Parliament returns, the DGEQ claims it is at an impasse.
This is because in recent months the National Assembly has passed two motions ordering it to disclose all 40,000 documents obtained by Bernard Grenier as part of his investigation into the facts contained and described in the book “Les Secrets of Option Canada” by Normand Lester and Robin Philpot.
However, Mr Blanchet believes such an operation could have criminal consequences.
The Grenier Inquiry, Mr. Blanchet recalls, was not a public commission of inquiry like, for example, the Charbonneau Commission. The documents collected must also remain confidential, similar to police investigations, he argues.
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Jean-François Blanchet notes that the analysis of the documents confirms that the concerns raised by Me Grenier in 2006 – that the disclosure of certain information would potentially cause harm to certain people – are still valid despite the time that has now passed since then.
In addition, the relevant case law shows that even an order from the National Assembly would not immunize our institution in the event of possible criminal prosecution, according to the DGEQ.
The latter also mentions the ruling in which Quebec’s attorney general was ordered to pay $350,000 in punitive damages to former prime minister Jean Charest precisely because of the disclosure of personal data collected by a public organization as part of an investigation.
Faced with such a risk, Mr. Blanchet first wrote to the President of the National Assembly, Nathalie Roy, requesting an interview with her, as we learn from the correspondence published on Tuesday (New Window). She rejected the request but said she was ready to facilitate a meeting with all parties represented in parliament.
Sorting is not throwing away
In its press release, the DGEQ also reiterates that it was never intended to exclude documents affected by the elected officials’ request, although an earlier response transmitted through the media indicated that it had not included the requested documents have to sort first.
The use of such an expression was particularly denounced by the Parti Québécois (PQ), which was in power at the time of the 1995 referendum.
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The head of the PQ, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is in a standoff with the DGEQ over the approximately 40,000 documents collected by the Grenier Commission in the 2000s.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Sylvain Roy Roussel
The formation, now led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is at the forefront of the first motion adopted by the National Assembly on May 25, aimed at forcing the DGEQ to disclose all documents collected as part of the Grenier investigation . She has been scratching impatiently ever since.
The DGEQ initially responded that it was unable to disclose everything, which this time prompted the CAQ government to make a second application on June 9 to force it to do so.
Three months later, all the preserved documents were identified, as we learn from the correspondence between Mr. Blanchet and Ms. Roy.
This includes, in particular, stenographic transcriptions of received witness statements, written statements to investigators, subpoena orders, proof of service, financial and accounting documents, various contracts, bank information, correspondence between the various parties involved, written statements, newspaper articles, legal opinions, drafts and analyzes relating to the May 25th The report published in 2007 contains details of the DGEQ.
With information from The Canadian Press