February 25, 2010 - In announcing $4.2 billion in new projects this year to fix Quebec's battered highway network, Transport Minister Julie Boulet also named Jacques Duchesneau to prop up her government's battered reputation, the Montréal Gazette reported yesterday.

The Gazette report added that “Duchesneau, a former director of the Montreal police, will head a new anti-collusion unit in the transport department, targeting collusion and bid rigging by contractors.

As well, Duchesneau will look into cases of fraud and embezzlement in the construction industry.

His goal is that "everyone have a chance to bid on contracts."

The Charest government has used its majority in the National Assembly to fend off calls for a public inquiry into construction corruption. There have been allegations Quebec taxpayers are paying a premium as high as 35 per cent on construction contracts because of collusion.

Boulet said preliminary findings show Quebec's road-building costs are comparable with those in Ontario and New Brunswick.

Opposition politicians, mayors and unions representing engineers, police officers and crown prosecutors have also called for a public inquiry, saying there is a system of corruption that police work will not uncover.

Duchesneau, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Montreal in 1998 on an anti-corruption platform, himself called for a public inquiry into the construction industry last November.

Asked if he still wants a public inquiry, Duchesneau said yesterday that he does, because police work, which is what the Charest government has proposed as an alternative to an inquiry, is not enough.

"What we are announcing today is looking forward," he said. "That's what interests me."

He said he has spoken with Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis and the Sûreté du Québec, and plans to work with them to prevent collusion.

He will also work with engineers and economists, trying to detect signs of irregularities.

Boulet said it was too early to say how the anti-collusion unit will work, but said it would co-operate with Operation Hammer, a police task force set up in October to investigate the allegations.

Duchesneau said the $4.2 billion Boulet has budgeted for roads and infrastructure projects will be attractive to organized crime.

"They have long arms," he said. "It's a temptation."

Duchesneau said he would ensure that "every dollar spent will be well spent."

Norman MacMillan, the junior transport minister, said naming Duchesneau was not a way to avoid the corruption allegations. The idea is to ensure that the $4.2 billion is "well-spent."

"I'm not saying in the past it was not well spent," MacMillan added, leading one reporter to ask: "So you're saying that what never happened won't happen again?"

Another reporter pointed to allegations that grateful construction contractors contribute to Liberal coffers, suggesting the Charest Liberals practise "pork-barrel politics."

"It's not my fault," MacMillan said, denying a connection between the contracts and contributions to the Liberal Party.

Bertrand Saint-Arnaud, the Parti Québécois public security critic, said naming Duchesneau was the latest bid by the government to avoid a public inquiry. "It's a total lack of respect for Quebecers who want to know what these multiple revelations in the construction world are about," Saint-Arnaud said.”

In a separate article, the Gazette reported that $508 million has been earmarked for projects on Montreal Island for work on Autoroutes 20, 40 and 720, as well as the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine tunnel and reconstruction of the Turcot interchange, slated for demolition.

Boulet said plans to rebuild Notre Dame St. in the city's east end are back on hold, because the projected cost has risen to almost $1.5 billion.

Turcot reconstruction: $96.2 million

Dorval interchange autoroutes 20, 520: $65.6 million ($33 million from federal government, city of Montreal and Aéroports de Montréal)

Autoroute 25, from Henri Bourassa Blvd. to Autoroute 40: $130 million

Anjou interchange, autoroutes 25 and 40: $20.75 million

Querbes overpass of Autoroute 40: $3.6 million

Autoroute 40 at St. Jean Baptiste Blvd.: $16.3 million

Autoroute 40, Charles de Gaulle bridge: $14 million

Autoroute 720, east of Bleury St.: $14.2 million ($5.1 million from Ottawa)

Pont Viau reconstruction: $26 million