Charbonneau commissioners' testy exchanges revealed in emails

They sat sidebyside for months on end, as the hearings into allegations of corruption in Quebec's construction industry plodded along.

But emails and an annotated draft chapter obtained by Radio-Canada's Enquteprogram showcommission chairwoman France Charbonneauand co-commissioner Renaud Lachance hadnumerousacrimonious exchangesas they wrotethe publicinquiry's final report particularly when it came to political party financing.

About a hundred pages of a draft chapter on political financing, with notes handwritten by Lachance in September, reveal that the province's former auditorgeneralwanted to soften the final report's criticism directed atpolitical parties, particularly the Quebec Liberal Party.

You should look at your own actions before you try to preach to others,- Co-commissioner Renaud Lachance, in an email to France Charbonneau

"Ridiculous. You must not have experienced anything in life to have written this," Lachancewrote beside one paragraph dealing with private meetings between entrepreneurs and government ministers.

Lachanceused the term "ridiculous" five other times in the annotated draft, without further explanation.

Dissenting emails

Emails exchanged during the same time period also show a rift between the two.

"You should look at your own actions before you try to preach to others," Lachance wrote to Charbonneau in an emaildated Aug 30.

I'd like to remind you that our duty is more important than our disagreement,- Commission chair France Charbonneau, in an emailtoRenaud Lachance

That was in response to a long emailfrom Charbonneau, in which the commission chairwomanwrites: "It's been nearly a month since you decided to ignore me. ButI'd like to remind you that our duty is more important than our disagreement."

"If you decide to put your comments in the commissioners' note instead of the main text, you know that will attract theattention of both the mediaand the public," she goes on to write.

"[It will] focus the debate on us, instead of the report," the email says. "Is that what you want?"

The note reveals that Charbonneau tried to reach an agreement with her colleague, since she told him she would gladly change the text if he indicated "proof to corroboratewhat you disagree with."

A few days later, Lachancesent Charbonneauthe annotated chapter.

Among the passages he disagreed with were those dealing with businessman Marc Bibeau and former Liberal premierJean Charest,as well as sections on two former Liberal ministers, Nathalie Normandeauand Line Beauchamp.

On Marc Bibeau and Jean Charest

Lachance's handwritten notes reveal that he had problems with labellingBibeau a Liberal party fundraiser.

Lachance crossed out the sentence, "Bibeau wasn't only responsible for financing at the Quebec Liberal Party"and added that only one witness providedthe inquiry with that information.

Lachance wrote in the margins: "Actually, Bibeau never had an official job at the Quebec Liberal Party."

During the public hearings, numerous witnesses, including members of the Liberal Party,engineers and construction bosses, testified that Bibeau was in charge ofthe party's financing.

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In another section of the draft,Lachancecrossed out Jean Charest's name from thissentence without explanation:"The demands from the Liberal Party to donate became more intense during the 2000's under Jean Charest and Marc Bibeau's reign."

Lachance also wanted to edit the section addressing former Liberal minister Nathalie Normandeau, particularly the paragraphs that criticized how she managed a subsidy program for water-treatment plants.

He called "unnecessary" the section that addressed the close relationship between Normandeau'schiefofstaff, Bruno Lortie, and former Liberal minister Marc-YvanCt, who was by then vice-president of the engineering firm, Roche.

When contacted byEnqute, Lachancesaid he would prefer not to speak publicly at this time.

PQ questions integrity of report

MNA Bernard Drainville, the PQ'sethics critic,called the leaked emails and draft "disgusting".

"After $45 million and this infighting, the end result is we haven't got the truth. We haven't gotten to the bottom of how the Quebec Liberal Party was being financed," he said, adding that Quebec taxpayers are "likely a little pissed off, as well."

Drainville has sent a formal letter requesting that the parliamentary committee on institutions invite both commissioners to explain themselves.

He wants the committee to "shed light on the inquiry's conclusions,"particularly the reasonLachance chose to disagree with the head of the commissionon such an "important part of the inquiry's conclusions."

For both Charbonneau and Lachance to appear in front of the committee, all of the national assembly's parties have to agree to Drainville's request.