Quebec | GlobalPost

An NDP MP loses his role because of lengthy history of non-payment of taxes

The Canadian PressMay 25, 2013 07:06

MONTREAL - The NDP has suspended a member from its shadow cabinet because of his chronic, long-term failure to pay taxes. Tyrone Benskin has been stripped of his role as official-languages critic until he pays the $58,000 he owes to the Quebec revenue agency. The provincial agency has contacted the House of Commons to seize part of his $160,000 MP's salary because of outstanding tax debts from 2007 to 2011. The Montreal MP had been an actor in films, including the popular "300," before being elected in 2011. Benskin has apologized in a statement.

Quebec government polls public on 'problem' of religious accommodation

The Canadian PressMay 22, 2013 14:48

QUEBEC - The Parti Quebecois government, already involved in a political battle to toughen the province's language law, has placed another emotionally charged identity issue on the back burner. The government has delayed its plan to set limits on religious accommodations until the fall and even begun referring to it in less contentious terms. The PQ campaigned last year on a promise to introduce a Charter of Secularism, notably aimed at regulating Muslim headwear in public institutions. It is now referring to its plan as a "charter of Quebec values."

NDP Leader Mulcair urges Harper to release paper trail on Senate scandal

The Canadian PressMay 22, 2013 12:36

OTTAWA - Opposition leader Tom Mulcair is calling on the prime minister to release all the documents connected to a $90,000 payment to a now-disgraced senator. Stephen Harper's chief of staff resigned over the weekend after it was revealed he gave Sen. Mike Duffy the money to pay back taxpayers for his disallowed housing expenses. Mulcair says the series of excuses and explanations Harper's government has deployed since the scandal broke don't add up.

NDP Leader Mulcair says cops wanted to talk to him about meeting with Vaillancourt

The Canadian PressMay 21, 2013 19:02

OTTAWA - Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he was contacted by the provincial police anti-corruption squad in Quebec to discuss a suspected 17-year-old bribe offered to him. Mulcair says he never reached out to the police himself because he had no proof a bribe was actually being offered at a 1994 meeting with the now-controversial ex-mayor of Laval, Que. Mulcair, who back then was a political rookie seeking provincial office for the first time, said he never looked to see what was in an envelope offered by then-mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.

Coalition party member suspended from caucus amid illegal financing allegations

The Canadian PressMay 21, 2013 15:47

QUEBEC - Quebec's Coalition party has suspended one of its legislature members amid allegations of illegal financing while he was in municipal politics. Leader Francois Legault says he has suspended Daniel Ratthe after being told Ratthe had met today with investigators from the Charbonneau Commission looking into corruption in Quebec's construction industry. Legault says a witness at the commission is expected to testify today concerning allegations an organizer for Ratthe received cash during Ratthe's bid to become mayor of the Quebec town of Blainville in 2005.

Federal NDP leader speaks to police 'to help' with Quebec corruption probe

The Canadian PressMay 16, 2013 14:02

The fallout from Quebec's corruption scandals has reached the epicentre of Canada's Parliament, with the federal Opposition leader revealing Thursday he once spoke to police about someone trying to pass him a suspicious-looking envelope. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said he spoke to investigators two years ago about a 1994 meeting with the then-mayor of Laval, Que., who has since resigned in scandal and been slapped with criminal charges. A newspaper report Thursday said Mulcair was offered — and refused — an envelope he believed to have contained cash.

Two arrests, one injury and jeers at Coderre's stormy mayoral campaign launch

The Canadian PressMay 16, 2013 05:01

MONTREAL - Denis Coderre's arrival in the world of municipal politics wound up being crafted in the image of the man himself — destined to grab attention. His debut ended with one injury, two arrests, and a lot of heckling. The unusual scene Thursday was certainly not the one Coderre would have scripted. But it achieved a feat he has pursued, and attained repeatedly, in a colourful political career: lots of media coverage.

Quebec corruption inquiry witness admits to lie on the stand

The Canadian PressMay 13, 2013 13:39

MONTREAL - A witness who delivered bombshell testimony at Quebec's corruption inquiry, detailing decades of political graft, has admitted to lying during part of his testimony. Gilles Cloutier returned to the inquiry Monday with a message: that although he had testified about owning a summer cottage in Quebec's Charlevoix region he was, in fact, just renting it. That admission about a seemingly minor detail was seized upon by lawyers during cross-examination — and they used it to pound away at Cloutier's credibility.

Harper government treats cities with 'neglect and even disdain,' Mulcair says

The Canadian PressMay 10, 2013 21:31

TORONTO - Saying successive federal governments have ignored the country's cities, New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair on Friday said his party would launch national consultations on urban issues. Mulcair said cities such as Toronto are vital to Canada's economic growth and require support from the federal government. "Unfortunately, today in Ottawa, we've got a government that simply doesn't understand the challenges facing communities like this one," Mulcair said in a speech to the Economic Club of Canada.

Powerful ex-mayor faces possible life sentence for gangsterism

The Canadian PressMay 9, 2013 14:04

LAVAL, Que. - For much of his political life, he was known as "The Monarch." Now, for the rest of his natural life, he risks being branded as "The Godfather." One of the Criminal Code's most severe charges — directing a criminal organization — is being laid against the once-powerful mayor of Laval, Que. That charge, one of two gangsterism counts and numerous other charges laid against Gilles Vaillancourt on Thursday, carries a maximum life sentence.