In Quebec, construction chaos ahead
By Martin Patriquin with Philippe Gohier - Friday, September 23, 2011 - 6 Comments
The Duchesneau report details corruption, a money-laundering transport ministry and language laws that stymie competition
Photography by Roger Lemoyne
It has become a cliché to say Jean Charest has nine lives. The Quebec premier, who has spent more than half his life in politics, has made a sport out of defying expectations with his ability to spring back, catlike, from political disaster. At 36, he brought the federal Progressive Conservative Party from the brink; in 2003, at 44, he overcame an earlier loss to Lucien Bouchard to become premier, and has ruled ever since.
Until recently, Charest had seemingly turned his rather disastrous year in office into this comeback-kid narrative. This is no small feat. Over the last 12 months, Charest’s Liberals weathered allegations of favouritism in the selection of judges, an embarrassing flip- flop on the development of shale gas resources, and have been dogged by news that the party had been the recipient of hundreds of thousands of donations (some legal, some not) from several of the province’s largest engineering and construction firms—the very ones who won lucrative construction contracts from the Ministry of Transport. Far from backing down, Charest mused he might even take a fourth kick at the can.
What a difference one leak can make. Last week, a scathing report on the province’s construction industry, leaked to La Presse and Radio-Canada, stymied Charest’s legacy and, more importantly, gave Quebecers a glimpse at the scale of corruption plaguing the province’s construction industry.
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Today in all that
By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 8:37 PM - 70 Comments
Rahim Jaffer’s business associate has reportedly boasted of his connections to the Hells Angels. Helena Guergis’ constituents are unimpressed. The Globe and Canwest profile the now former minister of state. Guergis is reported to be “peripherally” connected to Jaffer’s business. The Star reprints her resignation letter in full. And the Toronto Sun manages to exceed all else in tastelessness.
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What do conservative Muslims and the Hells Angels have in common?
By Philippe Gohier - Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 2:45 PM - 50 Comments
A short history of government attempts to legislate clothing
One is a brash and well-entrenched criminal organization with a notorious penchant for dealing in violence, drugs, and women. The other is a strict, dogmatic community with an almost singular focus on rules and traditions. What brings them together, though, is the unusual attention provincial governments in Canada have come to pay to the appearance of each group’s members.Before Quebec announced the details of Bill 94, which allows provincial government workers to turn away niqab-clad Muslim women who refuse to remove their head-to-toe veils, members of the Hells Angels (and, more broadly, members of other criminal organizations) were the last ones to be targeted by a government-imposed clothing ban. However, if the experiment in banning bikers from showing their affiliations in bars in Saskatchewan and Manitoba is any indication, Quebec could have a hard time justifying banning Muslim garb from government offices.
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Exclusive excerpt: How to party like a cirque star
By Ian Halperin - Friday, June 12, 2009 at 12:20 PM - 0 Comments
‘Everything you wanted was available at Guy’s parties— drugs, the best music, the wildest sex’
Laliberté’s annual Grand Prix party in Montreal every June attracted A-listers from all over the world. The Sunday night after the big Formula One race, Laliberté would host a bash at his sprawling mansion in Saint-Bruno that would usually end up lasting a few days. It became the highlight of the year for the world’s jet set crowd. Years later, Laliberté had to move the party to an airport base because of recurring complaints by neighbours about the incredible noise level and wild partying. Everyone who attended was awed.“I have attended the finest parties all over the world, but nothing that compares to this,” says Myra Jones, a Milan-based fashion model who experienced several of Laliberté’s parties. “Everything you wanted was available at Guy’s parties—drugs, the best music spun by famous DJs flown in from Europe and the U.S.A., and the wildest sex you could ever imagine.”
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Hells Angels get revved up over their trademarks
By Rachel Mendleson - Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 12:54 PM - 4 Comments
The Angels sue a couple California residents over cyberpiracy
When squaring off against the Hells Angels, gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson once observed that “emerging unmaimed” generally depends on “the number of heavy-handed allies you can muster in the time it takes to smash a beer bottle.” But when it comes to settling cyber disputes, it seems the notorious motorcycle club is taking a more highbrow approach. The Angels are suing two California residents, claiming they registered 22 club-related Internet domain names, and then tried to sell them on eBay. The motorcycle club says the enterprise has “damaged the goodwill associated with its marks.” Continue…
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Three's company, four's a crowd
By Philippe Gohier - Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 4:06 PM - 0 Comments
A couple of people have suggested the Couillard story has legs because it’s got boobs. I disagree. I think the Couillard story has legs because the people involved won’t stop lying about it.Take this latest bit, for example: La Presse has uncovered evidence Couillard was involved with someone in Montreal’s Cotroni clan before she was with Gilles Giguère. Giguère had previously been believed to be her first of three romantic links to Montreal’s criminal underworld. Turns out, she dated Tony Volpato, Frank Cotroni’s right-hand man, a few years prior.
