Je me souviens: Corruption in Quebec

The Charbonneau inquiry into political corruption in La Belle Province is creating terrific theatre.

Day after day it hears testimony about payoffs to politicians and bureaucrats for construction contracts.

Now the mayor of Montreal is taking a few days off after the inquiry heard testimony that he ignored illegal fundraising in his political party.

Infuriating? Perhaps, but not surprising.

Corruption in Quebec has long been an open secret.

You can read a riveting account of this rotten state of affairs in Mafia Inc.: The Long, Bloody Reign of Canada’s Sicilian Clan by journalists André Cedilot and André Noel.

You can also read my 2011 review of the book in the Winnipeg Free Press.