Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions has denied allegations of "Liberal immunity" made by the head of Montreal's police brotherhood.
On Thursday, police union leader Yves Francoeur said in a radio interview two members of the Quebec Liberal Party, one of whom is still in office, were targets of a 2012 police investigation that never ended up in a courtroom.
Francoeur told 98.5 FM that the investigation had been completed and evidence included wiretap recordings. Those recordings revealed political financing that involved a real estate firm with ties to the Montreal mafia.
He said he didn’t know why legal proceedings had not gone forward and insisted that had the targets not been in a position of influence, they would have been charged. He did not identify the two Liberals in question.
Annick Murphy, who is in charge of the province's Crown prosecutors, denied any favouritism being given to elected members of the Liberal party.
Liberal MNA Robert Poeti, a former police officer, called the allegations "troubling," and said Francoeur should have reported this information to his superiors.
The union chief also used the interview to comment on recent revelations that UPAC, the province’s anti-corruption unit, had investigated former premier Jean Charest and Liberal fundraiser Marc Bibeau. Francoeur said the leaks demonstrate the frustration of various people involve in the judicial process.
The Parti Quebecois called on the Liberals to conduct an internal investigation while Coalition Avenir Quebec deputy leader Eric Caire said his party would like to hear Francoeur testify before a parliamentary committee.
"This is extremely serious," he said.
