Cash stuffed in envelopes, golf clubs and golf trips, a convection heater, ski trips, home repairs were all gifts that Guy Hamel, a former engineer at the Quebec Ministry of Transport, received from private businesses, he told the Charbonneau Commission Wednesday.
In return, Hamel would use his influence within the ministry to help the companies advance their projects.
For example, in the fall of 1999 and the spring of 2000, Hamel received three payments of $5,000 from the DIMS firm for his help with a bid for the Charles de Gaulle Bridge.
And while taxpayers were hit with $9 million cost overruns on the Highway 40 repaving project in the West Island, Hamel received a Caribbean cruise from Soter Construction for his support with their bid.
Hamel said that one of his bosses told him to “slow down” in 2003, which he interpreted to mean that he should consider taking fewer bribes.
CTV Montreal News reporter Stephane Giroux is live from the Charbonneau Commission. Giroux will have a live update on the 12 noon news, but follow his tweets in the meantime:
