The Charbonneau commission is pressuring former union leader Jocelyn Dupuis to explain his ties to Tony Accurso, the former construction magnate who is facing charges of fraud and conspiracy.
The Nov.6 hearings continued to further reveal and question Dupuis’ habit of dining with known criminals during his time at FTQ-Construction.
On Nov. 5 it was made clear that Dupuis and Accurso hated each other with a passion. Their falling out was triggered in 2009 when Accurso backed Jean Lavallée to become leader of the FTQ.
But, by the end of the year they had apparently patched things up so well that Accurso wrote Dupuis a cheque for $56,437.50, ostensibly for work on a project which never happened.
Tony Accurso wrote FTQ-Construction leader Jocelyn Dupuis a cheque for $56,000 in Dec. 2012.
"The business ties you are referring to come from discussions about the Alouette worksite," said Dupuis. "It was 2010 or at the start of it because we were hearing that Alouette wanted to invest."
Throughout the Nov. 6 morning session, the inquiry attempted to figure out the true relationship between the union leader and the construction tycoon.
By going through Dupuis's expense account claims, it quickly became apparent that Dupuis often had dined with known criminals and alleged mobsters and bikers. He claimed this was acceptable because they had investments to make and he was trying to convince them to use the FTQ Solidarity Fund.
Though he denied, or couldn’t remember the circumstances of several of the encounters brought up, “business development,” was Dupuis’s common justification to explain his habit of lunching with contactors.
When asked whether or not he feared that he was creating an image problem for FTQ, Dupuis said this issue was never brought up.
Dupuis also said that he was defending workers’ rights, and that he had improved their working conditions.
He is expected to take to the stands tomorrow for a final day of testimony.
