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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

PQ says deal may combat corruption

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/6/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

MONTREAL -- The Quebec government is enthusiastically endorsing the idea of opening up public-works contracts to European companies in the wake of corruption scandals in its construction industry.

The province's international relations minister said opening the door to foreign competition could help solve Quebec's problem.

There had been speculation about whether the newly elected Parti Québécois government would support or fight efforts for a Canadian free-trade deal with the European Union. It was energetically touting Friday some of the benefits of a possible agreement.

"If we want to extract the cancer that is collusion and corruption, is more light and more competition part of the answer? You bet it is," Jean-Francois Lisée said in Montreal after an information session on Canada-EU negotiations.

"Of course, more competition and more players in a small market can only help in giving us more bang for our buck, and so that's good news."

Lisée's comments come as Quebec holds an explosive inquiry into corruption and collusion in its construction industry.

He noted Quebec spends about $5 billion a year on infrastructure projects of which, according to inquiry testimony, between 15 and 30 per cent has been funnelled to criminal organizations or gobbled up in rigged bids and kickbacks.

The proposed Canada-EU agreement, which Ottawa hopes to sign by the end of this year, would give European companies more opportunities to bid on certain public contracts here.

In return, Quebec companies are expected to benefit by offering their goods to Europe's enticing market of 500 million consumers at reduced prices of between seven and 16 per cent, Lisee said.

But the new PQ government has indicated there are grey areas in the negotiation that need to be clarified before the province signs on, such as its concerns about energy and cultural policy.

"A free-trade accord evidently contains positive points and less-positive points," Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau said Friday after the session. "We have the belief, the conviction, that there's a way to reach a deal that will be advantageous for Quebec."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 6, 2012 B7

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