Charest was silent on his final orders

Following his defeat in 2012, Jean-Charles, now the candidate for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), pursued a private career. Newspaper Tried to find out more about his last orders and his income, but for the main interested party it was motas and tight-lipped.

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Nine years ago, mr. Charles returned to practice law with McCarthy Tetralt in Montreal. As an Associate Lawyer, he advises multiple clients “and guides them through the maze of the international business community,” the website wrote.

But before he started his dream of becoming Prime Minister of Canada, what did he actually do in the last two years? Mr. Charrest’s team is silent on the matter.

When questioned several times, his press officer Lawrence Toth called us Mr. Sent to Charrest owner. “It is McCarthy Tetralt’s responsibility to answer these questions,” she wrote Newspaper.

But after many requests, Mr. Charrest’s law firm was never designed to answer our questions. A bad strategy, experts believe.

“There is a lot of speculation about Mr. Charrest with the Charbonnot Commission, the Machurer Inquiry. I believe he’s going to step forward to avoid any suspicion, he should play Mr. Net,” underscored Andre Lamourex, a lecturer in the political science department at UQAM.

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The dangers of a “coderizer”?

Last November, Denise Coderre, who is trying to become mayor of Montreal again, refused for several days to reveal her list of clients. He finally agreed, but the controversy largely contributed to his electoral defeat.

“Mr. Charrest needs to show us that his professional past is positive. If this becomes a very serious strategic issue for the aspiring mayor, we can expect it to become an important issue for the Prime Minister of Canada, “said Philip Dubois, a member of the Political Communication Research Group at Laval University.

Despite everything, the current rules Mr. Charrest cannot be forced to disclose the identity of its clients.

“You can say that informal standards of ethics and integrity will lead to Mr. Charest becoming more transparent. But these standards are not mandatory, everyone understands them as they see fit, ”said Denise Saint-Martin, a full-time professor of political science at the University of Montreal.

Other questions arise

Without knowing its specific directions, Newspaper It was reported a few days ago that Jean-Charles has a very active professional life in the private sector, but some activities bring a share of their questions (see text in Huawei).

For example, he chaired Windiga Energy, a Quebec company that produces green energy in Africa, whose name appears in the Paradise Papers, which was first leaked via the Droit.Inc site.

Energy CEO Benoit La Salle said in a statement on the issue Newspaper I had to go through a country like Barbados to avoid being taxed in two places in Africa that do not have a tax contract.

“Jean was not there, not at all, he assured me in an interview that it was completely legal and also recommended by Revenue Canada, otherwise you would have double taxation.”

Mr. Charest also had a disputed mandate with oil company TransCanada until 2015, now TC Energy. According to the Globe and Mail, he tried to arrange a meeting with the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada has finally concluded that Mr. Charrest did not violate the lobbying law.

During the launch of his leadership campaign, he promoted the construction of new oil and gas pipelines on Canadian soil.

Other companies that have used the services of Jean Charest

• Corporation of Automobile Dealers Associations (CADA)
• Goldcorp Mining
• Aerospace sector
• Costco

– In collaboration with Philip Langlois

Giant Huawei, annoying customer?

Jean-Charles, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership candidate, is an adviser to Chinese phone maker Huawei, which, according to observers, will soon need to clarify the nature of its relationship with the company.

In 2019, amid the diplomatic cold between Ottawa and Beijing following the arrest of Huawei number two, Meng Wanzhou and the imprisonment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spover, Mr. Charest provided strategic advice to the company for a few months.

Huawei faces charges of spying by US government The Bureau of Investigation reported that he paid $ 6,000 to sponsor an evening celebrating Charest’s political career.

Show the white piece

“He must prove that there is a watertight wall between him and this file and that there is no longer any connection with him,” assured Professor Philippe Dubois, a member of the Political Communication Research Group at Laval University.

“In this case and in all his orders, he must play fairly. He wants to prove that there is no conflict between this company or another, ”said Andre Lamoureux, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University du Quebec a Montreal.

Although Ottawa has not yet decided whether to ban the Chinese giant’s 5G network, Mr. Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, also believes that Charest will benefit from transparency.

“I believe he will be on target, but we are at a stage where he can be used to clarify his position,” he said in an interview. Newspaper.

Yesterday, Huawei confirmed Newspaper Jean-Charles worked for a Chinese company on a 5G file, mainly during the 2021 Meng Wanzhou handover process.

“Thanks to Huawei Jean Charest and team [d’avocats] McCarthy Tetralt for their loyal advice and support from mid-2019, ”said VP Ali Khan Welsh, now a former Conservative strategist. Huawei’s Corporate.