Charest and Bellemare Drop Dueling Lawsuits

The Quebec premier and his former justice minister have decided to bury the hatchet.

Well that was fun. After a year of recriminations and accusations that sparked a major inquiry and consumed Quebec politics, Jean Charest and Marc Bellemare have decided to call the whole thing off. Both men dropped lawsuits against each other Monday, formally ending a corruption scandal that will taint Charest’s political reputation for years. The premier had launched a $700,000 libel suit against Bellemare after he claimed Charest interfered with the selection of judges when Bellemare was justice minister. The accusation prompted a public inquiry led by Michel Bastarache that eventually exonerated Charest. In response to the libel suit, Bellemare launched a $900,000 countersuit and initiated legal proceedings to discredit the Bastarache commission. He abandoned both cases Monday.