Former organizer says Montreal mayor knew about illegal campaign spending

MONTREAL - A former political organizer for Mayor Gerald Tremblay’s Union Montreal party alleges that the mayor knew there was illegal spending during the campaign leading up to a December 2004 municipal byelection.

Martin Dumont, who also held several roles in the Harper government after he left municipal politics, made the allegation today during an appearance before the Quebec corruption inquiry.

Tremblay told reporters at a news conference on another matter that the allegations are false.

Dumont told the Charbonneau Commission about a meeting that he attended along with Tremblay and Marc Deschamps, the official agent, two weeks before the byelection.

He testified that during the meeting, Deschamps told him not to worry and pulled out a document which indicated two budgets — one was the official campaign budget of $43,000 and the other a so-called "unofficial" budget of $90,000.

Dumont said at that point Tremblay said he didn’t want to know about that and left the room.

Dumont told the commission that the maximum allowable spending limit for the byelection was $46,000, but in the end, it cost Union Montreal $110,000.