Arthur Porter calls Charbonneau Commission statements 'libellous'
Says corruption inquiry is compromising ongoing legal proceedings
Arthur Porter is denying the latest allegations against him from his jail cell in Panama.
Last week, a witness at the Charbonneau Commission said Porter had perpetrated "the largest corruption fraud in Canadian history."
In an interview from his jail cell with biographer Jeff Todd, Porter calls the allegation made by Sgt. Jean-Frédérick Gagnon of the Sûreté du Québec "the most libelous statement I have ever heard."
"There has been no legal process, no trial, no judgment, although perhaps these steps are now considered perfunctory!
I was not involved in any fraud, and therefore the statement is baseless," said quotes from Porter on a website run by his family.
It's alleged Porter accepted an $11-million bribe to award the contract to build the new McGill superhospital to SNC- Lavalin when he was chairman of the McGill University Health Centre.
Porter is now facing criminal charges and awaiting a deportation hearing after being arrested in Panama.
He said that he is "puzzled" by allegations being levelled against him by the Charbonneau Commission — officially called the Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry.
Porter said he believes the Commission is compromising his ongoing legal process.
"These Commission proceedings are surely making a mockery of a future court process. One-sided evidence is being presented, damning statements are being made, and no effort to test the validity of the so-called evidence and statements has occurred," said Porter.
He maintains he did everything according to the rules and said he plans to fight back.
"And I will win," said Porter.
Porter is working on an autobiography that he says will tell his side of the story, called The Man Behind the Bow Tie: Arthur Porter on Business, Politics, and Intrigue.