Justice Minister Rob Nicholson insists the federal government will get involved in Quebec's investigation into Mafia corruption in the construction industry.
Nicholson says he's confident the $26.8-million police investigation called by Premier Jean Charest is `an appropriate way' to handle the issue, even if provincial politicians are implicated in the scandal.
The minister says the administration of justice is primarily a provincial responsibility.
He did not address the possibility that federal infrastructure money may be involved in the scandal, in which 14 Montreal-area firms are alleged to be involved in a price-fixing scheme.
A retired Quebec bureaucrat-turned-whistleblower says outside firms would be shut out while participating companies would alternately set the bid price on contracts and the others would then submit higher bids.
Mafia experts have said the practice exists elsewhere in Canada but is particularly worrisome now that Ottawa and the provinces are embarking on the most expensive infrastructure program in Canadian history.
