MONTREAL- Tasked with investigating allegations of corruption in the awarding of Quebec's public contracts, the Charbonneau Commission faced a new hurdle on Monday as the RCMP refused to cooperate with the panel.

The commission, led by Superior Court Justice France Charbonneau, is set to tackle corruption in Quebec's multi-billion-dollar construction industry and its ties to politics and organized crime.

Despite subpoenas being mailed out, lawyers for the Mounties argued in Quebec Superior Court on Monday morning that they don't fall under the jurisdiction of the commission.

"Some principles of the law prevent us from divulging certain information," said Claude Joyal, a lawyer for Canada's Solicitor General.

Lawyers for the Charbonneau inquiry said that they were outraged by the federal agency's response.

"You can't just say, ‘I am refusing to turn it over and I am not subjected to your jurisdiction,'" said Sylvain Lussier, a lawyer speaking for the Charbonneau Commission.

Citing the RMCP's expertise in investigative matters, the inquest was looking for information from the federal police force's major operations against the Italian Mafia in the past decade. The most important of those RCMP investigations, Operation Coliseum, netted over 100 alleged Mafia members in 2006.

RCMP investigations have revealed a number of links between the Mafia and the construction industry, including allegations of kickbacks worth 5 per cent of all public construction contracts. Surveillance tapes from the force show construction industry figures making deals with Nick Rizzuto, the murdered Mafia boss.

The commission is now contending that the RCMP's refusal to cooperate could undermine the inquest.

We're under a very tight schedule we have to issue our report by October 2013 and were hampered by the delays caused by all of this," said Lussier.

After repeated refusals from Premier Jean Charest to call an inquiry into corruption, the Charbonneau Commission as only granted the full powers of a public inquiry in November.

Both sides will argue their case in court on April 18. The commission was granted a two year mandate last October.