Charest is happy to be out of countersuit

Premier Jean Charest said on Tuesday that he is happy to no longer be the target of a countersuit. The premier and his former justice minister, Marc Bellemare, announced Monday that they have dropped their lawsuits against one another. 

Last April, Charest launched the Bastarache commission after Bellemare made allegations that political influence played into the naming of Quebec Court judges. It was headed up by retired Supreme Court justice Michel Bellemare.
The day after the commission was announced, Charest launched a $700,000 defamation suit against Bellemare. He said Bellemare had called him a liar. Bellemare countersued the premier for $900,000.

Last January, the Bastarache commission, which cost a total of $4.8 million, found that Bellemare had not backed up his claims.
But polls afterwards stated that most Quebecers believed Bellemare over the premier.