On last day in office, Charest disappointed he has no pardoning power

On his last day in office as Premier of Quebec, Liberal leader Jean Charest was disappointed to find out that he could not pardon his friends for their crimes, as is the tradition for U.S. presidents on their last day in office.

Instead, dozens of construction industry owners and cabinet ministers will face corruption charges this October.

The Quebec government runs the police, courts and most of the prisons of the province, but the federal government is in charge of naming crimes and granting pardons, under a provision of the Canadian constitution that the Fathers of Confederation came up with while drunk.