QUEBEC CITY – Former Quebec justice minister Marc Bellemare has launched a $900,000 countersuit against Premier Jean Charest.

He filed the suit against his former boss in a Quebec City courthouse Thursday, claiming financial and moral damages.

In the court documents, Bellemare claims it was Charest who began hostilities by accusing him of lying about claims he was pressured by Quebec Liberal fundraisers to name certain people to the judiciary.

Bellemare was provincial justice minister between 2003 and 2004.

Charest called an inquiry earlier this year after Bellemare made his allegations in media interviews. He also launched a $700,000 defamation lawsuit against him last spring.

On Wednesday, Bellemare was granted participant status in the Bastarache commission. This means Bellemare’s lawyer will be able to cross-examine the future witnesses scheduled to appear in the coming weeks.

The public inquiry will resume next Tuesday.