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MONTREAL, Que. — A Quebec construction magnate says he buttered up a powerful union boss with expensive hockey tickets, fancy dinners and even a trip to Italy, but he can’t say if he got anything in return.

Joe Borsellino, head of Garnier Construction, admits he was generous with the former head of the Quebec Federation of Labour’s construction wing, Jocelyn Dupuis.

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He calls him a friend.

On the stand for a second day at a provincial corruption inquiry Tuesday, Borsellino faced a grilling from commission counsel about his relationship with Dupuis, who once ran Quebec’s most powerful construction union.

The testimony has been complicated. Borsellino, who was heard speaking smooth French on police wiretaps, said he was having trouble understanding questions being posed to him in that language.

His responses have come in both official languages, with the two frequently mixed into the same sentence. When asked why he gave Dupuis so many gifts, Borsellino gave a reply in French and English.