The major corruption and collusion in the construction sector uncovered by the Charbonneau Commission appears to have been contained, but has multiplied to a small extent in several other sectors.

Now it’s more subtle, people disguise their actions more […] But we also see that corruption crimes extend to other environments such as IT, healthcare, school service centers and several environments where we find smaller programssaid anti-corruption commissioner Frédérick Gaudreau.

The great boss of the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) presented on Tuesday in Quebec the results of the organization for the year 2022-2023, but also for the last five years, that is, since thenUPAC became a full-fledged police force in 2018.

There are still envelopes

In the field of construction, Commissioner Gaudreau welcomed the fact that large systems were emerging involving construction and engineering firms as well as municipal and elected officials, such as that of Laval during the term of office of the deposed and convicted mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. are stratagems we will never see again.

However, he continues: There are contracts that are awarded in certain municipalities or in certain school service centers or in the health sector.

There are still cases today where people pass envelopes to potentially secure a contract and be given preference in a tender.

The report presented by Frédérick Gaudreau shows that in the last five years, 259 people have been indicted following investigations by the Supreme CourtUPAC, 57 of whom were convicted. However, these figures, which may indicate a low success rate, are misleading and hide a reality all litigants know all too well, namely the slowness of the legal process.

A 91% success rate

In fact, of the 57 convicted defendants, 17 were charged before 2018. Over the past five years, only 44 of 259 cases have gone through the full court process and 40 resulted in convictions, a success rate of 91%. Three cases were resolved with a stay of proceedings and the last was resolved through a settlement alternative measures.

On an annual basis, the results for the year ending March 31, 2023 are impressive. This year alone, 231 charges were filed by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), ie the best record in this area since the founding of theUPAC. The 35 convictions (included in the 57 above) represent a 46% increase compared to the previous year.

Commissioned since 2022 to carry out audits in companies thatUPAC submitted nearly 800 reports to the Public Procurement Authority in nine months. The Commission de construction du Québec’s independent verification unit claimed more than 32,000 undeclared hours, totaling $860,000.

New expertise

Frédérick Gaudreau says he’s pretty proud of his police department’s work, which he says shows this The Commissioner and the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit are relevant to Quebec. In his opinion, corruption cases require an organization like ours: permanent, autonomous and not tied to the current police emergency.

L’UPAC Thanks to the legislative changes made in 2022 that expanded access to the role of investigator, it has managed to recruit investigators into its team with training and experience in IT, accounting, finance and administration – important expertise that is the envy of other police forces, says Mr. Gaudreau.

He expects that the police will remain this way in the coming years We were able to gain efficiency precisely because we hired people with a different profile and a different vision. This will be more necessary than ever, he recognizes, due to technological advances and the ability of criminals to exploit them. The more things develop, the more we try to be up to date in this regard, but I don’t want to hide, it is indeed a challenge in terms of knowledge but also in terms of the appropriation of this material.

Finally, at the administrative levelUPAC has achieved what many government organizations struggle to achieve, namely reducing the processing time for files reported to it, which has increased from 62 days five years ago to an average of nine days.