Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
PERCÉ – The former director of urban planning for the Town of Percé, Ghislain Pitre, is accused of fraud and breach of trust following an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commissioner.
The Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) investigation tends to show that, between 2009 and 2023, Mr. Pitre allegedly used the services provided by municipal employees under his direction for his own benefit.
In addition, between 2021 and 2023, the accused allegedly took advantage of subsidies awarded under the financial assistance program for heritage restoration of the Ministry of Culture and Communications, for which he was responsible, for personal purposes.
He would have benefited from more than $5,000 of public money for the renovation of his house, depriving other citizens of subsidies. The Municipal Commission’s report from last July mentioned some $80,000. He will appear on March 10 at the Percé Courthouse.
In December 2024, UPAC asked the Town to lift the professional privacy surrounding the administrative investigation that led to Mr. Pitre’s dismissal.
The organization requested access to the report following a request for disclosure from prosecutors from the Bureau of Serious Crime and Special Affairs of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.
UPAC had committed to using the report only for the specific purposes of the request and to keeping the document confidential until criminal charges were filed if the investigation were to come to that point.
On November 14, 2023, UPAC went to the Town Hall to meet with the then Director General, Jean-François Coderre, and various municipal employees in connection with the suspension of the former executive.
At the time, the executive was the subject of allegations of fraud, theft of large sums of money and falsification of documents.
An administrative investigation was launched to verify these allegations, with the Town indicating at the time that the suspension, with pay, followed a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in order to respect the presumption of innocence.
On July 17, 2024, the town council dismissed the former executive following the filing of the 340-page administrative investigation report in labour law, by the law firm Therrien, Couture and Joli-Coeur. The council adopted a resolution a few minutes after learning of the document ordered during his suspension with pay on October 30.
Since the case was at risk of being brought to court, the municipal council had made no further comments on the resolution adopted that validated the dismissal.
The former executive is contesting his dismissal, and the hearing before the Administrative Labour Tribunal was postponed several times. The bill for the administrative investigation amounted to $131,250.
The mayor of Percé is reserving his comments following the announcement by the Anti-Corruption Commissioner. “This is a judicial matter. We will not comment. We will wait with you for the judgment,” Daniel Leboeuf said simply on the sidelines of the February 4 municipal council meeting.