The funds secret to settle a dispute harassment

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Alfred Tremblay (left) and Richard Deschenes are accused of having illegally used the funds secret of the SQ. According to Mr. Deschenes, it was to settle a dispute of harassment suffered by Mr. Tremblay.

Michael Nguyen

Tuesday, 13 February, 2018 22:31

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Tuesday, 13 February, 2018 22:31

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A former head of the Sûreté du Québec would have used the funds secret police to put an end to a harassment complaint from a senior officer, he hinted at his trial Tuesday.

“[SQ] had acted badly with Alfred Tremblay, he had applied pressure to his retirement, he had been assigned to tasks that did not exist and he had been humiliated… I was uncomfortable, ” explained Richard Deschenes, Tuesday, at the palais de justice of Montreal.

The ex-director general of the provincial police is well defended at his trial for fraud, theft and breach of trust in relation to the use of the funds secret supposed to be used, among others, for organized crime investigations.

He is accused in the company of Steven Chabot and Alfred Tremblay. According to the lawsuit, Chabot would have given an expense secret of 167 931 $ to a few days of his retirement, in 2010, while Tremblay would have received 79 877 $.

Photo BEN PELOSSE/

Robert Lafrenière, head of UPAC

Power

However, Deschenes stated that the funds secret used also for administrative expenses or for emergencies. During the presentation of the evidence of the Crown, the successor of Mr. Deschenes, Mario Laprise, was also recognised that this fund was used in a manner that ” liberal “, before he embarks on changing the ways of doing business.

“From my understanding, the director-general has a discretionary power, the [fund secret] can be used, but it must be in the interests of the SQ” testified Mr. Deschenes, all while claiming never to have had any training on the use of this famous fund.

In fact, he explained, it is rubbing shoulders with other high-ranking officers such as the present head of the Unité permanente anti-corruption, Robert Lafrenière, he has learned to use it, at the time when Mr. Deschenes was not yet leader of the SQ.

Compensation

It is therefore in this context that Mr. Deschenes has said he’s confident that he had the power to authorize agreements ” case by case “. They are confidential, and he had to make sure to limit the number of people who had that knowledge, he said.

As director general, he has decided to compensate Alfred Tremblay, the equivalent of “six or seven” months during which he had been ” put in the wardrobe “. The agreement has been negotiated between the parties, he added.

The testimony of Richard Deschenes continues Wednesday.