The interim director of the Constance-Lethbridge Rehab Centre has been accused of double dipping, and it’s raising some ethical questions.

Micheline Jodoin is accused of collecting her pension plus a paycheque for the same post she's held the last few years.

Jodoin officially retired on July 5, 2013, but she never left the job.

Now on contract, Jodoin collects her full pension of more than $130,000 a year, plus a paycheque.

Constance-Lethbridge won't comment on details of the contract, but said she was hired through Guy Lambert and Associates, a consulting firm owned and operated by Jodoin's husband and in which she is a shareholder.

Francoise Rollin, the chair of the board of directors said she feels there's nothing wrong with keeping Jodoin on the job.

“We thought this was the best to do to maintain stability and functioning of centre,” said Rollin.

It's not the first instance of double dipping in the public sector – and it's perfectly legal, explained McGill University political science professor Antonia Maioni.

“It's common because we have in effect built structures that allow this to happen. Often people will retire and then be rehired… their skills are said to be so necessary that they're the only people who can do this job they've retired from,” she said.

In a time of government austerity, however, the optics of double dipping aren't good. 

Following public outcry, current Education Minister Yves Bolduc was forced to return a portion of $200,000 in bonuses he earned working as a physician while sitting in opposition as a Member of the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Gaetan Barrette responded to criticism that the current doctors’ agreement gives them the ability to double dip on maternity leave benefits.

“My position is there's a loophole there that needs to be closed,” he said.

Saving money isn't the only reason double dipping merits a second look.

“What happens to the next generation who can't get this kind of management experience if we keep hiring people who've retired, who have the special set of skills we need?” said Maioni. “We're never going to build the skill set we need in the next generation.”

Jodoin remains interim director of the Constance-Lethbridge Rehab Centre until at least Dec. 31, when her contract is up for renewal.