Montreal and Quebec are teaming up to fight corruption.
The Montreal and UPAC anti-corruption police units are joining forces to better coordinate resources and share intelligence between the two.
The alliance was announced Tuesday at Montreal city hall.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, Public Security Minister Stephane Bergeron and the Minister Responsible for Montreal Jean-Francois Lisee all agreed that integrating Escouade de protection de l'intégrité municipal would make the fight against corruption stronger.
Better known as EPIM, the squad is a special 20-person unit created by the city of Montreal in January to root out corruption at city hall and in the city.
EPIM was created by former interim mayor Michael Applebaum right after he took over from Gerald Tremblay, who resigned under corruption allegations.
Poignantly, Applebaum was visited that same day by the province's own anti-corruption unit, UPAC, and was also forced to resign when he was told he was facing 26 charges relating to corruption and allegedly receiving kickbacks.
Coderre denied that Tuesday's announcement had to do with wiping the slate clean with EPIM and giving them a new and somewhat improved image, adding that the initiative is simply about better sharing of information between EPIM and UPAC.
“What we're looking for is efficiency. What we're looking for is results. I think that as the minister just mentioned, there are no boundaries, saying after Montreal, that's it. So we need the expertise and sensitivity of Montreal, but at the same time we need the intelligence of UPAC. It's clearly in my mind a sign of success and that's only what it's all about,” he said.
Coderre and Bergeron spoke about how this combined unit will have an arms’-length distance from the administrations of both the city and the province to ensure there is no political interference.
"We want to be sure that there will be a 'Wall of China' between politics and operational questions," said Bergeron.
While the EPIM unit may now share offices with UPAC, the 20-member EPIM team will continue to be paid by the city of Montreal, a $2 million per year undertaking. That did not sit well with the opposition, given that the city already pays $30 million per year to the province for public security, and because the rest of the province is covered by UPAC and paid for by the Quebec government.
“For years and years we have asked the government of Quebec why we have to pay for this level of service,” said Projet Montreal’s Richard Bergeron.
The integration is set to happen immediately.
Coderre added he'll be making an announcement soon about the appointment of an inspector general to oversee the city, as he promised during the election campaign.
