Quebec ombudsperson denounces political favouritism in education ministry

A flagrant case of political favouritism within the Ministry of Education was documented and denounced by the Québec ombudsperson on Thursday.

In a press release made public in the morning, the Quebec ombudsperson did not want to identify the ministry involved in this case, in order to protect the identity of the whistleblower who requested and obtained an investigation.

But at the end of the day, Education Minister Bernard Drainville made it known in a press release that it was his ministry and that the request for an investigation dated back to February 2018, thus under the administration of the Liberal government of Philippe Couillard, which was defeated in October 2018.

Except that the corrections in the management of the program in question were made only recently, in April 2022, so under the administration of Premier François Legault, says Drainville. From October 2018 to October 2022, the Ministry of Education was headed by Jean-François Roberge. From 2016 to 2018, it was the Liberal Sébastien Proulx.

According to the Québec Ombudsman, this is a "serious case of mismanagement" involving political staff in the ministry's cabinet.

Millions of dollars of public funds are involved, the Quebec ombudsperson revealed in the conclusions of its investigation, which was sparse on details.

The investigation concluded that a political office favored, without justification and often in disregard of the recommendations of public servants, the payment of sums to certain non-profit organizations. The sums were taken from a program whose total budget amounts to $60 million, though the amounts involved are not specified nor is the frequency or number of payments.

Repeated unfair practices and numerous irregularities were observed in the allocation of funds to several organizations.

"In several situations, organizations have really benefited from preferential treatment," wrote the ombudsperson in a press release, noting that "political authorities have encroached on the roles of the administrative apparatus to influence decisions to grant financial assistance."

The "close relationship" between the political staff and the heads of the organizations in question meant that decisions were made at the political level, when the files should normally have been reviewed at the administrative level.

The scheme went so far as to turn "recommendations to the ninister not to award grants" into "positive recommendations."

Organizations have even received government funding without ever having applied for it or submitted a project.

"The senior authorities did not ensure the sound administrative management of public funds devoted to the program," said the ombudsperson, who made nine recommendations to the authority in question.

Minister Drainville was reassuring about the future, saying that some of the recommendations have been followed and that "the program is already being monitored and this process will continue over the next few months."

He listed some of the organizations that have benefited from the program in recent years, including the Breakfast Club of Canada, Allo Prof, Canteen for All and the First Nations Adult Education Trust. The full list is not available, but it should be "shortly," he promised.

MINISTER SHOULD BE REMOVED, SAYS INTERIM LIBERAL LEADER

In a noon-hour press briefing at the end of a three-day Liberal caucus, interim leader Marc Tanguay called on Premier Legault to reveal the identity of the offending cabinet, the minister involved and the organizations that were "hosed" financially by the state, without necessarily being entitled to it.

In terms of ethics, the facts revealed are "extremely disturbing," said Tanguay, asking the premier "to shed light on this quickly."

He called for sanctions for those responsible, including "the removal" of the minister involved in the affair.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 17, 2022. 

Correction:

Update at 5:52 p.m.: A previous version of this article did not accurately describe the findings of the ombudsperson's investigation. The Canadian Press has since updated the story.