Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest has won his case against UPAC and the Quebec government, which will have to pay him $385,000, Radio-Canada reported Tuesday evening.
The Quebec Superior Court decision comes after Charest filed a lawsuit against the government for illegally disclosing his personal information during an investigation by the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC).
The former premier had filed a lawsuit against the Quebec government after details of the UPAC's Mâchurer investigation―about the financing of the Quebec Liberal Party―were leaked to the media in 2017.
Charest was not charged in that investigation, where he was listed as a 'person of interest,' but he felt the disclosure of information had tarnished his reputation.
In his ruling cited by Radio-Canada, Justice Gregory Moore wrote that "the disclosure of personal information contained in a UPAC investigation file cannot be trivial if it is prohibited by a series of civil statutes, by the oath of the police officers and the Commissioner and by the Criminal Code."
LISTEN on CJAD 800 Radio: How much money was awarded to Jean Charest?
Radio-Canada reports that the judgment is a “gross fault” for the failure of the UPAC Commissioner “to respect several laws that protect personal information and information kept in investigation files”.
It also states that Charest may add allegations of abuse of process to his lawsuit within 30 days.
Charest's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Canadian Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 4, 2023.
