Quebec's Auditor General has some harsh criticism for Tourism Montreal and the CHUM in his fall report.

Michel Samson said the heads of both places make too much money,

It turns out the city's publicly funded tourism agency gave its former CEO Charles Lapointe made $398,000 per year, and then was handed more than $650,000 as a retirement package.

He also received other perks, said Samson.

“Automobile expenses for $72,000, travel expenses for $10,000,” he said.

Lapointe also charged the agency nearly $40,000 in meals and $2,500 for alcohol in his last two years at the helm of the agency, and did not adequately explain his expenses, said Samson. The AG also said the agency gives out $750,000 in annual donations and sponsorships without an effective way to justify the recipients.

“It's a governance problem. The members of the board don't play their role; they don't ask the questions,” said Samson.

Lapointe, a former federal cabinet minister, left Tourism Montreal earlier this year.

Following the Auditor General's investigation, Lapointe returned $72,000 to the agency.

Samson said, however, the CEO’s salary is still too high, and Quebec’s tourism minister Pascal Berube agreed.

“We're not happy with what's going on right now. It's the first time that we're aware of those kinds of situations. It's shocking and it's not going to stay there,” he said.

Tourism Montreal responded with a statement, claiming: “The salary of the CEO is comparable to the average salaries of tourism directors in cities like Montreal... The salary has to be seen in that light."

Meantime at the CHUM hospital network, the auditor general also said CEO Christian Paire has been overpaid by $70,000 dollars since 2010.

Samson said the hospital board had an obvious task: “To respect the law to put in place – not just put in place – the controls, but to be sure that their controls will be applied.”

Liberals leader Philippe Couillard said the rules for boards were changed for a reason

“The governance of the public institutions have been changed to make them more independent,” he said.

The PQ government cannot simply pass the buck, the CAQ said.

“The Parti Quebecois said, ‘Ah, it's not our fault, it's the fault of the Liberal party, so you never have anybody accountable,” said leader Francois Legault.

The PQ government, however, does plan to make someone accountable.

Ministers are set to meet with Tourism Montreal and the CHUM because they say the culture of big spending must stop.