Turning the page: Laval mayor says last $60 million recovered from corruption
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer brought out a paper shredder at a press conference Tuesday to symbolically end a dark chapter of the city's history.
It came with the announcement that after 10 years, the city was "able to recuperate $60 million for the citizens of Laval, all money that was stolen from our citizens".
It took a specialized team of investigators and lawyers eight years to recuperate the money, including a large sum from former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. He was convicted and, in December 2016, sentenced to six years for fraud, breach of trust and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Laval legal affairs director Simon Tremblay says the work went relatively fast considering the scope of the crimes.
"We only had one judgment, all of them, all the others were for settlement out of court, and we took the guarantee, we took security to make sure we got paid," he said.
Boyer says some had tried to discourage him from pursuing the lawsuits, saying the city would lose too much on lawyer fees. He says not only did they recuperate $60 million, but they sent a message that City Hall can't be bought.
The city plans to reinvest the money back into the community through infrastructure and a foundation to help young people. The opposition says the money should go back to taxpayers dealing with a property tax hike and inflation.
"We just recuperated all this money," Paolo Galati said. "There could have been a way to balance the budget and make sure that, you know, less money comes out of our taxpayer's pockets.
Boyer says he wants to stop talking about the past and focus on the future, restoring the city's reputation as a good place to live.
"We want to turn the page," he said, "and we want to say that Laval is not what only happened under Gilles Vaillancourt."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.