Around a hundred employees of Groupe Sûreté, a private security agency in the Laurentians, are suing their employer. They allege that the company, which until July provided security to health establishments in Laval and Lanaudière, owes more than $600,000 to its employees. Workers who intend to fight to recover what they consider to be their due.
Payment defaults with serious consequences
In front of the Joliette hospital, four former employees of the agency wanted to testify against their ex-employer. They have a lot on their minds: last week of salary and unpaid vacation pay and issues related to the group insurance plan, among other things. Payment defaults with serious consequences on their lives.
Last summer, the former dispatcher and floor agent of the Sûreté Group, Sébastien Châtelain, first encountered the company’s private drug insurance plan, which would have stopped covering him. I am diabetic and my partner also has health problems, which cost us a few hundred dollars per week on medication
he said.
Then, when the private security agency terminated its contract with the CISSS in Lanaudière, around thirty of its employees lost their jobs at the Joliette hospital. They then realized that their last week’s salary and the 6% vacation pay supposed to accompany it had not been paid to them.
The budget was very difficult, especially since it was during the vacation time.
For the company’s former dispatcher and patrolman, Kevin Trudel, these payment defaults cost him his vehicle. I had to return my vehicle which I had had for at least eight months […]. I had $8000 left to pay
he indicates.
Same story with the former lieutenant of the Sûreté Group, Martine Dubé, who almost lost her van. Fortunately, she says, her colleagues stuck together: There were dads with children who were not able to eat. Between us, we helped each other a lot.
Another ex-employee of the Sûreté Group, Gilles Purcell, unfortunately has a feeling of déjà vu. He previously worked for the Neptune agency, which declared bankruptcy last year. In Neptune’s case, he managed to recover the amounts owed. But with the Sûreté Group, its attempts at settlement did not resonate. We try to communicate with the director of the agency, but he does not return our calls
he notes.
There have been separations, divorces […]. It really wasn’t pretty.
A few dozen kilometers further, in Terrebonne, the agency’s former patrol officer, Isabelle Bouvier, has made it her mission to help those who, like her, estimate the sums owed to them to be thousands of dollars, according to them, the Security Group.
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Isabelle Bouvier worked for two years as a patrol officer for the Sûreté Group. She has made it her mission to help former colleagues recover the sums owed to them by the private security agency.
Photo : - / Elyse Allard
She gathered evidence of non-payment of around fifteen ex-employees of the Group, which included unpaid overtime, travel time and mandatory bonuses. In the summer, in the high season, we could work 50 to 60 hours per week
she mentions.
The former commander of the Patrol division of the Security Group, Gordon Fecteau, believes he witnessed various schemes put in place by the employer. The company avoided paying additional fees because it changed your category [d’emploi]. So many hours were wasted
he emphasizes.
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The former commander of the Patrol division of the Security Group, Gordon Fecteau, believes he has witnessed various stratagems put in place by the agency to avoid paying the full salary of its employees.
Photo : - / Elyse Allard
The president of Groupe Sûreté, Jonathan Lebeault, would also have avoided paying the travel time of his employees, who sometimes traveled several dozen kilometers per day in company vehicles, adds Gordon Fecteau. Mr. Lebeault had, according to him, several positions and addresses in different cities that he served as a patrolman, which meant that he did not have to pay travel expenses.
Asked about his intentions to pay his employees or not, Jonathan Lebeault declared that the Sûreté Group has no intention of not paying its agents. All agents must and will receive the amounts due
but he prefers not to make further comments while the proceedings are before the courts.
A lawsuit against the Sûreté Group
The Joint Committee of Security Agents, a non-profit organization responsible for enforcing the Decree on security agents, is also filing a civil suit against the Sûreté Group, which amounts to more than $600,000.
Its general director, Isabelle Cimon, indicates that the joint committee still receives complaints from employees: It is not just the hours worked that are not paid, but annual leave, public holidays, various bonuses to which employees are entitled under the decree, as well as contributions FAMILY compulsory payments which must be paid by the employer.
She estimates that more than a hundred employees have been affected by these payment defaults since the start of the year.
If the company goes bankrupt, employees will have recourse to the federal salary protection program.
If applicable, employees could recover significant amounts, up to the full amount owed to them.
Isabelle Cimon also recalls that Mr. Lebeault was the main shareholder of Sûreté Cavalerie inc., a private security agency which declared bankruptcy in 2021.
Licenses revoked, reprieve granted
Following an investigation, the Private Security Bureau, which governs the industry, announced on September 9 that it was revoking the permits needed to operate the private security agency.
A decision made based on the condition of solvency
of the agency, provided for in section 9 of the Private Security Act.
The Bureau’s analysis indicated that the Sûreté Group had significant financial problems, which the company tried to deny in court.
A little more than a week after the revocation of the permits, the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec granted a stay to the private security agency, while the matter is resolved in court.
The continuation of the legal proceedings is scheduled for February 2025.
