An investigation report filed by the Quebec Municipal Commission reports “mismanagement” and “abuse of authority” on the part of the general management of the MRC of Bellechasse in connection with numerous departures of employees since 2019.
• Read also: “Serious breaches” committed by elected officials of Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly: the DPCP takes up the matter
These numerous employee departures led the MRC to order two organizational analyses, a first in 2019 and a second in 2024.
This second analysis also remained secret since it would contain information which “risks[aient] likely to have an effect on a legal proceeding.
However, the CMQ investigation demonstrates “that the organizational analyzes did not shed light on the factual framework relating to the waves of departures”.
According to the Commission, it was an analysis of computer stations carried out in April 2019 which led the general management of the MRC to suspect that employees had carried out a “computer leak”.
These suspicions motivated a wave of dismissals of employees who would have been involved in this leak, without a proper administrative investigation being carried out.
“However, it appears from the investigation that the computer analysis report does not make it possible to draw the conclusions reached by the general management,” decides the CMQ in its investigation report. “[Il] “It is inaccurate to claim that it confirms computer surveillance of the scale alleged by general management, nor even the alleged damage it would have caused.”
This misinterpretation of the computer analysis by general management “caused significant financial and human costs,” also notes the Municipal Commission.
The CMQ recalls that the general director “has a duty to set an example and be rigorous”, especially since she ensures communication between the municipal administration and the council of mayors.
In light of this investigation, the CMQ recommends in particular that the MRC of Bellechasse review its sharing of powers in terms of human resources management.
At the time of publishing these lines, the MRC of Bellechasse had not responded to our request for an interview on this subject.
