More than one in three employees left the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) over the past year, a record despite the changes made to provide some stability to this police force plunged into turmoil in recent years.
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Last year, 35% of employees resigned, reveals UPAC’s annual report for the period ending March 31, 2022.
However, Quebec changed the organization’s status in 2018 to make it a full-fledged police force, which should bring more stability by allowing it to hire its own investigators, rather than relying on police officers. lent by other services.
But Quebec’s decision to transfer part of the business integrity verification operations to the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) has created its “lot of uncertainties and concerns among the Commissioner’s employees”, says the report.
The UPAC spokesman argues that 17 of the 27 departures recorded during the year came from this service.
From now on, the department will only be responsible for part of the process, with decisions being made at the AMP.
“It is certain that the people who were with us at that time had to think about the rest of their careers,” explains Mathieu Galarneau.
Eventually, positions will be cut, he argues.
Repetitive work
Moreover, the UPAC Activities Monitoring Committee paints an unflattering portrait of the positions in the audit component, in a separate report.
These “are often gateways into the public service” and “the repetitive nature of the work can make you want to move on to something else”, writes the committee.
Staff turnover issues are not new to UPAC.
Our Bureau of Investigation revealed that a toxic work climate reigned under its former commissioner, Robert Lafrenière, in particular due to a hunt for leaks after elements of the investigation found their way into the media.
Improve its image
The police force also had to deal with numerous failures in its major investigations.
Last year, the trial of the former mayor of Terrebonne, Jean-Marc Robitaille, aborted because investigators and prosecutors withheld information from the accused.
The commissioner of UPAC, Frédérick Gaudreau, then gave himself three years to restore the image of his organization. ” It’s a challenge. The step is high, ”he admitted.
Last spring, it was the turn of the Mâchurer investigation, on the financing of the Quebec Liberal Party under Jean Charest, to fall into the water.
After eight years of work and more than 300 witnesses met, no charges have been brought.
