At the end of a long judicial saga, the Court of Appeal of Quebec confirmed Thursday the acquittal of the former big boss of the Sûreté du Québec Richard Deschesnes and two former members of the staff on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
“Justice was served! Since the very beginning of this saga under the background of unjustified persistence, we firmly believe in the innocence of our client! The highest court in the province has validated our theory of the cause. We are satisfied ”, reacted Me Thomas Villeneuve-Gagné, the lawyer of the former deputy director Steven Chabot.
The Crown criticized the former director general Richard Deschesnes for having entered into illegal agreements with two SQ officers by drawing on the Secret Operating Expenses (DSO), a secret fund that escapes any accountability. Richard Deschesnes had paid $ 167,931 to former assistant manager Steven Chabot as severance pay and $ 80,000 to Chief Inspector Alfred Tremblay as part of an out-of-court settlement.
But in October 2019, after a trial of more than two years, Judge Josée Bélanger acquitted the three police officers down the line. The agreements of MM. Chabot and Tremblay were “legitimate” and in the “ultimate interest” of the SQ, even if they were not “necessarily legal”, according to Bélanger J.
“The conclusion of the agreements […] as well as the use of DSOs, are similar to bad administrative practices which took hold at the SQ and continued until the time of the offenses, ”the judge concluded.
The judges of the Court of Appeal completely rejected the arguments raised by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions to overturn the acquittals. “In fact, under the guise of pleading the error of law, in fact, [la Couronne] rather invites the Court to redo the trial and to substitute its reading of the evidence and its reasoning for those of the trial judge, ”underlines the Court of Appeal.
The agreement with Chief Inspector Alfred Tremblay had “nothing illegal”, according to the appeal judges. In addition, Bélanger J. should not even have said that the transaction was “without legal basis”, adds the Court of Appeal. Chief Inspector Tremblay had been demoted upon returning from sick leave and had filed a complaint of psychological harassment. He even wrote to Premier Jean Charest on this subject.
Former deputy director Steven Chabot received the equivalent of a year’s salary as part of his departure agreement. In 2008, Richard Deschesnes convinced Steven Chabot – who wanted to resign – to stay in office for two years, because his departure risked jeopardizing important operations, such as the SharQc investigation. It is in this context that Richard Deschesnes had undertaken to compensate him at the time of his departure.