The former mayor of Montreal Michael Applebaum can keep his allowances of $ 268,000 obtained after his resignation on a background of corruption, has just confirmed the Court of Appeal.
” [Applebaum] received the allowances to which he was entitled at the time. The amounts were payable even if the elected official resigned during his term of office and did not depend on his behavior or his integrity, ”ruled the highest court in Quebec.
Three judges therefore rejected the entire line of the City of Montreal, which had been seeking for years to recover this money from the pockets of the corrupt ex-mayor.
Between 2006 and 2011, when he was mayor of the Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, Applebaum had received bribes from two groups of ‘entrepreneurs. His arrest in 2013 shook the municipal world, since it was the first time that an active mayor of Montreal had been arrested for corruption.
Found guilty of government fraud, breach of trust, corruption and conspiracy, Applebaum was sentenced to 12 months in prison in 2017. He was released after serving one sixth of his sentence.
Law changed
But despite his arrest, his resignation and his conviction, Applebaum was able to receive his severance allowance and his transition allowance, for a total of $ 268,000.
But following the Charbonneau Commission, the law was changed in 2016 to prevent a case like Applebaum from happening again.
“From now on, the elected official who resigns during his term of office will only have the right to touch his allowance if his decision is linked to serious family reasons or to a major health problem,” explained the Court of Appeal.
However, no offense to the City of Montreal, this law is not retroactive. The Superior Court had affirmed it for the first time, and the Court of Appeal has just confirmed it.
If the City wants to continue the fight in Supreme Court, it has 60 days to make the request.