Corrupt Montreal official faces justice1 and, a few days later, Forbes announces, once again, the increase in the number and wealth of billionaires in the world2. The first event gives me the opportunity to talk to you about the everyday tools that allow elected officials to protect public funds. The second should remind us that it is the corruption of minds that most threatens public funds.
The general management of the city
During my career, I received a few messages, often anonymous, from people who denounced practices that they believed to be fraudulent on the part of public servants. For example, the use of City property for personal purposes or the “laziness” of certain employees3. Each time, a follow-up was carried out, the general management investigated and, if necessary, administrative sanctions were taken. Never hesitate to contact the City, first through 311, then, if necessary, through elected officials. Checks will be made.
The Auditor General
The city’s general auditor4 is a particularly interesting tool for an elected official, in particular because it provides an opinion which adds to that of general management, sometimes by contradicting it.
The Auditor General is completely independent and chooses the files he tackles. However, when an elected official has any doubt about a municipal practice, he can inform him and the auditor chooses to take a look or not. Its mandate is very broad, it can investigate anything that seems relevant to it in the context of sound management: efficiency, effectiveness, possible savings, compliance, etc.
At least once a year, the mayor is formally invited to meet the general auditor and the external auditors, without the presence of civil servants.5 (obviously, nothing prevents the mayor from calling the auditor general at any other time). The auditors ask the mayor questions about the financial risks the city may face. The mayor can also express concerns about any municipal practice or service, or even about organizations that are within the City’s accounting perimeter.
During my years at Gatineau town hall, I expressed fears, asked questions, proposed subjects for investigation. Sometimes, the auditors reassured me by explaining an administrative mechanism that I had difficulty understanding and, at other times, they took notes and came back to me later. Sometimes, I saw the subject that I had raised with them appear in one of their annual reports.
The Auditor General is, by far, my favorite tool for sound administrative management; it is a valuable counter-power.
The police
It happened that a citizen wrote to me with allegations of corruption in a paramunicipal tender. Not knowing at what hierarchical level the problem could lie, I appealed directly to the police rather than going through the administration (the allegations were ultimately unfounded).
In a large project, our officials strongly suspected the presence of collusion, but the complexity of the file exceeded their investigative capabilities. We sent the file to the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC), an organization whose mandate is not only to investigate, but also to prevent and verify, which can be very useful for a municipality (in the file concerned, UPAC investigated and, as far as I know, it found nothing).
Where there is man, there will always be manhood. The fight against dishonesty is never-ending. Fortunately, every time the bandits innovate, the State tries to innovate in turn.
However, the dishonesty of some individuals is not the main threat to public funds, the corruption of minds does much more harm.
Some elected officials will never vote against a developer’s project. Never. I even knew one who clearly defined his role as that of representing business people. When I had just been elected mayor, a former elected official said to me, pointing to a real estate developer: “Your role is to make this guy happy. » For them, the collective interest requires the satisfaction of entrepreneurs. For them, development can only be economic. For them, Ontario, richer, prevails over Quebec, happier.
According to the 2017 Oxfam-Québec report, eight individuals owned as much as 3.6 billion people, that is to say the poorest half of humanity. This kind of odious imbalance occurs when, in the minds of our leaders, particular interest becomes synonymous with collective interest. Unfortunately, there is no auditor general or police department to counter this corruption of values. There is only education, information and political commitment.
1. Read our article “A city manager allegedly “resolved” files for a real estate developer”
2. Read an article from International mail
3. Read the column “Five blue-collar workers around a hole”
4. Only cities with 100,000 inhabitants or more are required to have one.
5. The external auditor audits the City’s financial statements each year. The Auditor General has a much broader mandate and also sees to management issues.
What do you think ? Participate in the dialogue