The Superior Court this week rejected a lawsuit from former Prime Minister Jean Charest who demanded new compensation of $700,000 in a case opposing him to the Quebec government relating to leaks to the media of information from a police investigation which targeted him.
Judge Gregory Moore concluded that the Attorney General of Quebec (PGQ) did not commit an abuse of process in the trial which allowed Mr. Charest to obtain compensation of $385,000, ago a year.
The PGQ did not act in a way to harm him when he assessed Mr. Charest’s requests for new documents, in July 2021, and communicated them to him a few months later, estimated the magistrate in his decision dated from April 2.
“The PGQ did not take an unreasonable amount of time to respond to the requests for documents made by Mr. Charest after he filed his declaration of complete file,” wrote Mr. Moore who, for this reason, rejects the request of the former prime minister.
In April 2023, following a lawsuit against the Quebec government, Mr. Charest obtained compensation of $385,000 due to leaks of information from the Mâchurer investigation of the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) which involved on the financing of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ).
The Superior Court then concluded that the Anti-Corruption Commissioner “failed in his obligation to protect the personal information of Mr. Charest”, who felt “humiliated” and “anguished” by the content of the leaks.
After obtaining this favorable judgment, the former prime minister filed a motion in May 2023, this time claiming $715,000.
Lack of evidence
Mr. Charest alleged that the PGQ complicated the trial by asserting that adequate measures were in place to protect personal information at UPAC and that the anti-corruption commissioner, who heads the police force, is independent of power. executive which requires the government to refrain from intervening in the way investigations are conducted.
In his most recent decision, Justice Moore concluded that Mr. Charest failed to demonstrate these two other allegations of abuse of process.
The magistrate underlines in particular the absence of proof on how the information was found in particular in The Montreal Journalwhich prevents us from considering that the PGQ’s assertion is abusive regarding the protection measures in place.
“The criminal investigation that has been ongoing since 2018 is still seeking the answers to these questions,” he wrote. In the absence of this proof, Mr. Charest cannot assert that any measures would have prevented the leak of his personal information. »
As for the position of the PGQ regarding UPAC, Mr. Moore concluded that Mr. Charest drew “an inaccurate interpretation” from it.
In March 2022, UPAC closed the Mâchurer investigation after finding that no charges could be brought by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
In addition to Mr. Charest, a PLQ fundraiser, Marc Bibeau, was among the people targeted by this investigation begun in 2014.