Lack of supervision around credit cards in Quebec ministries

While the Quebec government says it lacks money and François Legault asks his ministers to “tighten their belts,” our Bureau of Investigation has noted laxity in the use of credit cards by various ministries.

Our Investigation Office analyzed more than 350,000 transactions, totaling $48M, made by the 23 Quebec ministries on their credit cards since 2021. We detected several problematic situations:

  • Taxpayers pay interest every month on cards that officials neglect to pay;
  • Major contracts are hidden from the public, including one for rooms in a five-star hotel worth more than $213,000;
  • Personal purchases are made “by mistake” with public funds, notably on Amazon, on Disney Plus or at the hairdresser;
  • The Prime Minister even had Quebecers pay for an autographed and framed Canadiens jersey for more than $1,000.

“There is a lack of serious supervision,” judges Annie Lecompte, professor in the Department of Accounting Sciences at UQAM.

An addiction?

Since 2021, the government is paying more and more bills by credit card. In two years, spending using this payment method has more than doubled, going from approximately $7 million in 2021 to $19 million in 2023.

This year, expenses already totaled more than $9.5 million in June, show card statements, obtained under the law on access to documents.

Annie Lecompte wonders if there is not a “credit card addiction”.

Helicopter parts, phone cases, painting services for a mural, satellite internet packages: all kinds of expenses are paid with business credit cards, almost all of the Mastercard brand.

“Why is there so much usage? Isn’t this a way to go faster, to counter administrative slowness? Do all these transactions require instant payment? she questions.

Few guidelines

Although all departments assure that they manage their credit cards “rigorously,” a majority of them have not provided us with a written policy on their use.

The few tags listed do not always include a limit amount per transaction.

“Because the credit card is intended to be faster, more efficient, the procedures governing its use are much lighter,” underlines Nicholas Jobidon, professor at the National School of Public Administration.

This can cause a problem, he judges, when we start to make large expenditures, which are governed by the Act respecting contracts by public bodies. (see text)

And a lot of shortcomings

Some ministries have extensive rules of use. However, they are far from always being followed.

At the Ministry of the Environment, hundreds of transactions exceed the $2,000 limit established by policy, while at Public Security, the $1,000 limit is often circumvented by carrying out several transactions with the same merchant. the same day.

“There must be validations that are made. If the controls are not validated, it is useless,” says Annie Lecompte, who points out that these are public funds.


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