Laval police purchased a dozen high-priced electric vehicles, including a luxury model costing nearly $100,000

Laval police have purchased a dozen expensive electric vehicles, including a model costing nearly $100,000 that they refuse to show, just as the city is asking the Quebec government for more money.

• Read also – Rise in armed violence: the mayor of Laval asks for more support from Quebec

The Laval Police Service (SPL) spent more than $1.5 million in public funds to acquire 13 Ford Mustang Mach-Es, 48 ​​electrical terminals and to develop its parking lot, according to documents we have obtained through access to information requests (see box).

One of the vehicles acquired for nearly $94,000 is the GT version, the most expensive of the series. This model does not go unnoticed with its 488 horsepower, its 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, its high-performance suspension, its 22-inch rims and its high-end finish, according to the description from Ford Canada .

The contract to acquire this luxury car was concluded in December 2022, barely a month after Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer asked for more money from Quebec to fight against armed violence, a request he elsewhere repeated in 2023 (see box).

For weeks, despite our repeated requests, the SPL has not wanted to show us the nearly $100,000 vehicle, nor even specify which squad it is assigned to. And this, “for security reasons,” according to Natacha Gouveia, the police force’s communications director.

The 12 other examples of the Mustang Mach-E purchased by the SPL retail for more than $78,000 per unit, indicate the documents obtained by our Bureau of Investigation. The contract was concluded in July 2023 and to date they have not yet been used, as some pieces of equipment are still missing.

Meanwhile, the municipality of Morin-Heights, in the Laurentians, has found a way to purchase electric vehicles for much less. She opted for the base version of the Mustang Mach-E, which costs around $48,000.

• Listen to the press review commented by Alexandre Dubé via QUB :

For executives

Our sources within the Laval police indicate that these purchases caused a lot of internal reaction. Beyond the price, the way in which these cars are distributed among the staff is also causing a stir.

“They were purchased for executives whose function is not to respond to emergency calls,” says one of them, speaking on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the media.

In this regard, Ms. Gouveia confirmed to us in writing that director Pierre Brochet had driven the top-of-the-range version of the Mustang for approximately 4 months.

“This vehicle was not purchased specifically for him, but is part of a fleet of vehicles available for operations,” she specifies.

She adds that it is not the mentality of her police department to indulge in luxury.

The mayor of few words

“Our executives currently use 2016 Chevrolet Impala, 2018 Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata, 2019 Chevrolet Malibu and 2020 Toyota Camry,” emphasizes the communications director.

For his part, the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, canceled an interview he planned to grant us regarding these expenses incurred during a period of financial austerity.

“We asked a lot of questions. This subject in particular was the subject of in-depth verifications with the administration and the Police Department,” indicates Rebecca Guénard-Chouinard, media relations manager at the mayor’s office.

With the collaboration of Maxime Deland

More than $1.5 million in contracts for electric cars

• $93,535.39 for a Ford Mustang GT Mach-E (December 22, 2022)
• $230,040 for work to improve the parking lot at Laval police headquarters (March 8, 2023)
• $937,707.36 for 12 Ford Mustang Mach-E (July 11, 2023)
• $251,922.87 for 49 electrical terminals (July 11, 2023)

Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer demanded more money at the same time

The mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, has not hesitated, in recent months, to publicly complain about a lack of money and ask for more funds from the Quebec government:

• He describes the financial aid of $20 million from Quebec to fight against armed violence as insufficient: “It’s too little too late and above all unfair for our citizens,” he says (September 25, 2023)
• He asks Quebec to fill the shortfalls projected by the Regional Metropolitan Transport Agency (September 6, 2022)
• He calls on Quebec for financial aid to fight climate change (September 6, 2022)
• “We need more money for social housing and we are going to strengthen this message,” he says in anticipation of the Housing Summit (August 22, 2022)

^{Source: SEAO}