Judge Gérard Dugré, who earned more than $1.3 million without working over the past four years, bit the dust at the Supreme Court while trying to overturn a recommendation to dismiss him.
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The highest judicial body in the country in fact rejected on Thursday the request for authorization to appeal from the deposed magistrate, who contested the report of the Canadian Judicial Council requesting his dismissal.
Judge Dugré also filed a request for a challenge to the Federal Court. “But I have difficulty seeing how the Federal Court could rule after a decision by the Supreme Court which has just rejected its request,” explains the assistant dean of the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa, Pierre Thibault.
- Listen to the interview with Sarah-Maude Lefebvre, journalist at the Bureau of Investigation of the Journal de Montréal on the microphone of Alexandre Dubé via
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Barring a major turnaround, the next step in this matter would be a vote in both houses of Parliament which, if positive, will result in the immediate dismissal of Judge Dugré.
This would be a first. No federally appointed judges have been impeached to date, as the judges targeted by this measure all resigned before being officially removed.
A generous pension
Even if Gérard Dugré is ultimately dismissed, he will still be able to count on a generous retirement pension for life, which is equivalent to two-thirds of his salary.
The magistrate became eligible for this pension last month, even though he has no longer sat on the Superior Court of Quebec since 2019, our Bureau of Investigation reported last month.
The latter also continues to receive his generous annual salary of $383,700, even though the Judicial Council recommended his dismissal in December 2022, due to his “aggressive and unpleasant” attitude, his questionable humor and his delays in rendering judgments.
“The judge’s misconduct has so undermined public confidence in the judiciary that he is unfit to continue fulfilling his duties as a judge,” the Council wrote on this subject last year.
There are also the costs for the defense of Judge Dugré. Our Bureau of Investigation reported in January 2023 that its lawyers had cost taxpayers $2.2 million, to which must be added the costs incurred over the last year. This brings the bill for public funds to at least $3.5 million, including his salary.