Latest news with #QuebecCourt
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
3 plead guilty in network of temp agencies that hid asylum seeker's work accident
Three people accused of running fraudulent temp agencies that exploited asylum seekers — and who attempted to conceal a work accident later uncovered by a 2018 CBC investigation — have pleaded guilty. Quebec's Labour Ministry has called the scheme the "largest fraud ever committed" against it and has estimated government losses at about $635,000 as a result of the operation. Hector Hair Rodriguez Contreras, 56, Hector Lopez Ramos, 51, and Beatriz Adriana Guerrero Munoz, 45, were all initially charged with fraud of more than $5,000 against the Quebec and Canadian governments and conspiracy to commit fraud of more than $5,000. Rodriguez Contreras pleaded guilty to those charges in April, roughly three weeks before his trial in Quebec Court was set to begin. The trio, led by Rodriguez Contreras, ran a number of temp agencies that hired asylum seekers without work permits and paid them below minimum wage in cash or cheques addressed to false identities they assigned to them. Court documents filed after the guilty pleas state that Quebec's Labour Ministry launched probes into the temp agencies following CBC's investigation. The story had revealed an asylum seeker was severely injured on the job after being recruited at a Montreal Metro station by a shadowy network of temp agencies. He was given a former worker's name and social security number to work under the table at a meat processing plant outside the city. Prosecutor Geneviève Bélanger said part of the group's operations were legitimate, making it difficult for the government to detect the fraud. "That was part of the scheme. For part of their business, if you will, they would do things in order, while for another part, they wouldn't — which also allowed them to fly under the radar," Bélanger said in an interview last week. The asylum seeker testified at the trial of Lopez Ramos and Guerrero Munoz in May before Quebec Court Judge Rose-Mélanie Drivod. The top of his hand was sliced off by a meat slicer, that, he told CBC at the time, he had not been properly shown how to use. In an emergency surgery, doctors performed a skin graft taken from his thigh to reconstruct his hand. He told the court that years later, he's still in pain. The temp agency that hired him did not declare the accident to Quebec's workplace health and safety board, until the latter intervened following CBC's story and forced the company to compensate him. The man, who is now 39 years old, said in court he'd planned to work in construction in Quebec, when he came to Canada in August 2017 and would have made a good wage that way, but instead has been working as a commercial security guard for more than five years. He and his wife have three children with them in Montreal. Three days into the trial and soon after the worker's testimony, Lopez Ramos and Guerrero Munoz pleaded guilty to reduced charges of using forged documents, including tax statements, against the Quebec government. Bélanger said the worker's testimony was emotional and powerful. "It clearly demonstrated the risk this type of thing poses when agencies don't respect [work] standards," she said. The statements of facts filed in court say that the Labour Ministry's probe, dubbed TARMAC, revealed that more than 400 of the companies' workers had also been claiming some form of unemployment benefits — many of them new immigrants who had little knowledge of Quebec's work standards and protections. "The leaders of the network took advantage of the vulnerability of some of the workers," the facts read. Martin Subak, Lopez Ramos's lawyer, says pleading guilty after a trial has begun "is commonly done to kind of test a little bit the evidence." He said part of the reason his client and co-accused ended up being handed lesser charges was because "their roles were subservient" to Rodriguez Contreras. The charges against them could lead to a maximum of two years in jail, while the fraud charges against Rodriguez Contreras carry a 14-year maximum imprisonment. Reached by CBC Thursday, Rodriguez Contreras's lawyer, Richard Tawil, said he didn't yet have his client's authorization to speak about the case, given it was not yet closed. The accused are set to re-appear on two separate dates at the Montreal courthouse in mid-July for sentencing.
Montreal Gazette
09-06-2025
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec judge didn't have power to strike down part of language law, appeal court rules
By A Quebec Court judge did not have the authority to strike down a section of the province's language law before issuing a ruling exclusively in English, the Court of Appeal has ruled. In May 2024, Judge Dennis Galiatsatos found that a section of Quebec's language law, which would require judges who issue rulings in English to accompany them with a French translation 'immediately and without delay,' could not apply to criminal trials in the province. The provincial government appealed that decision. The province's highest court sided with the Quebec government, and ruled that Galiatsatos didn't have the authority to issue the decision. The May 27 ruling by a three-judge panel was delivered orally and written reasons for the decision are expected to published at a later date. Galiatsatos was not present and not represented at the appeal court hearing. The office of Quebec Justice Minister and Attorney General Simon Jolin-Barrette described the appeal court ruling as an 'important victory.' 'Rest assured we will continue to stand firm on our position. Justice must be accessible in French in Quebec,' Jolin-Barrette's office said in a statement. Galiatsatos's decision on the language law came shortly before he was to begin hearing the trial of a West Island woman who struck and killed a cyclist with her car and had requested to be tried in English. The translation requirement, which was introduced as part of the language law reform known as Bill 96, was scheduled to go into effect several days before the start of the trial and Galiatsatos said he worried that when it was time to issue his ruling, having it translated could lead to lengthy delays that might violate the accused's right to be tried within a reasonable amount of time. The issue was not raised by either party in the case, but rather by the judge himself, who proactively heard arguments from both the accused and the Crown, as well as the federal and provincial attorneys general on the translation requirement. Galiatsatos ultimately convicted the accused, Christine Pryde of dangerous driving, impaired driving and criminal negligence causing death, and issued a written decision exclusively in English, but ordered that it be translated. In November, Quebec's judicial council found that the judge didn't violate any ethical rules in his decision on the translation requirement, but said it was not the appeals court and couldn't rule on whether he applied the law correctly. That decision by the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec did not name Galiatsatos, but the circumstances of the case it referenced were identical.
CTV News
31-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Quebec to ask Supreme Court for permission to appeal school board reform ruling
The Supreme Court of Canada says it is moving away from the social media platform X. The Supreme Court of Canada is pictured in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick MONTREAL — Quebec will ask the Supreme Court of Canada for permission to appeal a ruling that found a provincial law abolishing school boards violates English-language minority education rights. A spokesperson for Quebec's justice minister confirmed Friday the province will appeal a ruling from the Quebec Court of Appeal rendered in April. That ruling upheld a Quebec Superior Court decision from August 2023 which found the province's law abolishing school boards violates linguistic minority education rights, guaranteed in Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The law, known as Bill 40, was adopted in February 2020 and transformed French schools boards, which were governed by elected commissioners, into service centres run by a board of directors overseen by the provincial government. While the French boards went along with the government, the English boards chose the legal route. The law's measures affecting English school boards were stayed in 2020 pending the outcome of the court challenge. The English boards have maintained that Section 23 gives them the constitutional right to manage and control its school boards. Quebec Superior Court Justice Sylvian Lussier ruled in August 2023 that the province's law abolishing school boards was unconstitutional and violates linguistic minority education rights, guaranteed in Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He wrote that several sections of the law cannot be applied to English school boards, including those that set limits on who can run for election and sit on the boards. 'The minority is having the vision of the majority imposed on it as to who can represent it, whereas for more than 200 years, all members of the community have been eligible to take care of school management,' Lussier wrote. The Court of Appeal said last month that the law 'radically alters the mission of these school service centres compared to school boards.' In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, the appeal court wrote the law infringed on rights guaranteed in the Charter and upheld most of the constitutional conclusions of the Superior Court decision. The Quebec English Language School Boards Association said in a statement Friday it was disappointed by the province's decision to appeal to the Supreme Court and that it will continue to defend the constitutional rights of English school boards before the high court. 'We had hoped the government would accept the Court of Appeal's unanimous decision and finally respect the rights of the English-speaking community,' said Joe Ortona, president of QESBA, said in a statement. 'At a time when Quebec is facing significant financial cuts, it is disappointing to see public funds being used to pursue a legal battle that so clearly infringes on the rights of minority communities.' As Quebec is now seeking to appeal again, Julien Garon, a spokesman for Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, said the government has no further comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2025. Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
Montreal Gazette
29-05-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Corruption trial: Prosecution continues to grill Zampino about ‘Mr. Three Per Cent'
Montreal Crime By The personal life of the man who came to be known as 'Mr. Three Per Cent' appeared to be a mess while he was allegedly involved in the bid-rigging scheme that is at the heart of Frank Zampino's municipal corruption trial. Zampino, the president of Montreal's executive committee between 2002 and 2008, was again asked several questions Thursday morning about an alleged attempt by Bernard Trépanier to extort $1 million from Smart Centres, an Ontario-based real-estate development company that was interested in building a shopping centre on the site of a quarry in St- Michel. During the trial, which began at the Montreal courthouse on Feb. 3, Quebec Court Judge Silvie Kovecevich has heard evidence that Trépanier was fired from his job as the head of fundraising for Union Montréal because of the alleged extortion attempt. The incident is not related to the charges Zampino, 65, and four other men face in the trial, including Robert Marcil, 60, the former head of Montreal's public works department. Zampino and Marcil face three charges each: conspiracy, fraud and breach of trust. The other three accused are former executives with engineering firms. The scheme stretched from 2004 to 2009, and the case involves 34 contracts worth more than $160 million. The prosecution's theory is that Zampino organized a plan to award contracts, offered through public tenders by the city of Montreal, in exchange for illegal financing for Union Montréal. Zampino is alleged to have put in place and orchestrated a system of collusion with the goal of leading the fraudulent awarding of contracts to 13 engineering firms in exchange for political contributions to Union Montréal. Trépanier is alleged to have acted as an intermediary between Zampino and the engineering firms. Some of the evidence heard in the current trial was also heard during the Charbonneau Commission, a public inquiry into construction contracts held years ago. During the inquiry, Trépanier came to be known as 'Mr. Three Per Cent' because that is what he is alleged to have asked for in the form of kickbacks for Union Montréal when contracts were awarded to colluding companies. In 2017, Trépanier was charged in the same case and died of natural causes in 2018. It appears that the prosecution is implying Trépanier had become so brazen in his role in the bid-rigging scheme that he simply tried to extort $1 million from Smart Centres without having to create another bid-rigging scheme. Questions posed by prosecutor Nicolas Ammerlaan while cross-examining Zampino on Thursday indicated Trépanier was struggling financially while the incident involving Smart Centres allegedly took place. Zampino said Trépanier lived in a condominium on Jarry St. in St-Léonard in a building that 'was not extravagant' and that he got around in a Dodge Caravan 'that was not a recent model.' 'According to the image of what I saw, it was a very modest living, but I don't know what his finances were,' Zampino said. Ammerlaan reminded Zampino that Marc Deschamps, a former official agent with Union Montréal, testified that he had informed Zampino that Trépanier was 'in trouble' with both provincial and federal revenue agencies around 2006 or 2007. 'I think I had already left city hall (in 2008) when (Deschamps) had informed me,' Zampino said. 'In 2006 or 2007, did he inform you that Bernard Trépanier was going bankrupt, but (Deschamps said) that didn't bother (you),' Ammerlaan asked. 'I don't remember Marc Deschamps mentioning that (but) don't dispute what you're saying,' Zampino said, adding that Trépanier 'never, never' told him he was facing bankruptcy. 'I don't know what his financial affairs were. We can't judge a person based on the car they are driving or the condominium they've purchased. I never inquired about what his personal finances were.'
Montreal Gazette
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
‘An emotional day': Zampino tells court about police search of his home
News When police searched his home more than a decade ago during an investigation into his alleged role in a bid-rigging scheme at Montreal city hall, Frank Zampino, the former president of Montreal's executive committee, was ordered to stay in the entrance to his residence for 10 hours while UPAC investigators did their work. While being cross-examined on Tuesday, Zampino, now 65, told Quebec Court Judge Silvie Kovacevich that the day his home was searched in 2014 was 'an emotional day.' Zampino said he and his wife were told to remain near the main entrance to their home while investigators with the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) searched for documents or devices that might contain evidence related to Project Fronde, the investigation that led to Zampino and several other men, including Robert Marcil, now 60, the city's former head of Montreal's public works department, being charged in 2017. Zampino and Marcil face three charges each: conspiracy, fraud and breach of trust. Three former executives with engineering firms that were alleged to be part of the bid-rigging scheme are also part of the trial. The scheme stretched from 2004 to 2009, and the case involves 34 contracts worth more than $160 million. The prosecution's theory is Zampino organized a plan to award contracts, offered through public tenders by the city of Montreal, in exchange for illegal financing for Union Montréal, the political party Zampino was a part of while he was the head of the executive committee between 2002 and 2008. Zampino is alleged to have put in place and orchestrated a system of collusion with the goal of leading the fraudulent awarding of contracts to 13 engineering firms in exchange for political contributions. When the search was carried out in 2014, Zampino was already facing criminal charges in another case involving the 2007 sale of the city-owned land known as Faubourg Contrecoeur at a discounted price to a construction firm. Zampino was charged in the Faubourg Contecoeur case in 2012 and was acquitted in 2018. UPAC investigators were apparently advised to be careful not to seize items that might have involved exchanges Zampino had with his lawyers who represented him in the Faubourg Contrecoeur case. A lawyer from the Barreau du Québec and a lawyer representing Zampino were present during the search to make sure Zampino's attorney-client privilege was respected. While being cross-examined by prosecutor Nicolas Ammerlaan on Tuesday, Zampino said he was unable to watch as investigators looked through such items as an Apple computer. 'I was not allowed to leave (that space), so if anything was done regarding (a legal procedure), this was done between the lawyer with the Barreau and the UPAC officers and my lawyer who was present,' Zampino said. ' I was contained to a five-by-eight (space) with my wife throughout the entire search, and I certainly was not allowed to accompany the police officers room by room (through his house). 'I was confined to the main entrance to my home. That was where I was confined to, a five-by-eight space, and I stayed there, with two folding chairs, with my wife from 6 in the morning to about 4 in the afternoon.' The prosecutor also asked Zampino several questions about a fax machine Zampino used in an office in his home. During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that some documents related to the bid-rigging scheme were faxed to his home. Zampino denied seeing the documents and said he rarely received work-related items through his home fax number. This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 1:16 PM.
