Unité permanente anticorruption

The Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC, English: Permanent Anticorruption Unit) is a Quebec government agency whose aim is to fight corruption, collusion and other economic crimes involving government procurement.[3]

Permanent Anti-corruption Unit
Unité permanente anticorruption
Logo of UPAC
Logo of UPAC
AbbreviationUPAC
MottoPrévenir Vérifier Enquêter
Prevent Check Investigate
Agency overview
Formed16 February, 2011
Employees200 (2014)
Annual budgetCA$30,000,000[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionCanada
Legal jurisdictionQuebec
Constituting instrument
  • Anti-Corruption Act[2]
Specialist jurisdiction
Operational structure
HeadquartersMontreal
Agency executive
  • Robert Lafrenière, Commissioner
Website
www.upac.gouv.qc.ca

Background

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UPAC was established by the government of Quebec on February 16, 2011, to coordinate the efforts of six teams: Opération Marteau, the contractual verification team of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the anti-fraud squad of Revenu Québec, the anti-collusion unit of Transports Québec, Régie du Bâtiment investigators as well as Commission de la construction du Québec inspectors.[1] The UPAC team of over 350 people has an operating budget is $30 million.[3][4] It reports to the Ministry of Public Security.

Mandate

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The mandate of the UPAC is particularly focused on the construction industry. The Unit investigates offenses associated with corruption, collusion and fraud, including collusion and fraud in the awarding and execution of public contracts. They share expertise and intelligence across departments and agencies.[1]

Past investigations

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Operation Lauréat

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According to a Global News report, Operation Lauréat was an investigation into the biggest corruption fraud in Canadian history,[5] implicating SNC-Lavalin in bribery for the construction of the McGill University Health Centre. The lawyer for the MUHC, whose testimony was part of the Charbonneau inquiry into corruption in Quebec's construction industry, testified that while the contract to build the hospital complex was worth $1.3 billion, it actually totalled close to $4.6 billion when costs of managing the public-private partnership were factored in, representing an inflation of up to 20% or $934 million.[5]

Other investigations

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In late 2016, the UPAC began investigating two Montreal School Boards, the English Montreal School Board and the Lester B. Pearson School Board, over allegations of irregularities.[6] "Project Pandore", as the investigation was called, focused on allegations of fraud, forged documents and abuse of power at the international department of Lester B. Pearson and resulted in three arrests.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Lévesque, Kathleen (October 18, 2012). "Québec somme l'UPAC de faire l'unité". Le Devoir. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  2. ^ Loi concernant la lutte contre la corruption [Anti Corruption Act]. 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Mesures additionnelles de lutte contre la corruption - Création de l'Unité permanente anticorruption". rimq.qc.ca. February 21, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  4. ^ UPAC (ed.). "Mandat".
  5. ^ a b Valiante, Giuseppe (November 28, 2018). "MUHC deserves the millions in criminal's bank account: lawyer". Global News. Montreal. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Greenaway, Kathryn; Plante, Caroline (November 30, 2016). "Quebec anti-corruption unit investigating two Montreal school boards". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Commissaire à la lutte contre la corruption. "Rapport Annuel de Gestion 2020-2021" (PDF).