CBC
Tue, April 4, 2023
Jean Charest, who served as Quebec's premier 2003 to 2012, was originally seeking $1 million in punitive damages.
(Ivanhoe Demers/Radio-Canada - image credit)
The Superior Court of Quebec has awarded $385,000 to former Quebec premier Jean Charest in his lawsuit against the government for the unlawful disclosure of his personal information during an investigation by the province's anti-corruption unit.
The former premier had filed a lawsuit against the government after details of the Mâchurer investigation were sent to Quebecor media in 2017.
Charest was never charged once the investigation was completed, but the leaks mentioned that he was considered a person of interest.
Charest argued that the publication of this private information had tarnished his reputation. Lawyers representing the Quebec government countered by saying the publicized information was already in the public domain and that Charest could not expect significant privacy given his status.
Superior Court Judge Gregory Moore said divulging personal information contained in Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) investigations cannot be commonplace if prohibited by a series of civil statutes, by the police and commissioner's oath, and by the Criminal Code.
Moore said it is wrong to claim Charest could not have had a significant expectation of privacy given he returned to private life after his 2012 election defeat.
Moore said the UPAC commissioner's failure to respect multiple privacy laws that protect personal information and investigation details was a "major mistake."
The judge wrote that a commissioner or a UPAC member that violates as many laws is showing "carelessness, a lack of prudence and a gross negligence of their obligations."
As for the allegations of abuse of process, Jean Charest will be able to add that to his lawsuit within the next 30 days, according to Moore.The court will then have to summon the parties again.
The lengthy investigation into allegations of corruption came to a close in February of 2022. No one was charged.
"This investigation weighed heavily on my personal life, on the life of my family, my colleagues in my political life and my current colleagues," said Charest at the time.
"The continuation of this investigation had become senseless, and was for me and my family, an injustice imposed on us for nearly eight years of our lives."
Charest, who was premier from 2003 to 2012, launched the lawsuit in 2020, before the investigation was concluded. He was seeking $1 million in punitive damages and $50,000 in moral damages.
The former premier had said that he was prepared to drop the lawsuit in exchange for an apology from the government, but that his offer was refused.
The Superior Court of Quebec has awarded $385,000 to former Quebec premier Jean Charest in his lawsuit against the government for the unlawful disclosure of his personal information during an investigation by the province's anti-corruption unit.
The former premier had filed a lawsuit against the government after details of the Mâchurer investigation were sent to Quebecor media in 2017.
Charest was never charged once the investigation was completed, but the leaks mentioned that he was considered a person of interest.
Charest argued that the publication of this private information had tarnished his reputation. Lawyers representing the Quebec government countered by saying the publicized information was already in the public domain and that Charest could not expect significant privacy given his status.
Superior Court Judge Gregory Moore said divulging personal information contained in Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) investigations cannot be commonplace if prohibited by a series of civil statutes, by the police and commissioner's oath, and by the Criminal Code.
Moore said it is wrong to claim Charest could not have had a significant expectation of privacy given he returned to private life after his 2012 election defeat.
Moore said the UPAC commissioner's failure to respect multiple privacy laws that protect personal information and investigation details was a "major mistake."
The judge wrote that a commissioner or a UPAC member that violates as many laws is showing "carelessness, a lack of prudence and a gross negligence of their obligations."
As for the allegations of abuse of process, Jean Charest will be able to add that to his lawsuit within the next 30 days, according to Moore.The court will then have to summon the parties again.
The lengthy investigation into allegations of corruption came to a close in February of 2022. No one was charged.
"This investigation weighed heavily on my personal life, on the life of my family, my colleagues in my political life and my current colleagues," said Charest at the time.
"The continuation of this investigation had become senseless, and was for me and my family, an injustice imposed on us for nearly eight years of our lives."
Charest, who was premier from 2003 to 2012, launched the lawsuit in 2020, before the investigation was concluded. He was seeking $1 million in punitive damages and $50,000 in moral damages.
The former premier had said that he was prepared to drop the lawsuit in exchange for an apology from the government, but that his offer was refused.
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