City of Montreal fires two employees in wake of corruption investigation

MONTREAL – Two employees have been fired by the City of Montreal because of information stemming from Quebec’s ongoing corruption inquiry.

An internal investigation allegedly revealed that the men helped drive up the cost of construction projects, while accepted gifts from company bosses.

Francois Theriault and Yves Themes have been dismissed.

They had been suspended without pay since the fall, when their alleged behaviour was revealed during testimony at the Charbonneau inquiry.

A third employee who was suspended at the time, Michel Paquette, has been deemed eligible to return to work. A fourth employee, Gilles Vezina, will remain suspended without pay until he resigns on March 1.

The city is not making any other comments because employees could, in theory, take legal action to contest their firing.

The bombshell revelations from the inquiry, and recent criminal investigations, have prompted a number of suspensions, firings, and resignations from public and corporate offices in Quebec.

The most famous examples have been the resignations on the mayors of Montreal and neighbouring Laval.