UPAC, Auditor General investigate falsified documents in Quebec’s transport ministry

QUEBEC CITY – Quebec’s anti-corruption squad and the Auditor General will determine if documents in the Transport Ministry were falsified, confirmed Jean-Denis Girard, Liberal MNA and Vice-chair of the Committee on Public Administration (CAP).

In a letter addressed to committee chair and PQ MNA Carole Poirier, Annie Trudel, a former Transport Ministry analyst hired to investigate allegations flagged by former Transport Minister Robert Poëti, said that documents attributed to her were modified.

READ MORE: Big changes as Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard shuffles cabinet

The letter was published by a Quebec City radio station on its website early Wednesday.

In May, UPAC opened ten investigations related to corruption in the province’s transport department.

READ MORE: UPAC reportedly investigating Quebec’s transport ministry

In her resignation letter, Trudel said her work was hampered, and in some cases even “sabotaged” by senior officials  and she that she confronted resistance throughout her 18 months at the ministry.

WATCH BELOW: Quebec’s anti-corruption agency opened ten files investigating contracts related to the province’s transport department. Global’s Raquel Fletcher reports.

2:33 UPAC investigates Quebec transport ministry

Poëti was demoted in January during the cabinet shuffle in order to, according to Couillard, make room for more women and young people.

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READ MORE: Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard insists he didn’t demote transport minister for flagging problems

L’actualité magazine reported that in early May that Poëti had discovered Transport Ministry employees were being intimidated by their superiors and that embarrassing cost overruns on public projects were hidden.

The magazine also reported that former employees were given no-bid contracts worth slightly under $25,000 — the legal limit that triggers a call for tenders.

READ MORE: Quebec wants to recuperate sums it lost to fraud and corruption

“I think the best thing to do with perception is to be transparent,” said Transport Minister Jacques Daoust at the time.

“I want to be very transparent.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I want to be very transparent."

READ MORE: Parti Québécois calls for Jacques Daoust to resign after allegations of corruption

Two weeks ago, Daoust said he forwarded a USB key to Quebec’s corruption agency with documentation he received from Poëti.