The dismissal of the former general manager of the Société de transport du Saguenay (STS) is costly for Saguenay taxpayers.
The trial against Jean-Luc Roberge is ongoing and these proceedings have already resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
According to information provided by the STS to TVA Nouvelles under the Access to Information Act, the bill so far is just under $315,000.
Specifically, the city paid more than $300,000 to the firm Trivium Avocats Notaires, which has an office in Saguenay but whose lawyer, Me Felix-Antoine Michaud, practices law in Brossard, on Montreal’s south shore.
Another Montreal firm, Sarrazin-Plourde Lawyers, received fees of $11,000.
The preliminary total amount is $314,427.
“We had thought about an amicable agreement with Mr. Roberge, but he did not agree,” emphasized local councilor Claude Bouchard, who serves as president of the STS.
“We had planned amounts, but it is more important than expected,” admitted city councilor Michel Potvin, who also sits on the STS board. “But it’s still at an acceptable level…”
The proceedings have been paused since last summer and will not resume until 2024. The bill therefore promises to be even more serious.
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“On July 14, there was an incident that derailed the process and it was not the city’s fault,” explained Claude Bouchard, recalling that this episode is subject to a publication ban.
The city said it turned to a private law firm because the case would have been too difficult for its litigation department, whose four attorneys are never needed for trials.
“This is not a simple file,” Mr. Bouchard said. “Now it is Mr. Roberge who is challenging his dismissal and has filed the lawsuit.”
The city had contacted Trivium during the suspension of Jean-Luc Roberge in February 2022 and decided to proceed with it.
“We had planned an amount,” assured Michel Potvin.
Councilman Michel Tremblay, a long-time STS board member, believes that $300,000 could have been used elsewhere.
“Managing citizens’ money is fine, but about legal fees, I’m not sure…” he said.
Jean-Luc Roberge declined to comment on camera, but told us that this $300,000 sum “equates to the revenue from 100 tax bills that the city withholds from itself.”
Claude Bouchard’s predecessor as president of the STS, Jean-Marc Crevier, who signed Mr Roberge’s suspension letter, also declined to comment.