The Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) has filed a dozen indictments over the past few weeks in connection with false vaccination records. Fines range from $1,000 to $6,000 and violators can be prosecuted.
Posted at 10:08 am
Lila Dussault The Press
This first wave of insults is the result of a series of investigations by UPAC, the UPAC announced in a press release on Thursday. In addition to the ten reports already filed in recent weeks, around 200 investigation files have been filed by UPAC with the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) and could yield results in the coming months, according to Mathieu Galarneau, Türwort of UPAC.
Insults are issued under the Public Health Act. Fines for violations range from $1,000 to $6,000.
“People who are prosecuted could still be prosecuted,” Mr. Galarneau also points out. Around 30 criminal proceedings are currently pending. They concern “the manufacture and use of counterfeiting, breach of trust, fraud against the government and fraud,” lists Mr. Galarneau.
This winter, UPAC announced investigations into various fraudulent schemes aimed at using, manufacturing or selling fake vaccination certificates. The commissioner mentions that the investigations tend to show that the crimes were committed almost everywhere in Quebec.
In February, the director of the DPCP had issued a policy arguing that the production or use of a false vaccination card “should not be the subject of extrajudicial treatment or alternative action”.
Anyone with information is asked to contact UPAC by either filling out the whistleblowing form available on the website or by calling 1.844.541-UPAC (8722).
With the Canadian Press