Unclear costs associated with Quebec's TELUQ program remain undisclosed.
Quebec's Higher Education Minister, Pascale Déry, is dodging questions about the TELUQ affair, where the ex-boss pulled some shady moves to snatch student loans and grants that weren't theirs to claim.
Pressed by Michelle Setlakwe and Catherine Gentilcore, Liberal and PQ MNAs, Déry admitted on Tuesday that she doesn't have a clue about the actual amount of public funds that vanished in this debacle. "We don't got the figure, mate," she said nonchalantly.
Setlakwe had no chill, declaring, "There was fraud, and a fuckload of public money got wasted." Early April, our site blew the lid off the matter, revealing that Martin Noël, the ex-director general of TELUQ, swindled Syrian refugees enrolled in language courses as if they were univeristy students to grab loans and grants they weren't entitled to.
This mess cost the state a fortune, and a private company, MATCI, pocketed $9.5 million in royalties between 2014 and 2018. After being suspended from his post, Noël was given $260,000 in hush-money under a confidential agreement dating back to May 2019.
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Education Minister Jean-François Roberge previously called this scandal a tall tale spun by the previous government. Setlakwe wanted to know why Roberge made such a statement. Déry's response? "The beef goes way back to the Liberal government's time. [...] It's all about the Liberal government's decisions."
A Liberal disaster, according to Déry
Noël was shelved from his duties as director general in 2018 by the then Liberal minister Hélène David. The scam orchestrated by Noël kicked off in 2016. However, the deal was struck after the CAQ took power. "The $260,000 pay-off, that's under your watch," Setlakwe reminded Déry.
Déry also mentioned that the agreement being discussed "has something to do with the disputes between the minister at the time and the prof." Noël, according to her, "sued the former minister," she claimed. The confidential agreement was between Université du Québec and Noël.
Déry also stated that her ministry has tightened the rules for dishing out loans and grants. "We ain't got no desire to have another tale like this," she pointed out. Her ministry has established "processes" to ensure "compliance in student files," she added.
Gentilcore also grilled her about the practices of two TELUQ professors whose private company bagged royalties for student enrollment in their courses. These payments were part of a royalty system set up by TELUQ and professors Steve Bissonnette and Mario Richard.
Déry responded to Gentilcore's questions by referring to the case of Martin Noël. But it's a separate matter.
- The TELUQ affair has reached a point where Quebec's Higher Education Minister, Pascale Déry, is admitting a lack of knowledge about the amount of public funds lost in this scandal.
- In the TELUQ affair, Liberal MNA Michelle Setlakwe accused Martin Noël, the ex-director general of TELUQ, of committing fraud and wasting a fortune in public money.
- The Quebec government's response to the TELUQ affair was to hand the file over to the Public Markets Authority for further investigation.
- Education Minister Jean-François Roberge previously dismissed the TELUQ affair as a tall tale spun by the previous government, but when pressed by Setlakwe, Déry blamed the roots of this scandal on decisions made by the Liberal government.
- TELUQ professors Steve Bissonnette and Mario Richard are under scrutiny for their practices involving royalties for student enrollment in their courses, raising questions about policy-and-legislation, crime-and-justice, politics, and general news.
