A security firm hired by the City of Saint-Lambert searched the credit files of municipal councilors without their knowledge, a dubious practice according to experts and which causes concern in the office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Two municipal councilors, Loïc Blancquaert and Bernard Rodrigue, discovered that the firm Groupe Trak had accessed their credit files last summer.
This firm was hired by Saint-Lambert at the request of mayor Pierre Brodeur, who launched in July 2019 in a hunt for journalistic sources to discover who, among the municipal councilors, would have transmitted information to the local newspaper.
The two advisers claim to have never given their consent, which is legally required to access a person’s credit file.
It was Mr. Blancquaert who made the discovery by chance, a few weeks ago, while consulting his credit file on Equifax.
“I was completely stunned when I saw this. It’s illegal, ”he says.
The latter complained to several bodies, including the Office of Private Security and the Access to Information Commission, which confirmed to us that it had opened an investigation.
The concerned ministry
The other advisor, Bernard Rodrigue, wonders who in the City would have transmitted his personal information to Groupe Trak to allow him to access his credit file.
“Whether it’s the mayor, the director general or a lawyer hired by the city, I don’t know who transferred the data, but I’ve never seen that in my life. We crossed a line. […] What does my credit have to do with an investigation into an alleged journalistic leak? “, He questions.
The case also worries the office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Last year, after our Office of Investigation revealed that Groupe Trak had spied on the emails of certain elected officials, Minister of Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest asked the Commissioner of Municipal Integrity and Ethics (CIME) to address the issue.
Last week, the Minister’s office confirmed to us that it had asked the CIME to widen its ongoing investigation to include the searches carried out in the advisers’ credit files.
“If these new facts are proven, it is certain that we denounce them and that we do not endorse them at all,” said his press secretary, Bénédicte Trottier Lavoie.
Mayor’s silence
Who decided to search the credit reports of the two advisers? Is this a directive from the mayor, or rather an initiative of Groupe Trak?
Impossible to know. Mayor Brodeur declined our requests for an interview. He indicated in writing that he remains “available to support all instances of the ministry”.
Ditto on the side of Groupe Trak, where it has however been specified that generally it is their customers who are in charge of obtaining consents to access credit files.
Also a Saint-Lambert advisor, Brigitte Marcotte did not detect traces of a visit by Groupe Trak in her credit file. But she demands that the light be made for her colleagues.
” It’s not acceptable. It’s not legal […] What will we find out by investigating the credit? What will it demonstrate? That an advisor is not creditworthy? And after ? How would it serve society less well? She asked.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs has been working in Saint-Lambert for a few months now in order to “restore an adequate working climate” to the City.
Questionable practice
Rummaging through the credit file of elected officials is not a way of doing things “which is encouraged or even approached by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing”, we were confirmed to the ministry.
“When a company or a person collects information about another person, they must have a serious and legitimate interest in doing so,” emphasizes Me Alexandre Plourde, from Option consommateurs. In these circumstances, finding who is the source of a media article raises questions in this regard. […] Was it relevant to consult the credit file for these purposes? “
The professor of law at the University of Montreal Pierre Trudel agrees in the same direction.
“There has to be a link between the purpose and the research we do in someone’s credit. […] A city councilor’s credit report says little about his ability to perform his duties, “he said.
What do we find in a credit report?
- Personal information, such as name, date of birth and social insurance number.
- Financial information, such as details of loans, credit cards and lines of credit, amount of debts, regularity of repayments, bad checks, etc.
- Bankruptcies or court decisions in credit matters.
Who can consult a credit report?
- Any person or company that wants to do this must obtain authorization from the third party.
- Rare exceptions exist. For example, a bank may transmit information without authorization to the police.
- Anyone who collects, holds, communicates to a third party or uses personal information about others without complying with the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector is liable to a fine of $ 1,000 to $ 10,000.
Source: Access to Information Commission
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