Many expenses of Quebec ministries with credit cards go under the radar

Quebec spends millions of your money on credit cards every year. Personal purchases with public funds, hidden deals, interest charges for late payment cards, questionable expenses; Our Bureau of Investigation has identified serious lapses in the management of these government cards.

Analysis of credit card spending by department allowed us to uncover surprising purchases that might otherwise have been hidden away in various budget envelopes.

1) $13,000 taxi fare for delegate to London

Quebec Representative in London, Line Reward. Line Reward

Photo taken from the Facebook page of the Quebec delegation in London

A delegate in London, Line Reward, spent $13,000 on taxis between 2022 and 2024. In one day, on September 11, 2022, she spent $322 on one trip.

“This cost corresponds to travel between the official residence and London Airport […] On the day of the tour, Queen Elizabeth II had died two days earlier, which drew a large number of people to pay their respects,” explains MRI.

But a first class Gatwick Express train from London costs £30. On this busy day, it may have seemed more prudent to try public transport.

2) Unrecognized restaurants

The current president and CEO of the Office Québécois de la Long Francaise (OQLF), Dominique-Valéry Malac.

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Many restaurant expenses paid by credit card, such as a $177 meal at Bello in Quebec or $444 at Chic Franco in London, are never disclosed to the public.

Senior civil servants are supposed to make public their official expenses every quarter, but many forget to do so. This is especially true of former deputy minister Dominique-Valérie Malac, who failed to disclose several meals.

We also found at least 17 meals of 3 Quebec delegations abroad that were not “mistakenly” disclosed.

In addition, specific meals are not disclosed, the definition of which goes under the guise of very broad “ministerial meetings”. It consists of a “certain number” of employees and serves to “discuss projects, directions or various aspects of the ministry's administration”.

3) A chef in New York

Chef Dominique Sylvain and former Quebec representative to New York, Martin Hébert Chef Dominique Sylvain and former Quebec representative to New York, Martin Hébert

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The London delegation employs a full-time chef paid US$101,167. He has a business credit card and orders groceries almost every week. He also does a lot of shopping on Amazon. We are told that “the orders made by Mr. Sylvain relate to the maintenance of the official residence as well as organized official activities.” The Ministry of International Relations ensures that a chef does not cook a private meal for a delegate on duty.

4) $21,815 for 3 months on Airbnb

Aribnb rent paid by the Quebec delegation in Atlanta exploded in May because of the Miami Grand Prix.

Getty Images via AFP

A delegation from Atlanta spent $21,815 on an Airbnb rental for three months between April and July 2024 in Miami. Expenses were incurred by an administrative assistant to Representative Nicolas Schaeffer, but an accommodation was made for another “resource” from Quebec. Accommodation costs increased by CA $476 in April and CA $1,057 in May, the period during which the Miami Grand Prix took place. In the month of June, it was lower than CA$838, the ministry indicates.

5) Subscriptions to ChatGPT

Has the government tried to hide its ChatGPT subscriptions? In response to a request for access to information last year, the Ministry of Cyber ​​Security and Digital Affairs indicated that it did not provide any artificial intelligence tools. But records of their credit card purchases indicate that at the time of the response, he had already subscribed to the company's OpenAI service.

Archive photo, AFP

At least five ministries have paid for subscriptions to the paid artificial intelligence service ChatGPT since early 2024. In response to a Freedom of Information request last year, the Ministry of Cyber ​​Security and Digital Affairs (MCN) indicated that it had not. Any artificial intelligence tools. But records indicate that at the time of the response, MCN had already subscribed to the company's OpenAI service. In addition to MCN, the Ministries of Health, Justice, Executive Council and International Relations have a paid account on ChatGPT, which costs about $30 per month.

6) Elon Musk's very popular internet

Elon Musk and his Starlink space internet service

From: Twitter Elon Musk

Starlink satellite internet service owned by controversial billionaire Elon Musk is popular among Quebec ministries. In fact, the government pays dozens of individual accounts, which cost more than $42,000 last year. Ministries with teams in remote areas, such as transport and environment, are the biggest users. The latter ministry told us that it is evaluating the situation to see if it would be more economical to buy satellite internet service as a group.