QUEBEC – Quebec’s former lieutenant governor will receive her sentence Wednesday afternoon, six years after her case was first brought to court.
Lise Thibault, 76, pleaded guilty last December to charges of fraud and breach of trust, thus acknowledging before Quebec Court Judge Carol St-Cyr that she claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unjustified expenses during her 10 years in office. The money was spent on gifts, trips, parties, meals, skiing and golf lessons.
The charges against Thibault were laid following a 2007 joint report filed by former provincial auditor general Renaud Lachance and his federal counterpart at the time, Sheila Fraser. The document suggested more than $700,000 in improper expenses had been claimed.
Thibault’s lawyer, Marc Labelle, unsuccessfully argued at the trial that Thibault could not be prosecuted based on the principle of royal immunity, that “the Queen can do no wrong”, referring to her status as the Queen’s representative to Quebec. Later, he said Thibault was prepared to pay back $372,000 and serve time in the community.
More than $200,000 would come from a foundation bearing her name that helps the disabled, he said, recognizing that the foundation in question operated with public donations. Crown prosecutor Marcel Guimont requested instead that she reimburse $430,000 to the province and federal government, and serve four years in jail. Thibault faces a maximum sentence of 19 years behind bars for fraud and breach of trust.
Thibault held the provincial vice-regal post between 1997 and 2007.
Her legal woes may not be over, even as her criminal court case draws to an end. Quebec revenue officials believe she owes the province $808,000 while the Canada Revenue Agency is seeking $676,000.
