Civil servant embroiled in an illegal hunt

The Legault government will launch an investigation at the Ministry of Justice, in the wake of a judgment of the Superior Court showing that a violent father of Saudi origin, who was trying to get his hands on his ex-wife and his refugee child in Quebec, received the help of an official.

Henri Ouellette-Vézina
Press

“I requested that an internal investigation be launched within the Ministry of Justice, since 2013, in connection with the application of the Hague Convention and the Law on the Civil Aspects of International and Interprovincial Kidnappings of children, ”Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette confirmed on Twitter.

His press secretary, Elizabeth Gosselin, declined to comment further. “We take the situation very seriously,” she said nonetheless.

Earlier, Saturday, Press revealed that a man considered violent, close to power in Saudi Arabia, was able to return to Quebec to torment his ex-wife and her little boy, who had taken refuge there. According to the judgment rendered by Judge Claude Dallaire, an official helped the man in his efforts, with the primary goal of locating his ex-wife and his son.

The civil servant in question is France Rémillard. She heads the Central Authority of Quebec (ACQ), a division of the Ministry of Justice supposed to help children kidnapped abroad. When in the summer of 2013, the file landed on her desk, she did everything to support the father in this case, according to the court ruling. To date, M^me Rémillard still occupies his position at the ACQ.

If this file has become public, it is because at the end of this surrealist saga, the mother, Samia *, initiated a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice and Mr.^me Remillard. They were eventually ordered to pay him damages, but the case was appealed.

Oppositions demand accountability

At the start of the day, many elected officials strongly condemned the inaction of the Caquista government in this case, demanding answers on the case of Mr.^me Remillard in particular.

In the Liberal Party, the member for LaFontaine, Marc Tanguay, also demanded a suspension of the civil servant. “The appeal, even if it suspends the effects of a decision, does not erase its existence,” he stressed. In addition, the Court of Appeal will only be able to reverse the findings of fact if there are obvious and overriding errors. ”

“It is inconceivable that the director of the ACQ is still in office. How can the population have confidence in this important direction? A suspension is the only thing to do, ”says Mr. Tanguay.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for Quebec solidaire, also asked for “explanations” from Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette. “How is it that this official is still in post, as if nothing had happened?” “, He asked social networks.

* Fictitious first name