Deadly bureaucratic neglect

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by George Maddux

Just as the rest of us Quebecers love to drive fast and settle in for a good ol' fashioned télé-roman, our bureaucrats cherish the tradition of snubbing their federal counterparts. In most cases, however, the pencil pushers' attitude doesn't lead to a tragic death and a costly taxpayer-funded settlement.

When Mario Bastien murdered 13-year-old Alexandre Livernoche last August 4, he did it while out of prison on parole, granted to Bastien last May by the provincial parole board without consulting Bastien's considerable federal file. Quebec's Public Security Minister Serge Ménard has since acknowledged that Bastien, who had 38 prior convictions and 81 disciplinary infractions committed inside prison, should not have been free at the time of the murder.

Criminal lawyer and owner of Allô Police magazine, Jean-Pierre Rancourt, is suing the Public Security ministry for $900,000 on behalf of Sylvie Girard, the grieving mother. Serge Barbeau, VP of the Quebec Parole Board, says that a report by former UQÀM rector Claude Corbo from June 15 exonerates the provincial body. "It's clear in the report," says Barbeau. "We're not responsible." Barbeau says that any possible settlement with Girard will be "decided in the courts."

Rancourt says that lawyers for the department might offer a settlement. "So far they say our amount is a bit too high, but they seem receptive to a possible arbitration on a settlement," says Rancourt. "But they also want to do it in such a way that they don't accept blame for the event."