Quebec 'coming after' white-collar criminals

Public authorities vow to intensify efforts to fight white-collar crime and end the trend of financial scandals plaguing the province.

On the weekend, Quebec's financial, justice and public security ministers and police released details of their plan to crack down on white-collar crime, which includes measures to pursue fraudsters and educate investors.

"We can no longer accept as a society the people who enrich themselves through white-collar crime," said Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis on Sunday.

"It's a message to the criminals: We're coming after you."

The plan includes a commitment from Quebec's securities regulator to create a team of investigators specialized in cyber-surveillance.

Provincial police will also assign more officers to investigate allegations of corruption, money laundering, fraud and embezzlement, Dupuis said.

"It's not for Montreal, or any specific city, but the province as a whole," said Dupuis. "You shouldn't consider this new measures, but instead intensifying of current measures."

Compensation, sentencing up for discussion

Finance Minister Raymond Bachand said Quebec will also fine-tune financial assistance measures for fraud victims struggling to make ends meet, while stressing that it would be too expensive to fully compensate them for their losses.

Justice Minister Kathleen Weil also proposed raising minimum sentences for white-collar crimes. "We'd like to see financial crimes treated as seriously as violent crimes," she said.

"I'm bringing very concrete measures to the table and Quebec's position will obviously fuel debate in Ottawa."

Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Rob Nicholson said the government was committed to ensuring that sentences imposed for white-collar crime would adequately reflect the impact they've had on the victims.

The Conservative government is also ready this fall to look at the issue of legislating mandatory prison sentences for fraud, he said.