Stella Lopreste, the former director of human resources for the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) super-hospital project, is under investigation by the Unité permanente anti-corruption Québec (UPAC) for allegedly defrauding the facility of $1.6 million.
Last Tuesday morning, UPAC searched the downtown office of the MUHC for information on the handling of contracts for the new super-hospital. This 217,500 square-metre structure is in the process of being built at the former Glen Railyards in Montreal, close to the Vendôme metro station.
Lopreste held her position from 2000 to 2011. According to the CBC, Lopreste allegedly used MUHC funds from 2000 to 2010 to finance personal expenses, such as luxury clothing, independent travel, and electronics.
Additionally, some of the companies working on the super-hospital have been accused of corruption in the past. At the time of press, Lopreste has not been charged.
Affiliated with McGill, the MUHC is a health centre made up of five hospitals throughout Montreal. The super-hospital is a project that will relocate different hospitals—including the Children’s Hospital and the Neurological Institutes—into one complex, so that patients won’t have to travel to different hospitals for specialized care.
Construction began on the super-hospital two years ago, and the entire framework for the hospital complex is complete. Over 1,400 workers and some 350 professionals were working on the project over this past summer.
The UPAC was established in 2011 in order to deal with allegations of corruption, and is investigating some of the contracts awarded in MUHC’s massive $2.35 billion re-development project, which includes the construction of the superhospital, as well as renovations and expansion to the Montreal General Hospital and the Lachine Hospital.
Anne-Frédérick Laurence, a spokeswoman for the police anti-corruption squad, confirmed that investigators seized documents and interviewed staff members during the Tuesday raid. She did not provide further details about what they were looking for.
In a public statement, MUHC confirmed that UPAC came to their offices, requesting information related to the awarding of the contract for the super-hospital public-private partnership.
“The MUHC is cooperating fully with the investigators and has no further comments at this stage,” MUHC Spokesperson Richard Fahey said.
— Christy Frost
