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The use of whistleblowers has enabled Quebec's Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) to uncover several fraudsters linked to the production of vaccine passports in recent years.
As explained by Martin Baraby, Strategic Advisor and Coordinator at the Convictions Management Center at UPAC, During an annual whistleblower conference, it was an employee of the health network who raised the first alarm in the fall of 2021, shortly after the vaccination passport was implemented.
Legault's government had decided to tighten health controls due to the rapid spread of the virus, but anomalies were quickly discovered within the network, suggesting plans to produce false vaccine evidence.
A wave of denunciations followed the publication of the first reports in 2021 that revealed the existence of the phenomenon. At the peak of the waveupac He said he received as many as 100 reports in one day.
In March 2023, the organization received around 350 applications, which required close cooperation from the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
Various schemes have come to light, sometimes with the collusion of vaccination center staff, some of whom were part of networks that managed to raise sums of up to $3,000 to provide the two proofs of vaccination required to issue a VaxiCode.
VaxiCode app
Photo: Radio-Canada
A dedicated team of investigators worked full-time in collaboration with CISSS and CIUSSS to identify false patient registrations and identify the perpetrators as well as the people who benefited from them.
Only public office holders or health workers involved in these schemes have faced criminal charges, given the risk of compromising the integrity of medical information.
Five people have pleaded guilty, and there are five other cases before the courts.
The vast majority of those involved received notices of criminal offences, generally relating to the manufacture or sale of a forged document, unauthorized use of a computer and breach of trust.
Nearly half of the 493 results issued resulted in convictions.
About a dozen criminal investigations are also still under consideration Several hundred active investigations and cases are already under investigation Dbcb And the meanings of the current results
For criminal offences, the UPAC report specifies.
The vaccine passport was valid for only seven months, from September 1, 2021 to March 14, 2022.
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