The RCMP says a former public servant who used his position at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to benefit a company he owned has been sentenced for breach of trust.
The RCMP said in a Sept. 4 release that between 2016 and 2018, Marc Primeau “inappropriately used his position” at ISED to direct the agency to make purchases totalling $231,663.48 from Access Security Logistix (ASL), “a company that he fully owned.”
On Aug. 29, he received a 24-month conditional sentence for a breach of trust contrary to Section 122 of the Criminal Code.
“Due to his position within ISED, Mr. Primeau was the person responsible for ensuring that goods were properly received from ASL to ISED, while concealing his relationship with ASL from ISED,” the RCMP said in a Sept. 4 release.
Primeau pleaded guilty to breach of trust and had other charges withdrawn. He has provided restitution funds totalling $90,000 to ISED, which is an estimate of the total profits he obtained illegally.
In an agreed statement of facts, Primeau admitted to directing 72 sole-source contracts to ASL, while at the same time competing successfully for six purchase orders. Through his position at ISED, Primeau was responsible for ensuring the goods were given from the company to ISED, while also covering up his relationship at the company.
The activities were discovered after changes were made to ISED’s internal accounting and record-keeping practices. Primeau was dismissed from his position at the agency in February 2019, with the matter being referred to the RCMP for investigation.
The RCMP also confirmed back in October 2023 that it was conducting an investigation into three companies that worked on the ArriveCan app: GC Strategies, Dalian Enterprises, and Coradix. A report by the auditor general found that costs to develop the app reached $59.5 million, and that record-keeping was so poor that the full cost could not be determined with certainty.
