Investigations Into Fraudulent Billing to Continue, Public Works Official Says, After $250,000 Theft Uncovered

A traffic light turns red in front of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on Sept. 13, 2013. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Fraud charges laid against a federal contractor accused of stealing $250,000 are only the beginning as other cases are being referred to the RCMP, a department of public works manager told the government operations committee July 23.

“No department is entirely safe from this type of fraud,” assistant deputy public works minister Catherine Poulin testified at the committee, as first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The charges filed July 9 against an Ottawa contractor were “the first case of fraudulent overbilling we referred to the RCMP,” Ms. Poulin said, adding they have also referred three other cases to the RCMP so far.

Government contractor Clara Visser was charged with overbilling $250,000 on federal contracts during an 18-month period. The RCMP said Ms. Visser “undertook contract work with eight separate departments and Crown corporations, with the evidence indicating that she submitted fraudulent timesheets.

Conservative MP Michael Barrett asked during the meeting what the total value of suspected fraud in the government is estimated to be.

“It would be very difficult for me to estimate a total sum,” replied Ms. Poulin. “The very nature of fraud is to evade detection, to be secretive. Without looking through the cases one by one it would be very difficult.”

Mr. Barrett said the fraud charges and ongoing police investigations indicated federal oversight of consultants is lacking.

Public Works Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced in March the procurement department had referred three cases of suspected fraudulent subcontractor invoicing to the RCMP. The agency said it would attempt to recover approximately $5 million in funds.

“These fraudulent billing cases are unacceptable. Rules are in place to ensure that taxpayer dollars are protected and systems must be in place to make sure that those rules are being followed,” said Mr. Duclos. “Fraud undermines our ability to ensure value for money on behalf of Canadians. And the department will continue to proactively detect and investigate all suspicions of fraud.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada uncovered through an investigation that three subcontractors were fraudulently billing 36 different government departments for various work contracts completed under the same period of time, according to the government briefing. The scope of PSPC’s investigation involved billing schemes between 2018 and 2022.