Due to the problems observed as for “financial management” and “governance” and a lack of transparency of its notarial study fund, the Legault government has asked for a “guide” be appointed to the Chamber of Notaries.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The Quebec government began to look at it all with a magnifying glass from 2023.
“The Minister [Sonia] Lebel has mandated the Office of Professions in February 2023 in order to investigate the management of the notarial study fund, certain allegations on the use of sums by the Chamber of Notaries being likely to shake the confidence of the public, “explained by email Marylène Le Houiller, press secretary of Minister Lebel.
After analysis, she continues, an external auditor has identified issues “as for financial management, governance and financial control mechanisms of the fund. The external auditor also concluded that there is a lack of transparency in the use of sums ”.
While stressing “the collaboration of the Chamber of Notaries since the start of these checks”, the office of Minister Lebel explains that “red flags have been lifted” and that this deserves “additional verifications”.
“Minister Lebel asked the office to mandate a guide. An action plan will be put in place so that the issues are corrected, for the benefit of the population, for more transparency and to ensure that the Chamber has all the tools in hand to fulfill its mission of protection of the public. »»
What is the notarial study fund?
In November 2022, The press had reported the expanding wool of the notaries’s chamber. Called “Notarial Studies Fund”, it is largely made up of public money, that is to say interest on the sums which pass through the accounts in the loyalty of notaries (when buying a property, for example). According to the annual report 2021-2022, the fund amounted to 145 million. According to the most recent annual report, that of 2023-2024 was 341 million on March 31, 2024. This fund has eight objectives, in particular to promote access to justice and to promote the reform of law, research and legal education. But the room also used it to finance its current activities and to acquire, through a trust, half of a building in downtown Montreal.
The office of Minister Lebel adds that “regular accountability is expected in this file in order to assess whether other actions are required”.
“We will not comment any more,” concludes the email.
-A reform started
In the Chamber of Notaries, Johanne Dufour, who is notably director of communications, indicates that the news of this support was transmitted on Monday by the Office of Professions, “verbally” and without detail as to the following.
“To date, we still have no detailed report on the results of the analysis carried out in 2023, in which we had fully collaborated and contributed. »»
Mme Dufour specifies that the report focused on the governance and management of the fund between 2016 and 2022.
“We are all the more surprised since we had revised, with insistence, on several occasions the office to obtain follow -ups, and this, for more than the last 15 months; But still nothing. »»
Johanne Dufour adds that the Chamber had already “started a reform of financial governance of the fund in 2018”, that the Office of Professions “was by the way” and that the Chamber was waiting for its recommendations “to finalize the last phases of our reform”.
In interview with The press In 2022, the then president of the notaries’ chamber,e Hélène Potvin, had explained that the notarial fund had benefited from “incredible real estate effervescence of recent years” which had generated “more transactions”, therefore “more money which passes in the accounts of notaries” and, therefore, of interest.
On the website of the Chamber of Notaries, the support required by the Government of Quebec is not mentioned.
The last press release dates back to April 15.
He announced a “historic understanding” between the Minister of Justice, the Chamber of Notaries and the Quebec Bar to promote access to justice.
Me Bruno Larivière, current president of the Chamber of Notaries, said in the press release that the contribution of his organization will be 50 million and that the sums granted come from the fund of notarial studies (one of the missions of which is to promote access to justice).
Read the article “Faisiness accounts: a windfall for the Chamber of Notaries”
