Ottawa to pay tax bill imposed on Laval, Que., after corrupt ex-mayor’s fraud
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $1.44 a week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
MONTREAL – The federal government has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a Canada Revenue Agency tax bill imposed on a Montreal suburb for funds the city recovered from a corrupt ex-mayor.
A spokesperson for Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he will authorize the payment to the Revenue Department on behalf of Laval, Que., north of Montreal.
The tax bill stems from the actions of former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to participating in a years-long collusion and corruption scheme surrounding the awarding of public contracts.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to repay the city more than $8 million, including $7 million that was held in a Swiss bank account.
Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer formally asked Ottawa in March to intervene so that the city’s residents wouldn’t be stuck paying taxes on money it recovered from Vaillancourt.
Champagne’s press secretary, John Fragos, says the government recognizes that the tax situation was unfair to Laval and its residents, and is acting to rectify it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2026.