Former Montreal school board official recounts fallout from corruption charges
CBC
The defence for Caroline Mastantuono, who once led Lester B. Pearson School Board's international department, is seeking an absolute discharge after she pleaded guilty to charges related to fraud and embezzlement in May.
During sentencing arguments Tuesday afternoon, Mastantuono was questioned by her lawyer, Jonathan Gordon, at length.
She recounted how she became the manager of the international department for the Montreal-based English-language school board in 2003, and was promoted to director in 2013.
In June 2016, Mastantuono said she was suspended by the school board for financial mismanagement. She was subsequently fired as were two of her children, who also worked at the school board.
By then, the school board's international department had grown from seven students to nearly 800, bringing in millions of dollars in tuition.
"I was devastated," said Mastantuono, who was accompanied to court by her husband and three children. "I worked day and night and was proud of the job I'd done."
Following Mastantuono's dismissal from the school board, she started Rising Phoenix International, a company that helped recruit international students for private colleges.
To cover startup costs and overhead, Mastantuono said she and her husband mortgaged their home.
By 2019, the company was doing so well, it started its own private technical college, M College, in Montreal's southwestern LaSalle borough. It offered courses in everything from multimedia to early childhood education.
Mastantuono said they wanted to add more programming and potentially start a language school. They began meeting with different financial institutions to secure a loan.
But in November 2020, Mastantuono and her daughter Christina, who had worked with her mother in the international department, were charged by UPAC — Quebec's anti-corruption unit.
The agreed upon statement of facts outlines the use of two schemes to commit various offences between June 2014 and March 2016.
The first scheme involved the forgery of tuition receipts that were used to secure Quebec Acceptance Certificates (CAQs), which authorize international students to study in the province.
The court documents show Mastantuono instructed staff to forge a total of 81 false receipts, misleading authorities into issuing CAQs to students who didn't meet financial requirements.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.