City of Sherbrooke investigates leak of confidential report

The city of Sherbrooke, Que. opened an investigation to find out who had leaked a confidential report to a journalist at La Tribune.  

The report detailed internal affairs at the city’s executive committee, including allegations of political interference and poor management. 

The city’s director general opened an investigation into the leak on April 25, 2024; days later, municipal councillor Danielle Berthold said that she had sent the document.

The Commission municipale du Québec also began an investigation into the leak. In a hearing before the commission’s administrative tribunal on Sept. 25, 2024, Berthold admitted responsibility and was later fined $750 for a breach of the municipal ethics code. 

After the September hearing, La Tribune’s editorial board wrote that the information in the report was in the public interest, and that it had become increasingly difficult over the years to obtain information through other means, with interviews with municipal officials frequently denied and long delays for documents requested under access to information laws.