Alan Simoneau, two others, are accused of ‘false billing’ Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
If anyone felt blindsided last week when a specialized unit of Quebec’s Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) announced it was pressing charges against three people – including a former SWLSB school principal from Laval – it may well have been a national selection committee at Learning Partnership Canada.
Former Laval Junior Academy principal Alan Simoneau was one member of the trio named in a communiqué issued on Sept. 12 by UPAC’s Commissaire à la lutte contre la corruption (CLCC).
Alleged billing fraud
In its release, the CLCC named Simoneau, as well as SWLSB employee Rajesh Awasthi, and Barbara Tomasini, identified as the owner of Édu-Vation, a company the CLCC claims was being used as a front to send invoices for services which were never delivered.
The province’s online Registraire des entreprises (business registry) confirms Tomasini, a Dollard des Ormeaux resident, as the owner of the company, which also did business under Photographie Moments/Moments Photography. However, Édu-Vation’s corporate charter, according to the registry, expired long ago.
A 2018 ‘Outstanding Principal’
Simoneau was the principal of Lake of Two Mountains High School in 2018 when the Toronto-based Learning Partnership Canada selected him among others to receive their Canada’s Outstanding Principal award, according to Newsfirst Multimedia files dating from back then.
Simoneau was one of 40 principals judged as outstanding across Canada – three of whom were in Quebec – for demonstrating innovation and exemplary leadership within their schools. “Mr. Simoneau’s profound impact on our students, teachers and community makes him perfect for this distinguished award,” Guy Gagnon, who was the commissioner for the SWLSB’s Ward 3 on the North Shore, said at the time.
Gagnon said that Simoneau at LTMHS had “surpassed expectations by being an exceptional administrator, a dynamic leader and a visionary pedagogue for our learning community. It’s a well-deserved recognition.”
Was praised for his skills
The Learning Partnership said Alan Simoneau was recognized for his skills, results-based approach, and student-first perspective to change the culture at LTMHS. They said he sought out grants, community partnerships and foundations to make changes.
In a September 2018 post on the SWLSB’s Facebook page, which drew attention to Simoneau’s Learning Partnership award, Rajesh Awasthi (who was mentioned in a December 2018 issue of the North Shore publication Community Connections as an administrative technician at LTMHS) wrote, “Congratulations Alan Simoneau. Your hard work and dedication to LTM the past 5 years has not gone unnoticed!”
Simoneau was also honored by the SWSLB in 2015, after LTMHS was awarded two grants of $10,000 each by the National Bank of Canada for student science projects. He was presented by the SWLSB commissioners with a Certificate of Achievement at the board’s February 2015 meeting at SWLSB headquarters in Rosemère.
Alleged breach of trust
In its release, the UPAC unit said that Simoneau faces a charge of breach of trust, one count of fraud of more than $5,000 and a charge of possession or trafficking of a forged document. Some of the charges were also authorized against Awasthi and Tomasini, the latter being described in the CLCC’s statement as involved in a relationship (“en relation”) with Awasthi.
“The investigation, led by the CLCC, attempts to demonstrate that from March 8, 2016 to May 16, 2019, Alan Simoneau, with the help of his accomplices, put into place a system of false billing through a front company to the detriment of the SWSLB, his employer at that time,” the CLCC stated. “The scheme seemingly consisted of paying sums of money to Édu-Vation.”
