Justice Watch: Judges Martin Gosselin and Joanne Cousineau face removal after illegally jailing people over unpaid tickets
Over 1,100 people were impacted by the illegally issued warrants between June 2020 and December 2022.
Two Quebec municipal court judges could be removed from the bench after a judicial inquiry found they illegally authorized 1,669 imprisonment warrants against people who failed to pay fines.
In an unusually severe report, an inquiry committee of Quebec’s Conseil de la magistrature recommended the removal of Gatineau municipal court judges Martin Gosselin and Joanne Cousineau, concluding their conduct caused irreparable damage to public confidence in the judiciary.
The warrants were issued between June 2020 and December 2022 and affected 1,126 people, including vulnerable and homeless defendants.
According to the committee, Gosselin and Cousineau approved the warrants orally and in batches without reviewing the individual case files.
The committee found the decisions were made without written judgments, reasons, evidence or individual files. Even the length of imprisonment was determined automatically by a computer system configured by the municipal court.
The inquiry concluded the judges had “totally abdicated their judicial functions” and displayed incompetence by disregarding fundamental principles of law, according to Le Journal de Montréal.
Some citizens were ultimately imprisoned as a result of the illegally issued warrants.
The complaint was originally filed by Christian Tanguay, deputy director general of administrative services for the City of Gatineau. A separate class action on behalf of people affected by the warrants was authorized by Quebec Superior Court in September 2024.
Both judges denied committing ethical misconduct and maintained they had relied upon a practice already in place at the Gatineau municipal court.
Gosselin was appointed to the Gatineau court in 2018 and has served as its presiding municipal judge since 2020. Cousineau sat in Gatineau from 2020 until 2024 and now sits at the municipal court for the MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
Removal is not automatic. The Conseil de la magistrature must recommend dismissal to Quebec's justice minister, and the government can ultimately remove a judge only after another inquiry conducted by the Quebec Court of Appeal.
The recommendation for removal is considered an exceptionally rare sanction in Quebec's judicial disciplinary system.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
https://mybook.to/sheilaFeatured Stories
COMMENTS
-
Fran g commented 2026-08-14 18:59:08 -0400kicking these 2 creeps out should be only a start…………….They should also be accountable, just like all us other pee on Canadians. They should be charged with, I dont know, fraud? jail time for both, heavily fined. Come on something for all the misery they caused by being negligent or downright cruel. -
susan gerbes commented 2026-08-14 10:47:27 -0400nothing to see here folks……keep walking……
pathetic….. -
Bruce Atchison commented 2026-08-11 20:00:15 -0400This adds to the argument that we ought to be able to elect our judges.
