March 19, 2004 Securities

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has entrusted the task of conducting a judicial analysis of the Jitec file to two ad hoc independent attorneys, namely M^e Sophie Bourque and M^e Marc-André Fabien. The latter parties are mandated to evaluate the investigation report and to make the appropriate recommendations to the AMF.

The examination of the evidence gathered during the investigation could lead to the filing of penal proceedings, to the request for a hearing before the Bureau de décision et de révision en valeurs mobilières or to the closing of the file.

The decision to transfer this file to independent experts was made to maintain the AMF’s neutrality and to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest, given the existence of a lawsuit by the former president of Jitec against the regulator.

M^e Bourque of Hébert, Bourque & Downs, practices criminal, penal and disciplinary law. M^e Fabien of Fasken Martineau specializes, among other things, in penal corporate law and in complex commercial litigation.

To read press releases previously published in this matter, please consult the AMF’s website, under the heading Access to the sites of the organizations merged into the Autorité. Click on the link to the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec, then enter “Jitec” in the search engine.

Established on February 1, 2004, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector. The AMF merges the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec, the Bureau des services financiers, the Régie de l’assurance-dépôts du Québec, the Fonds d’indemnisation des services financiers and the Inspector General of Financial Institutions.

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