MONTREAL — All the employees of the Bixi bike-sharing service received bonuses a few weeks before the company declared bankruptcy.

Montreal's opposition leader Marc-Andre Gadoury said Tuesday his party received an anonymous tip about the bonuses paid out by Montreal-based PBSC Urban Solutions.

PBSC runs Bixi bike-sharing programs in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and 13 other cities in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

The company was placed under bankruptcy protection last week with debts of nearly $50 million, including $38 million owed to the City of Montreal, its main creditor.

The bike-sharing program has been plagued with problems since its launch.

QMI Agency reported in 2011 that PBSC was losing millions of dollars and that several board members and executives had quit.

Montreal city council approved a controversial $108-million Bixi bailout package in May 2011.

In December, the City of Toronto took over its Bixi program and is now looking for a private firm to take the reins.

— With files from Brian Daly