Leaked report 'devastating'
Prepared by anti-corruption squad; Legault urges police to investigate all possible leads, including in the Liberal Party and PQ
By MAX HARROLD, The Gazette September
16, 2011 3:01 AM
Source
Police allegations of collusion in the construction industry and criminal infiltration of roadwork projects and political party financing have renewed calls for Premier Jean Charest to launch a public inquiry.
A leaked report by a police anticorruption squad set up by the government warns of serious consequences brought on by what it describes as a serious lack of resources within Transport Quebec - in particular when it comes to verifying initial estimates made on the costs of a public contract.
The report quotes a former Transport Quebec employee, described as being very experienced, as saying: "Transport Quebec has no specialized estimator capable of regularly realizing the actual cost of an infrastructure project involving roads. The situation augments the level of difficulty for Transport Quebec to determine if the minister is paying a fair price when tenders are granted."
According to the report, the same lack of resources makes it difficult for Transport Quebec to check for errors and omissions in plans and estimates.
One engineer told the anti-collusion squad that while there has been a slight increase in the number of engineers in the past five years, the workload has quintupled and the best they can do is to "put out fires."
The report warns that a network of organized criminals and construction firms is working to drive up the cost of road work projects. No companies or individuals are named in the report.
One media report said biker gangs and the Mafia are acting as "cartels" to eliminate competition and organize collusion to drive up revenues.
Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois described the leaked report as "devastating."
"It goes to the credibility of our institutions. Honestly, the only way to deal with this is to have a public inquiry," Marois told the LCN TV news channel, adding that witnesses would be protected.
Marois denied any wrongdoing under past PQ governments, "but if ever these things did happen, an inquiry would uncover them."
François Legault, leader of the Coalition pour l'avenir du Québec - which soon might become a political party - said Charest should clean house at Transport Quebec as soon as possible as well as call an inquiry.
"There are some rotten apples over there, according to this report," Legault told The Gazette.
"They must withdraw from the Transport Department immediately. The police may not have named names publicly but they must have names and facts."
Legault, on a swing through Val d'Or for public meetings ahead of releasing a political platform this year, said he never heard of such dealings when he was a cabinet minister in Parti Québécois governments. He held the industry portfolio in the late 1990s and later education, treasury board, employment and health.
"I would never risk my reputation and my family's reputation for political financing," Legault said, urging police to investigate all possible leads, including in the Liberal Party and PQ.
The Unité permanent anticorruption, set up by the Quebec government this year, was given $30 million in annual funding and a permanent staff of 189 people and is modelled on New York City's Department of Investigation.
Amir Khadir, the sole MNA for Québec Solidaire, said the report solidifies suspicions about corruption in the construction industry.
"This is the police saying this now," Khadir said. "It's not just the mafioso that is being implicated. Now it's the business elite, too."
Only if Charest calls a public inquiry can he "legitimately stay in power," Khadir said.
At Montreal city hall, executive committee chairperson Michael Applebaum said city taxpayers now benefit from a series of safeguards created to ensure that funds for municipal projects remain under the scrutiny of city council.
"When we take a look at how contracts are handed out, we have a lot more (city) workers that are working on plans and are surveying the work that's being done," he said. "We also have a contract review committee which has been doing great work."
Applebaum added the city has adopted a policy of breaking up large projects into smaller, independent contracts, making it possible for the city to seek the best price for the most work.
Most of the measures mentioned by Applebaum were brought into force in the wake of the controversy over the city's since-cancelled $355-million water meter contract, which Montreal's auditor-general criticized as being too expensive and too hastily handed out.
Opposition councillor Richard Bergeron, head of Projet Montréal and a member of the contract review committee, said even though more oversight had been brought into the process, "we still seem to be giving contracts to the same companies. I feel as if I'm involved in a game of cat and mouse, and I'm the mouse when I'd rather be the cat."
Vision Montreal's Louise Harel, leader of the official opposition, shared Bergeron's skepticism over Montreal's ability to protect itself from the problems raised by the UPAC report.
"Montreal is the second biggest (source of contracts) in roadwork after the provincial transport ministry," she said.
"I think it's the same players involved - the same entrepreneurs, the same engineers (being used by) Quebec and Montreal.
"And the situation described in the UPAC report for Quebec cannot be any different from that of Montreal . we need a public inquiry into the construction industry."
Paul cherry and James Mennie of The Gazette contributed to this report
mharrold@montrealgazette.com
Prepared by anti-corruption squad; Legault urges police to investigate all possible leads, including in the Liberal Party and PQ
By MAX HARROLD, The Gazette September
16, 2011 3:01 AM
Source
Police allegations of collusion in the construction industry and criminal infiltration of roadwork projects and political party financing have renewed calls for Premier Jean Charest to launch a public inquiry.
A leaked report by a police anticorruption squad set up by the government warns of serious consequences brought on by what it describes as a serious lack of resources within Transport Quebec - in particular when it comes to verifying initial estimates made on the costs of a public contract.
The report quotes a former Transport Quebec employee, described as being very experienced, as saying: "Transport Quebec has no specialized estimator capable of regularly realizing the actual cost of an infrastructure project involving roads. The situation augments the level of difficulty for Transport Quebec to determine if the minister is paying a fair price when tenders are granted."
According to the report, the same lack of resources makes it difficult for Transport Quebec to check for errors and omissions in plans and estimates.
One engineer told the anti-collusion squad that while there has been a slight increase in the number of engineers in the past five years, the workload has quintupled and the best they can do is to "put out fires."
The report warns that a network of organized criminals and construction firms is working to drive up the cost of road work projects. No companies or individuals are named in the report.
One media report said biker gangs and the Mafia are acting as "cartels" to eliminate competition and organize collusion to drive up revenues.
Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois described the leaked report as "devastating."
"It goes to the credibility of our institutions. Honestly, the only way to deal with this is to have a public inquiry," Marois told the LCN TV news channel, adding that witnesses would be protected.
Marois denied any wrongdoing under past PQ governments, "but if ever these things did happen, an inquiry would uncover them."
François Legault, leader of the Coalition pour l'avenir du Québec - which soon might become a political party - said Charest should clean house at Transport Quebec as soon as possible as well as call an inquiry.
"There are some rotten apples over there, according to this report," Legault told The Gazette.
"They must withdraw from the Transport Department immediately. The police may not have named names publicly but they must have names and facts."
Legault, on a swing through Val d'Or for public meetings ahead of releasing a political platform this year, said he never heard of such dealings when he was a cabinet minister in Parti Québécois governments. He held the industry portfolio in the late 1990s and later education, treasury board, employment and health.
"I would never risk my reputation and my family's reputation for political financing," Legault said, urging police to investigate all possible leads, including in the Liberal Party and PQ.
The Unité permanent anticorruption, set up by the Quebec government this year, was given $30 million in annual funding and a permanent staff of 189 people and is modelled on New York City's Department of Investigation.
Amir Khadir, the sole MNA for Québec Solidaire, said the report solidifies suspicions about corruption in the construction industry.
"This is the police saying this now," Khadir said. "It's not just the mafioso that is being implicated. Now it's the business elite, too."
Only if Charest calls a public inquiry can he "legitimately stay in power," Khadir said.
At Montreal city hall, executive committee chairperson Michael Applebaum said city taxpayers now benefit from a series of safeguards created to ensure that funds for municipal projects remain under the scrutiny of city council.
"When we take a look at how contracts are handed out, we have a lot more (city) workers that are working on plans and are surveying the work that's being done," he said. "We also have a contract review committee which has been doing great work."
Applebaum added the city has adopted a policy of breaking up large projects into smaller, independent contracts, making it possible for the city to seek the best price for the most work.
Most of the measures mentioned by Applebaum were brought into force in the wake of the controversy over the city's since-cancelled $355-million water meter contract, which Montreal's auditor-general criticized as being too expensive and too hastily handed out.
Opposition councillor Richard Bergeron, head of Projet Montréal and a member of the contract review committee, said even though more oversight had been brought into the process, "we still seem to be giving contracts to the same companies. I feel as if I'm involved in a game of cat and mouse, and I'm the mouse when I'd rather be the cat."
Vision Montreal's Louise Harel, leader of the official opposition, shared Bergeron's skepticism over Montreal's ability to protect itself from the problems raised by the UPAC report.
"Montreal is the second biggest (source of contracts) in roadwork after the provincial transport ministry," she said.
"I think it's the same players involved - the same entrepreneurs, the same engineers (being used by) Quebec and Montreal.
"And the situation described in the UPAC report for Quebec cannot be any different from that of Montreal . we need a public inquiry into the construction industry."
Paul cherry and James Mennie of The Gazette contributed to this report
mharrold@montrealgazette.com