New 10-member advisory board to suggest ways to root out corruption
Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum presented the latest weapon Thursday in a growing arsenal designed to combat the city’s well-documented problems with, and reputation for, corruption.
Applebaum announced a new 10-member advisory board headed by former Parti Québécois MNA Jacques Léonard that will recommend changes to the way Montreal awards and monitors municipal contracts to improve efficiency and limit the possibility for corruption.
“The ultimate objective is that the city will be one step ahead on those who try to profit from tax payers, ”Apple baum said. Montreal has been battered by widespread reports of collusion and corruption that increased costs on municipal contracts by as much as 30 per cent.
The committee is expected to make its recommendations to the city’s executive committee in April, after which they will be debated by city council and, if they’re found applicable, instituted by next fall.
The committee’s mandate is to suggest changes for the future, not go after individuals or companies already accused of financial crimes, Léonard noted.
The creation of this committee, along with other measures recently instituted — the provincial UPAC anticorruption squad, Bill 1 forcing companies to undergo background checks before being granted contracts and the formation of the EPIM police unit announced this month at police city hall — are part of a wider battle to combat corruption, and Montreal’s image as a den of financial iniquity.
“What we’re trying to do in Quebec, and in Montreal in particular, is to turn this thing around,” said JeanFrançois Lisée, minister responsible for Montreal. “We want to have the reputa- tion that Montreal is hell for swindlers and corrupters, and it’s going to be very tough for them to get through, and their days here are over.”
On the suggestion of the provincial government, the city chose Léonard as chairman of the committee.
Joining him will be Roland Fréchette, a retired SQ economic crimes investigator who served on the anti-collu- sion squads of the Transport Department and UPAC, the provincial anti-corruption squad.
The rest of the committee is made up of directors of the city’s departments responsible for granting the majority of public works contracts, including those in charge of legal services, real estate transactions, purchasing, water treatment, infrastruc- ture and a police director, Mario Fournier.
Alain Bond, comptroller-general for the city responsible for overseeing its financial transactions is also on the committee, and will be responsible for its budget.
There are no elected officials because Applebaum said he wanted it free from political infighting, and its recommendations will have to go before council. Elected officials can submit recommendations to the committee, Applebaum said.
The committee is expected to cost $37,500, mostly for the salaries of Léonard and Fréchette, as all other members are city employees. Expenses will be paid out of the comptroller-general’s budget. Léonard offered to work for half the salary of $24,800 offered him.
Louise Harel of opposition party Vision Montreal applauded Léonard’s appointment and said the committee was a step in the right direction, but more needed to be done. A city that doles out tens of millions in contracts a month can’t wait six months for new contract regulations, she said.
“It is also necessary to note that the advisory board will be composed mostly of civil servants, several of whom have been in their positions as directors for years,” she said.
“In matters of integrity, perception and public confidence are of prime importance,” so the committee should have more oversight from elected representatives, she said.
Vision Montreal will propose a motion at Monday’s council meeting to ask the committee’s mandate be enlarged to include ethics and integrity, Harel said, which would allow it to examine contracts in the boroughs as well as the city centre.
QUEBEC — Régis Labeaume, Quebec City’s often colourful mayor, presented figures Thursday indicating that in the five full years he has been in office, the city has spent $700.3 million on roads, sewers and other infrastructure projects, with “extras” of only 0.41 per cent.
“Why does it cost 30-per-cent more in Montreal than in Quebec City?” Labeaume said. “We are not on a different planet here.”
Witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission into corruption in the construction industry have described a system of “extras” handed out after a contract has been awarded — sometimes worth as much as 30 per cent of the original contract.
Labeaume summoned reporters to a presentation by Daniel Lessard, who heads then capital’s 150-member engineering service.
“If we can lower the level of cynicism, I will be very happy,” the mayor explained.
After Lessard presented the facts and figures, Labeaume asked him “in front of every one” whether, “in five years have you ever had a directive (from the Labeaume administration) concerning contractors, concerning projects underway, concerning bids.”
“The answer is no,” Lessard replied.
“Our practices bear no relation to what happens there (in Montreal).”
In his presentation, Lessard said the city has 42 full-time engineers, who are involved in the planning process and maintain control over infrastructure projects.
There is a growing number of contractors in the city, increasing competition and, by grouping projects on several city streets at once, there are economies of scale, he said.
Witnesses at the Charbonneau Commission have testified about bid rigging in Montreal, Laval and smaller surrounding communities. Lessard said officials in Quebec City, which, with 517,000 people, is Quebec’s second-largest city, are on the lookout for corrupt practices.
“They have been unable to detect any pattern,” Lessard said.
Labeaume added: “And if there is, they can call us. And if there is something, we will give it to UPAC right away,” referring to Quebec’s permanent anti-corruption unit.