Firms that defrauded taxpayer can pay up

380 letters sent urging participation in voluntary repayment program

Companies that have defrauded Quebec taxpayers over the past 20 years can now make amends after the launch Monday of a voluntary repayment program.

The voluntary repayment program gives companies and individuals an opportunity to reimburse money from public contracts that they obtained through collusion, bid-rigging or other fraudulent acts dating back to 1996.

Until Nov. 1, 2016, companies or individuals can signal their intention to take part in the program. Thirty days after signalling their intention, they must present a reimbursement plan to the public body or bodies that overpaid.

The program’s administrators will then verify all the details of each proposal and, within the next 150 days, give its recommendation to Quebec’s justice minister. The minister then has 30 days to submit the repayment plan to the affected public bodies.

They then have 60 days to advise the minister if they approve or disapprove of the plan. In order to accept the plan, the public body must hold a vote on it within 210 days of receiving the proposal.

If the proposal is refused, the administrators of the program have 30 days to convene a conciliation meeting between the parties. The program ends Nov. 1, 2017. Firms that decide not to participate in the program risk facing civil suits launched by Quebec that could take years to wind their way through the courts, said François Rolland, the former chief justice of Quebec Superior Court, who is the program’s administrator.

“It allows the public to be reimbursed the money it overpaid for public contracts,” Rolland said in a statement. “It will give companies the opportunity to rehabilitate while also avoiding costly legal proceedings.” The city of Montreal wasted little time Monday announcing that it had sent warning letters to 380 companies, company directors and individuals urging them to take part in the program.

If these parties don’t participate, the city said it would follow all other legal recourse to recoup the money it believes it overpaid companies. The city added that it would not provide any other details about the companies or individuals it is targeting.

“We want to encourage any firm or person who participated in fraudulent or abusive practices to participate in this process and that’s what we did in sending these letters,” said Pierre Desrochers, president of Montreal’s executive committee. “This law will apply for a certain period of time, and after that, depending on the results, the city may be able to go after them directly through the legal system. … Our objective is to recuperate the maximum amount of money for our citizens.”

The city says other investigations continue and it will do everything in its power to recuperate taxpayers’ money.

We want to encourage any firm or person who participated in fraudulent or abusive practices to participate.