Montreal halts construction deals amid inquiry,
City announces only urgent repairs will be made as Zambito testimony at public inquiry continues
MONTREAL— The City of Montreal has announced a temporary suspension of new construction contracts in the wake of sensational allegations that systemic corruption has benefited the Mafia, political parties and corrupt bureaucrats to the detriment of local taxpayers.
There will be no new contracts for construction work unless it involves urgent repairs, until further notice, the city announced Wednesday. The new policy will delay $75 million in planned construction projects, it said in a statement.
“I have a duty to protect the interests of taxpayers,” Mayor Gérald Tremblay said.
The mayor has come under heavy criticism for his handling of corruption scandals over the years. Several former members of his inner circle have been slapped with criminal charges — although Tremblay has persistently said he was unaware of any wrongdoing. His opponents are demanding his resignation. While the provincial government hasn’t gone quite that far, it hasn’t stuck up for the mayor either. The city administration now wants the provincial government to amend contracting laws to allow it to refuse work to the lowest bidder, if that bidder has been associated with corruption. It said the provincial law introduced by the previous Liberal government does not do enough to ex-
“I have a duty to protect the interests of taxpayers.”
GÉRALD TREMBLAY
MAYOR OF MONTREAL
clude certain parties. In the statement, it said the new provincial government had indicated that the legislative change would be made by Christmas. The announcement is just part of the fallout from the testimony of one man: Lino Zambito. In four days at the public inquiry, the former construction boss has described an industry that operated as a tightly controlled, price-fixing cartel — one where the Mob, local bureaucrats and even the mayor’s political party allegedly took a cut. He has dropped the names of some of the most powerful construction magnates, Mafiosi, and high-ranking ex-local officials — all of whom have vigorously denied any wrongdoing.
And he hints that he’s barely getting warmed up. Zambito suggested this week that he is on the verge of exposing illicit practices outside Montreal and beyond municipal politics, although his testimony has not gone there yet.