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FFS....When will our Government ever learn and be RESPONSIBLE?

George Wallace

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FFS....When will our Government ever learn and be RESPONSIBLE?

I can not believe that our Government is still so irresponsible as to hire the same people over and over again, even when they have been associated with some form of corruption.

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Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Firm on Quebec blacklist shortlisted for Conference Centre contract
By Don Butler, OTTAWA CITIZEN October 30, 2013


A company shortlisted as a bidder for a key contract in the Government Conference Centre rehabilitation project is on a Government of Quebec blacklist because of concerns raised by the Charbonneau commission into construction industry corruption.

Montreal-based Verreault Inc. was one of five firms pre-qualified this fall by Public Works and Government Services Canada to bid on the contract as construction manager of the $190-million project.

The project, which must be completed by 2018, will repair the crumbling 101-year-old former train station at 2 Rideau St. and turn it into a temporary home for the Senate during major renovations to Parliament’s Centre Block.

When the Senate returns to the Centre Block in 2028, the building will revert to its current use as a government conference centre.

Verreault, which was founded in 1927, is one of Quebec’s largest construction firms. In 2008, it became a subsidiary of the engineering firm Dessau Inc., creating one of Canada’s largest engineering-construction groups, with 5,000 employees.

In June, both Dessau and Verreault were blacklisted under Quebec legislation — arising from the Charbonneau commission’s work — designed to restore integrity to the province’s corruption-riddled construction industry.

The Quebec law requires companies to be certified by the province’s stock-market regulator, the AMF, to be eligible for public contracts worth more than $40 million. The threshold will drop to $10 million later this year and ultimately to $100,000.
In an email Wednesday, Sylvain Théberge, a spokesman for the AMF, confirmed that Verreault remains on the list of ineligible firms.

To receive the AMF’s authorization, police must “verify the integrity of the company and its management,” Théberge said. “In the case of Verreault Inc., the company did not pass the test.”
Verreault can apply to be reinstated as an eligible company 12 months after its rejection, Théberge added.

In an emailed statement, Public Works acknowledged it was aware of Verreault’s ineligibility to bid on government of Quebec contracts when it shortlisted the firm as a bidder, but didn’t directly explain why it wasn’t eliminated on that basis.

The statement said the department’s “integrity framework” determines which companies can bid and contract out with Public Works. Bidders must certify that neither they, their affiliates nor active members of their board have been convicted of an offence under the department’s integrity provisions.

“Verreault Inc. and its parent will have to attest, and (Public Works) will verify, that there are no convictions against the companies or their directors,” the statement said.

When Public Works has concerns about a company, “it can and does increase the level of oversight and due diligence,” the statement said. “Should wrongdoing be suspected, the department will not hesitate to take further action, including requesting formal investigations by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Competition Bureau.”


Public Works can also terminate any contract if a company, affiliate or director is convicted of an offence under the department’s integrity provisions.

The name of Verreault’s parent company, Dessau, has come up often during the Charbonneau hearings.

Earlier this year, Rosaire Sauriol, Dessau’s senior vice-president, admitted to using false company invoices to funnel $2 million to municipal and provincial political parties. He also testified that he had used the same practice to contribute to federal parties.

Sauriol subsequently resigned from the privately owned firm and in May, was charged in connection with a system of collusion in Laval.

In June, his brother, Jean-Pierre Sauriol, resigned as chief executive officer and president of Dessau. A company news release said the departure was “part of the process for obtaining an integrity certification” from the AMF.

Following exchanges with the AMF, “it became evident to me that Dessau would not obtain this certification if I maintained the leadership of the company,” Sauriol said at the time. Marc Verreault, the company’s vice-president of major projects and construction, is now acting president and CEO.

Despite Sauriol’s resignation, the AMF blacklisted Dessau and Verreault on June 20. The agency told the two companies why they were ruled ineligible, but the information is not public.

In an email Wednesday, Rebecka Fortin, a spokesperson for Dessau, said the firm has “significantly reassessed” all aspects of its management and governance framework over the past few months.

“We have implemented several measures and are currently in the process of demonstrating to the AMF that these meet their expectations with respect to ethics and integrity,” she said.

Public Works pre-qualified Verreault as an eligible bidder for the conference centre contract after inviting construction management firms to apply for pre-qualification this summer.

The other shortlisted companies are M. Sullivan & Sons Ltd. of Arnprior and three Ottawa firms — EllisDon Corp., PCL Constructors Canada Inc. and a joint venture of Carillion Canada and Pomerleau Inc.

In a tender notice posted Oct. 8, Public Works invited the five firms to submit bids for the construction manager contract by Nov. 18. The successful bidder will be chosen based a “best value approach,” which includes both price and a technical score, the department said.

While hard construction costs for the project are estimated at between $90 million and $120 million, the contract will initially cover only pre-construction advice and minor construction work.

But it will also include options for construction and post-construction services that the federal government can exercise if it chooses.

Among other things, the construction manager’s responsibilities include procuring all necessary materials and services for the project, co-ordinating other contractors, project administration, quality control and budget control.

Because the project has an upper limit on investment, cost control is a key consideration. In the pre-qualification document, Public Works emphasized the role of the construction manager in providing estimates and controlling costs.

“It is this function that will fundamentally determine the success or failure of this project,” the document said.

Work is supposed to begin next June with substantial construction completed by December 2017. The building is expected to reopen in September 2018, when the Senate will move in.

This summer, Public Works also invited architectural firms to apply for the position of prime consultant for the conference centre project. That tender closed in September, but no contract has yet been awarded.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com">dbutler@ottawacitizen.com

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© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Having witnessed the fiascos of construction conducted at Petawawa by such Quebec firms over the years, I wonder if there is not some sort of corruption being carried out within Public Works?
 
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