Two years after the conclusion of the Charbonneau Commission looked deep into the corrupt process by which the City of Montreal awarded construction contracts, many contracts are still being awarded to the same people, according to a new investigation.
The report, the result of a collaboration between The Gazette and La Presse, found that in many cases, millions of dollars’ worth of contracts were being given to companies that had changed their names or merged with other corporations since being named in the commission.
Among those receiving city contracts is a company named Groupe TNT, which has been awarded $272 worth of work in the past four years. In recent years, Groupe TNT acquired another company called Groupe Hexagone, which, four years ago acquired Louisbourg Construction, the firm once headed by Tony Accurso.
Accurso is currently on trial for fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust for his alleged role the construction scandal.
“Really, you’ve got pretty much the same companies, just with different names,” said The Gazette reporter Linda Gyulai.
Another company, Michaudville, has received $156 million in contracts over the same period of time. Three of Michaudville’s directors used to work for Construction Garnier, whose CEO told the Charbonneau Commission that the system in Montreal is rigged.
“It didn’t take much scratching to see it’s the same names in engineering and construction that are coming back,” said Gyulai.
The Civic Action League is one of the groups that originally requested the Charbonneau Commission. Spokesperson Rodolphe Parente said while he was surprised to see so many familiar names, he believes the city’s construction industry has been largely cleaned up.
“It’s the same companies, but they’ve changed leaders, they have changed their philosophy of doing things,” he said.
He noted that contracts must now go through the city’s auditor general and bids must be approved by Quebec’s financial watchdog, the AMF. But he worries one reason the same companies are winning so many contracts is because there are obstacles blocking international players from bidding.
“The more companies that can compete in the market, the lesser the price,” he said.
Mayor Denis Coderre said the results of the new system are noticeable, with more companies bidding for contracts and the average cost of contracts down 25 per cent.
Testimony before the Charbonneau Commission revealed Montreal paid 30 to 40 per cent more for infrastructure work than other cities.
