http://www.theglobeandmail.com/n ... cts/article2167403/
Leaked report reveals widespread corruption in Quebec construction contracts
RHÉAL SÉGUIN
QUEBEC CITY— Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011 1:36PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011 4:27PM EDT
Quebec media have obtained a leaked report that outlines a system of collusion, corruption and illegal practices in the awarding of construction contracts in the province.
The report, obtained by Radio-Canada and La Presse, contends that the practices are so widespread that they threaten the foundations of certain government duties.
“If the influence peddling intensifies in the political sphere, we would not be talking only of marginal criminal activities or even parallel ones, we could suspect an infiltration and even the takeover of certain functions in the government or municipalities,” the report, prepared by the Quebec Ministry of Transportation’s anti-collusion squad, is quoted as saying.
The Quebec government was reported to have received a copy two weeks ago.
The anti-corruption unit was set up in February, 2010, to investigate allegations of influence peddling in the awarding of billions of dollars in government contracts.
The revelations have renewed calls from opposition parties and other organizations for a public inquiry into the construction industry, which Premier Jean Charest has so far refused to hold.
“What has he to hide?” Parti Québécois transport critic Nicolas Gerard said. “The government can’t ignore those facts. It can’t pretend these are only allegations. That is not the case.”
Police investigators uncovered that organized crime, biker gangs, construction businesses and engineering firms conspired to inflate the cost of road-building projects, devising a scheme that also involved kickbacks to political parties. Top civil servants described “cartels” that were engaged in eliminating the competition and were involved in collusion activities.
“The suspicions are persistent to the point that a criminal empire was on the verge of being consolidated in the area of road construction, the head of the anti-collusion squad, Jacques Duchesneau, said in the report’s preamble. Mr. Duchesneau was the former head of the Montreal police force.
According to the report engineering firms have given major responsibilities over the years to plan, estimate the costs and oversee the road construction projects. The secret report stated that by contracting-out the planning of road construction to private firms the Ministry of Transportation had lost the expertise to exercise any supervision over the projects, which allowed for collusion and influence peddling to become rampant.
“One out of three engineers has witnessed favouritism in the company they worked for,” the report is quoted as saying. It goes on to explain how engineers for instance would call for 1,000 truck loads of contaminated soil to be taken from a construction site knowing that 100 would do. The additional money, the report says, would filter its way into the pockets of organized crime, engineering firms and political parties.
The report comes on the heels of widespread problems with the province’s roads, bridges and overpasses. Moreover, recent reports have underlined the major political contributions made by engineering firms to the Quebec Liberal Party.
“We want a full public inquiry to shed all the light on this situation,” said Maud Cohen, president of the Quebec Order of Engineers, which has 60,000 members. “This system also extends to other infrastructure projects … and this system of corruption and collusion has to be stopped.”
Construction companies were also at the heart of the investigation. Cartels were formed and entrepreneurs who failed to co-operate were “threatened or faced intimidation from their competitors.”
For instance, two companies controlled almost half of the asphalt-producing plants and could charge exorbitant prices.
“Someone close to the Hells Angels states that ‘all that has to do with asphalt in and around Montreal we have it all,’” the report is quoted as saying.
Allegations of close ties between organized-crime-controlled construction companies, engineering firms and political parties were particularly worrisome, according to the report.
“The more contracts they get, the more they give; the more they give, the more influence they have; the more influence they have, the more contracts they get. And the influence is exercised everywhere, whether it is by becoming members of foundations or doing fundraising for charity organizations. They become almost untouchable,” a former political aide told the investigators.
The report makes no mention of names of individuals, specific companies or political parties. However, names of those involved in potential criminal activities were still being investigated by the permanent anti-corruption unit that was set up by the Charest government six months ago. |
發表於 2011-9-15 15:36
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