The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Occupation of the Territory has noticed numerous irregularities in the awarding of contracts by the Haut-St-Laurent MRC in a report made public on May 14.
In the 37-pages document, some irregularities are mentioned in the submission requests, the application of the system of the calmness and evaluation of the offers, the repercussion of the choice of selection criteria on the competition and of the division of contracts into several contracts in similar material attributed by the Haut-St-Laurent MRC.
In total, the ministry is issuing 11 recommendations. «We recommend that the Haut-St-Laurent MRC, when it presents the requests for public submissions, assures itself of making the appropriate registrations in the electronic system of calls for bids (SEAO) in terms of applicable agreements, carries out the publication as foreseen by the Council of Mayors and conserves the documentation to that effect», one can read from the text in the report from the ministry.
As for other aspects linked to the municipal administration the MAMOT auditor identified that the conservation scheduled had not been approved, the regulation in the matter of delegation of power of authorization to spend money was not respected, and some expenses were committed above the fixed limits without being authorized in advance by the Council.
Still in the report, one learns that for six contracts for more than $100,000, where that was a legislative demand, the estimate is lacking or does not correspond to the estimate made beforehand.
Legal costs for defamation lawsuit
The verification made by the MAMROT follows complaints formulated by Stephane Gendron, the former Mayor of Huntingdon. When the latter notified the Haut-St-Laurent MRC of these facts, MRC director general Francois Landreville launched a $120,000 lawsuit against Gendron.
Gendron defended himself publicly on the well-founded basis of his actions by affirming that it was the taxpayers’ money that had been illegally spent.
As Landreville’s legal expenses were up to recently assumed by the MRTC, the ministry also ruled on that point.
In his recommendations, the auditor explains that the legal expenses represent a municipal expense which target a municipal purpose. « This is not the case in the matter of defamation. The defamation lawsuit is intrinsically linked to the prejudice subjected to by the individual who launched this suit. We recommend that the Haut-St-Laurent MRC does not assume any more legal expenses coming from the suit in damages-interests relative to the defamatory words and deposited in Superior Court on July 26, 2013 and that it seriously evaluates the possibility of having the expenses already spent refunded. »
This newspaper tried to enter into communications with the director general of the Haut-St-Laurent MRC, Francois Landreville. However, Landreville did not follow up on our request.
However, in the report the MRC declares that it is acting on the ministry’s recommendation.
«As for how the honorariums are treated, the MRC is planning to clear up the question by submitting to its lawyer, where a solution path will perhaps be offered in the framework of the judgment to intervene. However, it was clearly confirmed by the director genwral that he will assume his part of the expenses.»
Translated by Dan Rosenburg
