Collusion, threats of violence permeate Montreal snow-removal bids, report finds

Competition in Montreal's snow-removal industry is being undermined by arestrictedgroup of entrepreneursemploying "collusive"strategies andthreats ofphysical violence,the city'sinspectorgeneral concluded in a report released Monday.

The report looked at the period between 2005 and 2015.

Around 100 people were interviewedfor the report, including 60 snow-removal contractors.

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Many of those contractors claimed there are sectionsof the city where they cannotbidon contracts because those areasare considered the territory of a certain person or contractor.

Bidders call each other up

The report also found evidence of collusionbetween certain contractors to bid only oncontracts in agreed-uponsectors, whichaffected the price of winning bids.

"Contractors would contact each other during the call-for-tenders period in order to know one another'sintentions in terms of contracts they were planning to bid on," the report says.

You stay in your turf, and I'll stay in mine.- snow-removal contractors cited in report

Some snow-removal contractors refused to acknowledge that such deal-making existed. However, the report said what theyhinted at was just as significant.

"When questioned by the inspector general's office, those entrepreneurs said that 'everyone decides to stay in his own territory,' admitting to have told their competitors, 'You stay in your turfand I'll stay in mine.'"

The inspector general's report callsonthe city to take steps against those kinds ofpractices.

Threats of physical violence

The inspector generalalso found evidence of potential biddersbeing threatenedwith physical violence in order to deter them from competing forcertain contracts. The report gave three examples:

• A contractor was threatened with hammer blows to the head for refusing to buy out contracts for a company in bankruptcy.
• A contractor threatened with 'having the s*** beat out of him' for refusing to buy a snow-clearing contract from a fellow entrepreneur
• A contractor threatened with having his legs broken if he bid on a contract.

UPACto look intofindings

Quebec's anti-corruption unit,UPAC,has been informed of the report's findings, as hasthe province's competition bureau.

The report's recommendations include:

• The creation of an onlinebidding platform toassure the anonymity of bidders.
• Mandatory disclosure of any bidder'scontact with other snow-removal companies during the call-for-tenders period and justification for any contactmade.
• Prohibiting contractors from transferingtheir own contracts to other entrepreneurs.
• Increased monitoring to ensurecityrules governingsubcontracting are respected.

Under the city's new snow-removal policy, Montreal is to take on a bigger role incoordinating snow clearing among its 19 boroughs. The inspector general's report says thatincreased oversight iscrucial to moving forward on these recommendations.

The city spends $155 million annually on snow clearing. The work involves 3,000 snow-removal workers and 300,000 truckloads of snow are carted away each winter season.

Coderre says changes on the way

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderresaid the report's support for the city's new snow-removal policy shows the city is moving in the right direction.

"What stands out is the recommendation for a single snow-removal policy, and we've done that already," he said.

Coderrealso said the report stands as evidence that the city now has in place the means to addresscorruption.

Coderre created the inspector general's officeshortly after being electedin late 2013 to address the recurring issue of corruption in city contracts a positionheld by Denis Gallant, a former Crown prosecutor who also played a key roleon the Charbonneau commission into corruption in Quebec's construction industry.

"It shows the system works we have an auditing system that works, and this is proof of that," Coderre said.

The inspector general's investigationfollows on a report byMontreal's auditor general that foundevidence of collusion in city snow-removal contracts between 2005 and 2013.