December 11, 2009 – The Globe & Mail reported yesterday that “the lion's share of construction contracts awarded without public tenders since last April by the Ministry of Transportation have gone to donors of the Quebec Liberal Party, according to figures compiled by the Action Démocratique du Québec party.

The ADQ also found that most of the contracts awarded without public tenders during the first six months of 2009, which were worth $240-million, violated government regulations and procedures.

The ADQ cross-tabulated the names of owners and shareholders of construction companies with those of Quebec Liberal party donors. Since 2000, the owners and shareholders of 55 construction companies and engineering firms had donated close to $1-million to the Quebec Liberal Party. These same companies received $150-million worth of government contracts without public tenders over the past six months compared to $40-million in construction contracts to the companies of owners and shareholders who had not donated to Liberal coffers.

In one instance a consortium involving the engineering and project management firms CIMA+ and BPR Inc. received a $6.6-million contract without public tenders last August. According to ADQ's compilation, seven of CIMA+ administrators and management personnel donated $92,735 to the Quebec Liberal Party since 2000. BPR Inc. management and administrators donated $86,315 to the Liberals during the same period.

All donations were legal and appeared to comply with the province's Election Law, which restricts individual contributions to a political party to $3,000 per year. The law also prohibits legal entities from making contributions.

Rules adopted in 2005 by the Treasury Board allow for contracts to be awarded without public tenders, but only under specific conditions including emergency situations or when there is no competition and only one possible bidder, especially in remote regions. Public tenders are required for all contracts worth more than $100,000. Contracts worth more than $25,000 can be tendered to contractors through invitation only.

According to figures obtained by the ADQ, 459 out of 559 Ministry of Transportation contracts awarded without public tenders since April 1 violated government regulations.

The ADQ also compiled Ministry of Transportation statistics to show that since the Liberals came to office in 2003, the number of contracts awarded without public tenders ballooned from 277 in the 2003-2004 fiscal year to 955 in 2008-2009.

The opposition parties have been calling for a full public inquiry into alleged corruption in the construction industry, which Premier Jean Charest has repeatedly refused.

The PQ proposed changes to the Election Act that would reduce individual contributions to political parties and crack down on attempts at influence peddling, favouritism and illegal contributions.”