Montreal auditor to release water meter report

Montreal's auditor general will table a report Monday night on the city's contentious $355-million water meter contract.

The report by Jacques Bergeron will be tabled at city council's final meeting before November's municipal election.

The contract, the biggest ever awarded by the city, came under scrutiny after the former chairman of the city's executive committee, Frank Zampino, admitted he had vacationed on a yacht belonging to Tony Accurso.

Accurso's construction company, Beaudry-Simard, is part of the Montreal-based consortium GéniEau, which won the contract in 2007 to expand the island's water meter system.

There are also questions about whether the city is getting its money's worth for the contract after newspaper reports suggested the City of Toronto paid significantly less for a similar system.

Zampino defended actions

In April, Zampino said he has known Accurso for 25 years and did not interfere to favour the consortium when the contract was up for bidding.

In a letter to the mayor's office, Zampino declared he paid all related costs that he and his wife incurred during the holiday.

Zampino resigned last winter from his new position as vice-president of Dessau Inc., a Montreal engineering company that is also part of the consortium that won the contract.

Still, under fire from the opposition parties about the appearance of a conflict of interest, Mayor Gérald Tremblay asked the auditor general to launch an investigation and announced he was suspending the contract pending the outcome of the probe.

Tremblay has also said he is prepared to cancel the contract if necessary.

Further allegations of corruption

In another development, Quebec provincial police have confirmed they are working on several investigations into allegations of corruption in the construction industry.

The news comes following a Radio-Canada report looking into allegations that large construction companies in Montreal, with the help of bureaucrats at city hall, are conspiring to shut out smaller firms from bidding on city contracts.

Sources told Radio-Canada that major companies are charging the city 20 to 30 per cent more than the going rate.

Tremblay welcomed the police investigations saying he has heard rumours about the alleged conspiracy since his election but could do little to resolve the issue because he had no evidence.

The mayor said his administration has encouraged city employees to break their silence about possible corruption, and he is pleased to see some are now doing so.

The city has created a tip line for workers who want to blow the whistle.

Opposition demands special debate

But opposition leader Benoît Labonté said Tremblay should have done more to prevent problems from happening, rather than celebrating investigations into his administration.

"When you're mayor, you're the leader and you're ultimately responsible, " Labonté said.

Labonté, who is also the deputy leader of the Vision Montreal Party, said he is calling for a special city council meeting to be held by Sept. 28 to debate the auditor's report.

He warned any decision to cancel the water meter contract could also cost Montrealers a fortune.

Labonté has called on the city to hire an ethics commissioner, which could sanction city councillors.

Tremblay has said he would prefer the province named an ethics commissioner, but he will appoint one himself if the government doesn't act by the end of the national assembly's fall session.