Neptune banned from public contracts in Quebec

Update: On April 6, Quebec Superior Court issued a temporary suspension of the Autorité des marchés publics's decision until May 18, 2023, when arguments will be heard about Neptune's eligibility. Until that time, the company is legally allowed to be awarded public contracts or subcontracts.

Private security firm Neptune has been handed a five-year ban on public contracts in Quebec.

After investigating the company in recent months, the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP), the agency that oversees public contracts in Quebec, registered Neptune in the province's registry of companies inadmissible to public contracts.

The decision was handed down on Monday.

Neptune must stop its work on all public contracts within 60 days unless the company is authorized by the Quebec Treasury Board or Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, according to the AMP.

"Neptune does not meet the integrity requirements necessary to keep its right to hold contracts," the AMP said in a news release.

Hidden camera footage captures 2 meetings with man behind security firm

2 years ago

Duration 0:51

Radio-Canada contributors secretly recorded two meetings with the man behind the private security firm Neptune.

"The company has failed to declare who its real leaders are," it said, adding Neptune's use of multiple numbered companies unauthorized to hold contracts allows it to evade the law.

According to information gained by Radio-Canada, the company's CEO, who goes by the name Robert Butler, had not been named in the company's corporate structure submitted to the AMP at the end of the verification process.

Last week, the Radio-Canada's investigative program Enquête revealed Butler holds several security contracts in Quebec, Ontario and the federal government, and he goes by two different identities in his business dealings.

Butler, who presented himself as the Neptune's CEO in court, uses the name Badreddine Ahmadoun when managing other companies, including the Ontario-based real estate agency Land/Max.

"Presenting yourself as someone else or someone with two different identities is fraud," said Martine Valois, a lawyer and law professor at the Université de Montréal.

In response to a Radio-Canada request for comment, Butler said he had changed his name but refused to provide proof.

"It's not your problem what is true or not," said Butler. "I can choose any name."

Currently, Neptune has dozens of public contracts with the provincial government, municipalities, and even with the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force.

In response to an email sent to Radio-Canada, Neptune said it did not want to comment.

"Kindly respect our wishes and refrain from any further contact," said Hanane Outair who — on paper — is listed as Neptune's sole owner and administrator.

In an email, the Bureau de la sécurité privée (BSP), which regulates the province's private security industry and issues permits to companies like Neptune, said it is "analyzing the situation with respect to case law and the Private Security Act."

It would be reasonable to expect action from BSP in the near future, it said.