INNOVATION January-February 2016

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Commission Finds Systemic Corruption in Quebec Construction Sector

Collapsing overpass, Quebec, 2007. P hoto : i S tock

Justice France Charbonneau recently tabled a report on the investigation into corruption within Quebec’s construction industry, following the launch of a commission of inquiry four years ago. In the report, released November 24, the commission concluded that, leading up to 2011, a link existed between political party financing and the granting of subsidies and public contracts. The 1,741-page report includes 60 recommendations for the Quebec government that are aimed at cleaning up the system surrounding the awarding of government contracts. The recommendations include better protection for whistleblowers, creation of an independent authority to oversee public contracts, a requirement for construction companies to report acts of intimidation or violence, reforms to political donation rules, and stiffer penalties for

whistleblowers and those who were complicit in collusion. Also noteworthy is the report’s consideration of what contributing factors may have limited OIQ’s ability to carry out its public protection mandate. The Charbonneau Commission Inquiry was launched in 2011 after public pressure and extensive media coverage. Since that time, more than 291 witnesses provided more than 260 days of testimony. To date, sections of the report remained blacked out due to ongoing court cases. Although the political and industrial landscape in BC differs from that in Quebec, the report is instructive for engineers and geoscientists in British Columbia and for APEGBC. APEGBC will continue to follow this issue.

construction companies that break the law. The report has wide-ranging implications for a number of government and regulatory organizations, including the Ordre des Ingénieurs (OIQ), the engineering regulatory body in Quebec. The report refers to the central role played by engineers in a number of schemes of collusion, corruption and illegal financing of political parties between 1996 and 2010. It notes that, while OIQ has a mandate of public protection, prior to 2011 there had been little effort to prevent and identify the practices brought to the light by the commission. Since then, OIQ has been more actively engaged in responding to complaints related to collusion and corruption. OIQ has stated it is considering the recommendations in the report and has created a working group to examine what measures it will take to follow up on the commission’s recommendations. It will prioritize recommendations that directly affect OIQ’s public protection activities. APEGBC, as a professional regulatory body for engineering and geoscience, takes great interest in the report’s findings and recommendations. Of particular note is the report’s illustration of the contrasting approaches to professional ethics by the

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