An engineer involved in the collusion in Laval off 11 months

Matthew Payen

Wednesday, 21 march, 2018 20:04

UPDATE
Wednesday, 21 march, 2018 20:04

Look at this article

An engineer and former executive of CIMA+ has been off for 11 months because of his involvement in the sharing system of public contracts in Laval in the years 2000.

Michel Lavoie had pleaded guilty in November to the Order of engineers (OIQ) of having ” failed to fulfill its professional obligations “, of having “lacked integrity” and had ” failed to safeguard his professional independence and avoid any situation in which it would be in a conflict of interest “.

Mr. Lavoie led between 2008 and 2013, the service of the engineering infrastructure of the office residents of the company CIMA+.

Tender-fixing

As revealed by the Charbonneau commission, a system collusionnaire was in place in Laval between 2002 and 2009, and nine engineering companies, including CIMA+, shared contracts of the City.

“This system […] was to distribute the contracts between the various engineering firms and circumvent the bidding process,” says the decision of the disciplinary council of the OIQ.

According to the decision, Mr. Lavoie has communicated on several occasions with the other companies involved to ensure that the firm chosen in advance by Laval won the tender.

The period of involvement of the engineer is limited, however, in 2008 and 2009, and he co-operated fully with the inquiry by the syndic of the Order, specified by the board of discipline.

These mitigating factors explain why a write-off of 11 months is deemed reasonable by the board of discipline.

The person responsible for the legal affairs of the firm CIMA+, for which Mr. Lavoie is still working, did not return our calls.