BPR (Quebec firm)

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BPR is an engineering firm in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Provinces and territories of Canada Top-level subdivisions of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada are the sub-national governments within the geographical areas of Canada under the authority of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —were united to form a federated colony, becoming a sovereign nation in the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times, and the country has grown from the original four provinces to the current ten provinces and three territories. Together, the provinces and territories make up the world's second-largest country by area.

Quebec Province of Canada

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

Contents

History

According to BPR's website, the firm was founded in 1961 by a trio of engineers named Beaulieu, Poulin, and Robitaille. [1] It expanded its activities throughout Quebec in the 1980s, and in 2002 it established a joint venture in Montreal with the Bechtel Group. [2] It became part of the Tetra Tech group of companies on October 5, 2010. [3]

Montreal City in Quebec, Canada

Montreal is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the second-most populous municipality in Canada. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold, snowy winters.

Bechtel A privately-owned construction and civil engineering company. It is the largest construction company in the United States.

Bechtel Corporation is an engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company. It is the largest construction company in the United States and the 8th-largest privately owned American company in 2017.

Tetra Tech, Inc. is a Pasadena, California-based consulting and engineering services firm. The company provides consulting, engineering, program management, and construction management services in the areas of water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development. Specific services for consulting and engineering projects include applied science, information technology, engineering, design, construction management, and operations and maintenance.

In 2008, the municipal government of Montreal gave BPR responsibility for overseeing aspects of the bidding process for a contract to overhaul the city's waterworks. According to an article in the Montreal Gazette , BPR was responsible for such matters as "writing the tender specifications for a contract, taking part in information sessions with bidders and even helping to assess the bids," all of which are "traditionally reserved for the civil service." The city's auditor-general strongly questioned the bidding process, leading to its cancellation by Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay. [4]

<i>Montreal Gazette</i> English-language newspaper in Montreal, Canada

The Montreal Gazette, formerly titled The Gazette, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, after three other daily English newspapers shut down at various times during the second half of the 20th century. It is one of the French-speaking province's last two English-language dailies; the other is the Sherbrooke Record, which serves the anglophone community in the Eastern Townships southeast of Montreal.

Mayor of Montreal mayor of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and provincial laws within Montreal, Quebec. The mayor is directly elected by citizens, by a plurality of votes, for a four-year term. The mayor's office is located in Montreal City Hall.

Gérald Tremblay former mayor of Montreal, Quebec (2001-2012)

Gérald Tremblay is a Canadian former politician and businessman who served as mayor of Montreal from 2002 until his resignation in 2012. He also served as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. Before becoming mayor he had a long career in business and management. Tremblay resigned as Mayor on November 5, 2012 following allegations of corruption made at the Charbonneau Commission.

Charbonneau Commission and after

In March 2013, Pierre Lavallée, president of BPR Inc., testified before the Charbonneau Commission on corruption in Montreal's construction sector. He stated that his firm had tried to expand its Montreal operations in the early 2000s, but had been unable to make much progress until meeting with political fundraiser Bernard Trépanier and being told to funnel three per cent of every project they won to the Union Montreal municipal party. Lavallée testified that he found this arrangement "shameful and degrading" but had been advised by a prominent employee that his firm would not otherwise be successful. BPR allegedly agreed to the kickback scheme and funneled between $145,000 and $155,000 to the party. [5]

The Charbonneau Commission, officially the Commission of Inquiry on the Awarding and Management of Public Contracts in the Construction Industry, is a public inquiry in Quebec, Canada into potential corruption in the management of public construction contracts.

Union Montreal municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec

Union Montreal is an inactive municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the governing party in the city from 2001, when it won its first election under mayor Gérald Tremblay, until 2012. The party remained the largest single party caucus in the city government until the 2013 election although it lost its majority in November 2012 due to a number of councillors quitting the party to sit as independents in the wake of Tremblay's resignation. Since 2013, it has no longer been politically active.

Gazette reporter Henry Aubin subsequently cited Lavallée as one of the very few corporate leaders to express any regret for their business decisions to the Charbonneau Commission. [6] Lavallée resigned his position with the company in April 2013. [7]

In August 2013, new Montreal mayor Laurent Blanchard reluctantly announced that new municipal contracts for infrastructure renewal would be awarded to BPR and SNC-Lavalin, another firm cited at the Charbonneau Commission for alleged bid-rigging. In explaining this decision, Blanchard noted that the relevant call for tenders had been issued in late 2012, a few weeks before the city adopted more stringent contracting rules; he also stated that starting the process over would result in delays and unsafe road conditions. "It wasn't an easy decision, but, legally, we had no choice," Blanchard said. "We understand that Montrealers will ask 'why?'" [8]

Laurent Blanchard is a politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He represented the east-end Hochelaga ward on Montreal city council from 2005 to 2013, initially as a member of Vision Montreal and later as an independent. On June 25, 2013, he was elected by council as interim Mayor of Montreal, a position he served in until the election of Denis Coderre on November 3, 2013.

SNC-Lavalin Montreal-based company

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services in various industries including; mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, and clean power. SNC-Lavalin is the largest construction company by revenue in all of Canada as of 2018. The firm has over 50,000 employees worldwide with offices in over 50 countries and operations in over 160 countries.

BPR was described in 2012 as having close ties to the Conservative Party of Canada. [9] Leo Housakos was hired in late 2008 to oversee one of BPR's wholly owned subsidiaries and, shortly thereafter, was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. He remained employed with the BPR subsidiary until October 2009, when he was advised by the Senate's ethics officer that he could not simultaneously fill both roles. An investigation cleared him of any conflict-of-interest pertaining to his time with the firm. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ About Us: History Background, BPR, accessed 15 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Bechtel, BPR set joint venture in Montreal," National Post, 15 June 2002, FP5.
  3. ↑ About Us: History Background, BPR, accessed 15 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Henry Aubin, "Same old city hall; Promises of reform appear empty, with little prospect of change," Montreal Gazette, 4 February 2012, A2.
  5. ↑ Monique Muise, "Company 'ashamed' of kickbacks, inquiry told; Agreed to pay up to $155,000 for work," Montreal Gazette, 19 March 2013, A7.
  6. ↑ Henry Aubin, "Sometimes you have to work with the bad guys" [editorial], Montreal Gazette, 19 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Monique Muise, "Trepanier says he was paid parallel salaries; Former Union Montreal financing head named more than 1,000 times at inquiry," Montreal Gazette, 27 March 2013, A4.
  8. ↑ Sue Montgomery, "Contracts go to firms linked to corruption; City taps SNC Lavalin, BPR to fix crumbling infrastructure despite previous bid-rigging," Montreal Gazette, 8 August 2013, A6.
  9. ↑ Jonathan Montpetit, "High-profile Quebec corruption inquiry gets underway: Quebec construction inquiry begins," Montreal Gazette, 22 May 2012.
  10. ↑ Jennifer Ditchburn, "Corruption probe asks about ties between engineering firm, Tory senator," Canadian Press, 19 March 2013.
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