After being listed on the City of Montreal’s Prohibited Persons Registry in 2016, a snow removal contractor was re-selected by the Office of Inspector General (BIG), which recommends keeping him on the blacklist for an additional five years.
Louis-Victor Michon, already on the blacklist that made him ineligible for contracts with the city of Montreal, could count on the complicity of Serge Mainville to continue working in the metropolis for snow removal.
“Although fully aware of Louis-Victor Michon’s ineligibility status, KL Mainville executive director Serge Mainville nevertheless did business with him and allowed him to work on behalf of the City of Montreal and have an interest in executing contracts and, moreover, tried to hide this fact during the investigation,” said a BIG report released on Monday.
The city’s Inspector General, Me Brigitte Bishop, has also terminated the two contracts that Les Entreprises KL Mainville Inc. held with the city.
It also recommends that Louis-Victor Michon, Serge Mainville, Les Entreprises KL Mainville inc. and Excavation Bromont to the City of Montreal’s Prohibited Persons Registry for a period of five (5) years.
collusion attempt
In 2016, Louis-Victor Michon approached one of his competitors several times to make “collusive agreements”. Mr. Michon specifically offered him a $100,000 bribe to get him to withdraw from a city bid, to no avail.
Following an OIG investigation, Michon was blacklisted by the city for five years, ending in November 2021.
However, Mr. Michon entered into a “nominee agreement” with Daniel Girard to assume control of Excavation Bromont Inc. in exchange for an annual fee of $20,000 for five years.
Through this company, Mr. Michon participated in the subcontracting of snow removal contracts won by KL Mainville.
Beginning with the 2017-2018 winter season, he participated in snow removal activities around the city and became the main subcontractor for KL Mainville.
According to a foreman of the municipality of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve met by the BIG, “it was Louis-Victor Michon who unofficially controlled the execution of the 2018 and 2021 contracts on the spot”.
In her report, the Inspector General notes that Serge Mainville and Daniel Girard were aware of Mr Michon’s inadmissibility status and that they “knowingly” did business with him.
“The investigation uncovers multiple instances of attempts to disguise the real role of Louis-Victor Michon,” it said.