On April 6, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the effects of the Autorité des Marchés Publics’ decision against Neptune Security Services Inc., the Quebec contract regulator said in a press release.
Last week Supreme Court Justice Claude Bouchard granted a stay to Neptune, which would keep 130 pending contracts in Quebec.
Because of the serious or irreparable harm she would suffer, the court suspended her suspension from public contracts until May 18, when a judge will consider the case in detail.
In addition to the loss of revenue, this situation can result in a risk of claims and penalties for failing to perform those contracts and seriously damage the company’s reputation, wrote Judge Bouchard, noting that several of Neptune’s customers terminated their contract with the safety agency.
In his ruling, the judge asked AMP to re-allow Neptune to receive temporary contracts.
The Autorité des marchés publics is particularly critical of Neptune for not disclosing its true leaders and resorting to numbered corporations, a structure that would allow it to evade the law.
The company’s big boss, posing as Robert Butler, was not identified in the corporate structure handed over to AMP for verification, according to information from Enquête, which also revealed that Mr. Butler used two identities in the course of his business.
For their part, Neptune’s lawyers accuse AMP of lacking transparency, trapping it and not giving it enough time to respond. The exclusion from public contracts is an ultimate and draconian sanction that goes against the spirit of the Public Contracts Act, the company adds.
Over the past 10 years, the Neptune Agency has won hundreds of government contracts nationwide, most notably with the Sûreté du Québec, to oversee courthouses and conduct construction work on Canadian military bases.