Municipal Affairs Minister Laurent Lessard this week announced plans for new legislation that amount to a mini-trusteeship of the province's municipalities.
The new law would give the province the right to oversee the municipalities' infrastructure contracts, allowing it to conduct random audits and requiring a system of contract bidding that keeps names secret until a winner is chosen.
After media reports detailing price-fixing, political payoffs and the involvement of organized crime in the awarding of public construction contracts, the province had to act quickly. Lessard's proposed new law is the least that should be done in the short term.
Among other things, Quebecers learned in the weeks leading up to Nov. 1 municipal elections that they pay in the neighbourhood of 35 per cent more for road construction than in other provinces - for the privilege of driving on substandard roads.
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay has promised to clean up the bidding process for city infrastructure contracts. On Thursday, Tremblay along with the mayors of the eight next largest municipalities met with Lessard to determine how to put a permanent stop to bid-rigging. Tremblay admitted to the other mayors that it was his administration that was at fault.
So far, so good. Tremblay has finally taken ownership of the problem and Lessard will put in place concrete measures to keep the bidding process honest.
But it's not enough. The Charest government still needs to hold a public inquiry into what went on in Montreal. Nothing less is needed to shed light on the extent of graft and corruption.
Montrealers have a right to know how much money was involved. They have a right to know what it was about their municipal structure that allowed allegedly criminal practices to flourish for years.
The occasional unannounced visit from a provincial auditor will not be not enough to restore taxpayers' confidence in Montreal city council.
The province should not try to put the whole sordid mess behind it so fast. The allegations of political pay-offs and bid-rigging must not be minimized, or left to play out over years as the police do their work, necessary as that is.
Last month, a construction businessman, Paul Sauvé, told media that a group of contractors nicknamed the Fabulous 14 colluded to control most of the contract bids. An engineer with the Transport Department, François Beaudry, also said intimidation and threats were common in the bidding process and the Montreal Mafia was involved.
These are very serious allegations that need to be examined in public, under oath. Rot this deep needs to be exposed to the full light of day.