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Montreal Gazette
6 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec can't afford to be ‘the most generous welfare state in North America'
The Corner Booth On Wednesday, the Coalition Avenir Québec government pledged to invest $540 million into student services — less than one month after it was met with fierce backlash for slashing $570 million in education funding. While former senator André Pratte is 'happy for the education system,' he says this flip-flopping by Quebec means more drastic cuts are on the horizon. 'We can't afford everything that we want from the government of Quebec, as a society. I'm all for government intervention in many different fields, but we have to choose (to take) into account our means, to pay for all this,' Pratte told hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week's episode of The Corner Booth, where he discussed his latest op-ed for The Gazette: A welfare state Quebecers cannot afford. 'This $540 million that they just found, they need to take from somewhere else.'
Montreal Gazette
26-06-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Montreal overspending on engineering contracts, union charges, with study pegging extra cost at $40M in 2024
Montreal Politics By Montreal's municipal engineers were sounding the alarm even before a recent bombshell study revealed that engineering fees paid by the city to private firms have skyrocketed while the quality of work has diminished since the Charbonneau Commission a decade ago. But it has been a frustrating year of whistleblowing for the Association des scientifiques et ingénieurs de Montréal (ASIM), says the union's president, Gisella Gesuale, who has spoken at city budget hearings, buttonholed councillors outside of council meetings, met with department managers and filed formal complaints with the city's Bureau de l'inspecteur général (BIG) and auditor general in an effort to get someone to act. 'We're at one year later and we're still at square one,' said Gesuale, who was a municipal chemist before being elected president of her union in October 2023. 'There's been no reaction. They haven't taken our hand yet.' As it turns out, the problems pinpointed by the union in a 19-page brief it has circulated among city officials and shared with The Gazette jibe with the findings of Colin Pratte, the researcher at the Institut de recherche et d'information socioéconomiques (IRIS) who authored the study released on May 29. Pratte's study concludes that Montreal paid at least $40 million too much on over $200 million in contracts to engineering consulting firms awarded in 2024 — in other words, at least 20 per cent above fair value. The estimate, which Pratte describes as conservative, is based on the fact that the hourly rates paid by Montreal in its contracts with external engineering firms increased by 82 per cent from 2012 to 2024. That was more than double the inflation rate for the period. The study looked at contracts awarded by the main three central city departments hiring external engineers: road infrastructure, water and urban planning and mobility. Gesuale's union notes the spike in external professional fees doesn't include interest costs the city is paying on them. Most engineering contracts are in the city's capital works program, which is financed through long-term loans charging interest over 20 or more years, and not paid in cash out of the city's annual operating budget. Moreover, the IRIS study says the city could have avoided the explosion in engineering fees if it had followed the recommendations of the Charbonneau Commission. Among other things, the 2015 report of the public inquiry into corruption and collusion in the Quebec construction industry recommended reducing the city's reliance on subcontracting, a suggestion that is reiterated by Pratte. Gesuale's union, for its part, calculates that the total annual value of contracts awarded by Montreal to engineering consulting firms has increased by 809 per cent — from $23 million in 2012 to $209 million in 2024 — while the number of in-house engineers has remained relatively stable. Her union represents 575 Montreal municipal engineers, many of whom are tasked with preparing estimates and correcting the plans submitted by the external engineers. The Association des firmes de génie-conseil du Québec (AFG), which represents 71 member engineering consulting firms, maintains the 82 per cent increase in professional fees between 2012 and 2024 cited in the IRIS study is directly linked to the increase in construction projects carried out by the city. But bigger investment in construction — from rebuilding roads and sewer pipes to installing traffic lights and creating bike paths — doesn't explain the exponential increase in the hourly rates paid to junior and senior engineers, technicians and so on within each external contract, the union noted. 'That's what started us wanting to look into what was going on,' Gesuale said. 'One (city) engineer noticed that the hourly rate that was being charged to the city was exploding. It was three to four times our salary.' The union, like Pratte, concludes that Montreal is overpaying and that it stems from the way the city has restructured its external contracts for engineering work in the decade since the Charbonneau Commission ended. Montreal has shifted toward paying engineering consulting firms by the hour through contracts called 'framework agreements' — and has moved away from fixed-price contracts that pay by project. A framework agreement will provide a bank of, say, 100,000 hours over a time span for an engineering firm to work on various city projects. Engineers employed by the winning firm will bill their hours from that bank. In 2012, the city was mostly awarding fixed-price contracts, paying engineering firms a flat amount for a project. Framework agreements were slammed in the 2013 report of a city committee headed by former Parti Québécois minister Jacques Léonard, which issued 60 recommendations to Montreal to prevent corruption and collusion in municipal contracts. But while the city has shifted away from framework agreements for construction work since then, it has increased their use for engineering work since Mayor Valérie Plante's Projet Montréal administration was elected in November 2017. In 2012, 35 per cent of Montreal engineering contracts were framework agreements; in 2024, 93 per cent were, the IRIS study found. When it was in the opposition at city hall, Projet Montréal denounced framework agreements. Plante's office ignored The Gazette's questions about the IRIS study and the problems raised by the engineers' union. The five political aides who handle media relations for the mayor and city executive committee didn't respond to the newspaper's messages. Executive committee chairperson Émilie Thuillier also didn't respond to a direct request for comment. On the civil service side, a spokesperson for the road infrastructure, water and urban planning and mobility departments said it's difficult to move away from hourly-rate contracts in engineering. Framework agreements, spokesperson Gonzalo Nunez said in a written response, are 'essential due to the volume of projects and their ever-increasing scope, particularly to address the maintenance deficit in our infrastructure.' Montreal has seen an 'acceleration of planning for certain projects,' he added, and that 'has indeed led to an increase in professional fees, but also an increase in the hours worked by city employees on these same projects.' By comparison, Quebec City awards very few framework agreements for professional services. In fact, 97 per cent of engineering contracts awarded by Quebec City are fixed-price, Gesuale said. Paying external firms by the hour offers no incentive for them to deliver work expeditiously, Gesuale said. Moreover, it means the city is paying external engineers to correct their errors, she said. Meanwhile, the exponential increase in external engineering fees is reinforced by another factor that was denounced by the Charbonneau Commission and in the Léonard report, Gesuale said: Montreal's method of estimating the price of new contracts. Quebec's Cities and Towns Act requires a municipality that plans to award a contract of $100,000 or more to establish a control estimate before opening the bids. A large difference between the estimate and bids might point to an error or lack of clarity in the plans and specifications. On occasion, it leads a municipality to cancel the call for tenders and start again. Montreal continues to use the historical price to estimate engineering contract prices, even though it has dumped that method for construction contracts. Under the historical-price method, Montreal takes the already inflated price of a previous contract, adds inflation and voilà — that's the city's estimated price of the next contract. For construction contracts, the city now uses a 'fair value' method of estimation, which takes into account objective factors, like the real costs of items in the contract, market conditions and supply and demand. Montreal's BIG has advocated internally for the city to end historical-price estimation, Gesuale noted. Now, the union has decided to act where the city won't, she added. Last month, the union issued instructions to its members to produce estimates according to fair value instead of historical price. To do that, the union developed a tool that establishes fair value, based on municipal engineers' salary conditions plus an additional 90 per cent to cover firms' direct and indirect costs, such as rent, as well as benefits and profits. The factor of 90 per cent is used by different authorities, Gesuale said. 'We have no choice,' she said of developing the tool. 'It's our role because the city's not doing anything.' The union has also advised its members to keep a written record if a manager directs them to use an estimation method that isn't 'consistent with best practices — particularly the use of prices from previous years.' The city, for its part, didn't explain in its responses why it's sticking to the historical-price method to estimate engineering contracts. Gesuale describes Montreal as a 'school' for external firms to send inexperienced engineers to learn from municipal engineers. In the meantime, the city isn't developing its internal expertise, she said. As well, the city itself has complained about the quality of work by external engineers, her union discovered in the minutes of meetings between city managers and representatives of the association of engineering consulting firms. The union obtained the minutes through an access-to-information request. The AFG says the solution has to come from both sides. 'Regarding quality, we intend to continue working with the City of Montreal to identify issues on both sides and find solutions to improve our practices on an ongoing basis,' AFG deputy general manager Pierre Nadeau said in an email. Gesuale's union is calling on the city to repatriate recurring work, the kind that's outsourced year after year or under long-term contracts. 'We know we can't do all the engineering work internally,' she said. 'There will be outsourcing. But can we not ensure it's well-balanced?' The union is also calling on city management to form a committee to work on the union's recommendations. 'Our objective is to ensure that Montreal gets the most for its buck,' Gesuale said. 'And at the moment, that's not what I'm seeing.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Elevated fire risk prompts warning from Governor Kehoe
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Low humidity coupled with wind gusts has created what some first responders call a firestorm. The elevated fire risk fueled one of those blazes in Washington County Wednesday. That fire could be seen for several miles. Other area fire chiefs are seeing similar troubles. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'We're running 20 calls in a 10-to-12-hour period,' said Chief David Pratte, Big River-Bonne Terre Fire Department. 'It's just been one call right after another.' Governor Mike Kehoe shared some images of first responders battling fires in various parts of the state, asking for the public to use extreme caution and avoid any activity that could spark a fire. Weather conditions are expected to create a high risk for fire in parts of southeast Missouri through Friday. 'Fire doubles every 30 seconds,' Pratte said. He echoed the governor's call for caution and is urging residents to avoid any burning of trash or leaves. Pratte also asks residents who have done any outdoor burning recently to add more water to what they burned. This St. Louis eatery is Missouri's 'best Italian restaurant,' food writers say 'If you burned a pile of brush in the past 10 days, such as logs, they're still burning inside,' he said. Pratte's department is a volunteer department. He said working full-time jobs and then responding to this rash of avoidable fires is taking a toll on volunteers. 'They're exhausted,' he said. 'They're tired.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Here's how a $20 tracker cracked a massive theft operation in Missouri — plus 3 ways to protect your own valuables
When the St. Louis County Parks Department purchased a $56,000 TimberKing Sawmill, it likely never expected the purchase would one day lead to the discovery of a multi-county theft operation. "We purchased this [TimberKing Sawmill] so we could better utilize urban wood waste instead of just putting it into a dump,' Jason Pratte shared with NewsNation. 'We kept it under lock and key — what we believed was a secure location.' I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) A near-record number of Americans are grappling with $1,000 car payments and many drivers can't keep up. Here are 3 ways to stay ahead Protect your retirement savings with these 5 essential money moves — most of which you can complete in just minutes Unfortunately, that location proved to be a lot less secure than the department had thought. The sawmill was eventually stolen, and even though park officials had placed an AirTag on the machine, the tag was unable to track the sawmill's location. 'It always said no location found, no location found,' said Pratte. 'I was starting to give up hope.' For months, parks department officials waited for the AirTag to activate and reveal the location of the stolen sawmill. And then, out of nowhere, the $20 tracker was activated, giving the parks department exact GPS coordinates to where the sawmill could be found. As it turns out, the AirTag was not activated when the sawmill was initially stolen because no one near the mill's new location was using Apple technology, which apparently is needed for the tag's GPS tracking to kick in. A police investigation revealed that the thieves eventually sold the sawmill to a man in Hawk Point who owned an iPhone, and it was the man's mobile device that activated the AirTag on the sawmill. 'He gave us the information of the gentleman who sold it to him for an unbelievable price,' said detective Andrew Lucca of the Maryland Heights Police Department. Authorities now believe the stolen sawmill was taken to a property in Wildwood, where it was stored for months before it was sold to the man in Hawk Point. During a visit to the Wildwood property, police discovered other equipment that was also believed to be stolen, including golf carts, a John Deere Gator UTV and two Bobcat skid loaders that are worth six figures each. 'Just a $20 AirTag tracker is what led, really, to this case being solved,' said Lucca. While police were able to find those who committed the crimes and return the stolen property to its rightful owners, this story proves how important it is to take extra steps to ensure the safety of your valuable items. Read more: Home prices in America could fly through the roof in 2025 — here's the big reason why and how to take full advantage (with as little as $10) If the parks department had not put the AirTag on its expensive sawmill, the thieves likely wouldn't have been caught and all of their stolen goods could still be in their possession. But the parks department was wise enough to go the extra mile to protect its expensive and valuable item, and that's a good lesson for all of us. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy ways for individuals to follow the parks department's lead and protect their valuable possessions: GPS tracker: Place a GPS tracking device, like an AirTag, on valuable items so that you can track their location if they ever go missing. Mobile alerts: Set up mobile alerts with your banking apps so you can be notified of unusual activity on your accounts. If your credit card is stolen, or if your checking account has been hacked and cash has been withdrawn, you can find out right away and get in touch with your bank. Store valuable items in a secure location: Consider installing a safe in your home for keeping valuable items. If a safe in your home isn't an option, you may also consider a safe deposit box at a local bank. Jamie Dimon issues a warning about the US stock market — says prices are 'kind of inflated.' Crashproof your portfolio with these 3 rock-solid strategies 'I like this stuff': Self-made $500M mogul and YouTuber reveals his 'essential' US portfolio that he says Amazon 'can't hurt' — here's his secret formula and how you can copy it in 2025 Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Yahoo
How a $20 tracker cracked a massive multi-county theft ring
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A path of clues began with an unusual machine—a TimberKing Sawmill, originally purchased by the St. Louis County Parks Department to save money. But how does a $56,000 piece of equipment save cash? By cutting expensive planks from fallen trees instead of paying to buy the premium wood. The department uses the wood for everything from benches to maintenance of Faust Park's historic village. 'Between doors, windows, trim on buildings, sidings on barns, it's an amazing tool,' St. Louis County Park's Tim Emmons said. Forestry's Jason Pratte said the savings are incalculable. 'We purchased this so we could better utilize urban wood waste instead of just putting it into a dump,' he said. 'We kept it under lock and key—what we believed was a secure location.' Yet someone still stole it. Pratte remembers asking himself, 'Holy cow, this is real?' Humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker — and it's all captured on camera The sawmill was stolen from a locked building in a nondescript area off Route 141 near Creve Coeur Lake Park. Despite Pratte placing an AirTag on the machine, it wasn't showing its location. 'It always said no location found, no location found. I was starting to give up hope,' he said. Police now believe it was in Wildwood—a property on Ridge Road that looks like a junkyard. It remained there for three months without alerting GPS tracking because no one at the location had Apple technology nearby, which is necessary to activate the tracker. Things changed after the sawmill was sold to a man in Hawk Point, who apparently owned an iPhone that activated the tracker. Pratte said it gave him exact GPS coordinates and a map. Maryland Heights Police Detective Andrew Lucca went right to that buyer. 'He gave us the information, the gentleman who sold it to him for an unbelievable price,' Lucca said. Their investigation led them to the Wildwood property, where Lucca immediately found much more. 'Other items that were stolen from the Lou Fusz soccer fields, in plain view, including stolen golf carts (and) a John Deere Gator UTV,' he added. How a $20 tracker cracked a massive multi-county theft ring Additionally, they found two Bobcat skid loaders that were stolen from other counties. Each worth over six figures. 'Just a $20 AirTag tracker is what led, really, to this case being solved,' he said. 36-year-old Robert D. Crutcher and 35-year-old Melissa Faix are now charged with stealing from four different counties. The sawmill is back in business. 'Amen to that, yes—it is a wonderful thing,' Emmons said. With government workers proud to say they're saving you money—and getting Faust Park ready for your spring visit. 'This is why I do my job; that's why I'm a public servant,' Pratte added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
