Mandate
Contracting processes and the carrying out of contracts by the City or by a related legal person.
To the Council any measure aimed at preventing a breach of integrity in contracting by the City or the carrying out of such contracts.
To the Council any measure designed to foster compliance with the applicable legal provisions and the City’s requirements regarding contracting or the carrying out of contracts.
The application of such measures adopted by any council within the City.
Council members as well as officers and employees to recognize and prevent any breach of integrity or violation of the applicable rules concerning contracting by the City or the carrying out of contracts.
The functions and powers under the Act respecting the Autorité des marchés publics in respect of Ville de Montréal and the bodies concerned.
Jurisdiction
The Office of Inspector General has jurisdiction over all contracts of Ville de Montréal and its boroughs, as well as those of :
- The urban agglomeration of Montréal
- The related legal persons associated with the City covered by the Charter of Ville de Montreal, metropolis of Quebec (e.g., Société de transport de Montréal, Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau, Office municipal d’Habitation de Montréal)
The Office of Inspector General has jurisdiction over all the contracts granted by the aforementioned entities, regardless of the amount, procurement method and nature. Regarding Ville de Montréal, the Inspector General has jurisdiction over all the contracts granted by the City Council, the Agglomeration Council and each of the boroughs.
However, the Inspector General does not have jurisdiction over contracts awarded by the reconstituted municipalities.
Every elected official, members of their cabinets, their cabinet staff and the employees of Ville the Montréal, the boroughs and the related legal persons are subjected to the powers of the Office of Inspector general. The same goes for the bidders and contracting parties with Ville de Montréal, including their subcontractors.
The Office of Inspector General also has jurisdiction under the Act respecting the Autorité des marchés publics over public tenders of bodies meeting one of the following conditions:
- A body declared by law to be the mandatary or agent of Ville de Montréal
- Its budget is approved or adopted by Ville de Montréal
- Not-for-profit bodies covered by the Cities and towns Act and the Act respecting the Autorité des marchés publics
- A body designated by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing that has its principal place of business in the City’s territory
Powers
The Inspector General’s powers of investigation and intervention are varied and extensive. They allow the Inspector to address problematic situations upstream and to intervene in contractual processes when major irregularities are noted.
The Inspector General can examine any book, register or record to obtain any information relevant to her mandate.
Anyone who hinders or attempts to hinder the work of the Inspector General is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of $20,000.
Any person under the jurisdiction of the Inspector General must offer their full cooperation.
The Inspector General may, at any reasonable hour, enter a building to examine any book, register or record. The Inspector may require the owner or occupant and any other person on the premises visited to give the inspector reasonable assistance.
The Inspector General may also use any computer or material or any other thing found on the premises visited to access data relevant to her mandate and contained on an electronic device, computer system or other medium or to inspect, examine, process, copy or print out such data.
The Inspector General may cancel any contracting process involving a contract of the City or any related legal person, or rescind or suspend the carrying out of such a contract if the following two conditions are met:
- The Inspector General finds that any of the requirements specified in a document of a call for tenders or a contract has not been met or that the information provided in the contracting process is false; and
- The inspector General is of the opinion that the seriousness of the breach observed justifies the cancellation, rescinding or suspension.
The Inspector General may, at any time, send the Council or any of the City’s decision-making bodies any report presenting findings or recommendations that, in her opinion, warrant its attention.
After reviewing a complaint related to an open call for tenders, the Inspector General may recommend that the call for tenders be cancelled or that the tender documents be amended.
Independence
Several guarantees of independence are provided to the Inspector General under the Charter of Ville de Montréal, metropolis of Québec:
The Inspector General cannot be removed based on the political will of the municipal administration in power.
Appointment protected for a five-year term.
Non-renewable mandate.
A two-thirds majority vote of City Council is required to appoint, dismiss or suspend the Inspector General.
Appointment free from conflict of interest.
Neither the mayor nor the City manager has authority over the Inspector General.
The Inspector General reports directly to City Council; however, there is no relationship of subordination between City Council and the Inspector General.
The Inspector General’s budget is set by law. It represents a fixed percentage (0.11%) of the Ville de Montréal operating budget.
The Office of Inspector General cannot be subjected to budget cuts that could affect its activities and operations.
PROCEDURES RELATIVE TO THE APPLICATION OF THE ACT RESPECTING THE AUTORITÉ DES MARCHÉS PUBLICS
The Office of Inspector general must establish procedures governing the filing of complaints and the communication of information under the Act respecting the Autorité des marchés publics.
You can find three procedures here :
Procedures
- Procedure regarding the submission of complaints to the Office of Inspector General of Ville de Montréal pursuant to Sections 37 through 52 of the Act Respecting the Autorité des marchés publics
- Procedure regarding the communication of information to the Inspector General of Ville de Montréal under Sections 56 through 66 of the Act Respecting the Autorité des marchés publics
- Procedure regarding the submission and review of complaints under the Act Respecting the Autorité des marchés publics
LAWS AND BY-LAWS
FORMS
Everybody can make an anonymous and confidential denunciation to the Office of Inspector General regarding any call for tenders or public contracts granted by Ville de Montréal. In order to do so, you can click on the following link:
Under the Act respecting the Autorité des marches publics, interested persons can file a complaint regarding the tendering or awarding process of Ville de Montréal or one of its related bodies. If you have any questions regarding the procedure to file a complaint or denunciation, we invite you to look up the « FILE A DENUNCIATION » section on our welcome page or contact us on our denunciation hotline at (514) 280-2800.
However, you can select one of the following two options if you know who to send your complaint to:
To file a complaint with Ville de Montréal or one of its related bodies, please complete the following form and send it to the person in charge identified in the procedure of the municipal body:
COMPLAINT FORM ADRESSED TO A PUBLIC BODY
In the case of a complaint not resulting from the municipal body’s decision or to ask for the review of a decision, please complete the following form and send it to the Office of Inspector general at [email protected] :
FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE INSPECTOR GENERAL OF VILLE DE MONTRÉAL
PROTECTION OF DENUNCIATORS
Any person may communicate to the Inspector general information relevant to her mandate. The Inspector general must take all necessary measures to protect the identity of persons who have communicated with her.
The law forbids to take a reprisal against a person who has communicated with the inspector general or to threaten to take a reprisal against a person so that he or she will abstain from communicating with the inspector general. In particular, the demotion, suspension, termination of employment or transfer of a person or any disciplinary or other measures that adversely affects the employment or working conditions of such person is presumed to be a reprisal.
Any person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of :
- $2 000 to $20 000 in the case of a natural person; and
- $10 000 to $250 000 in other cases.
For any subsequent offense, the amounts are doubled.