On May 29, 2024, Ombudsperson Marc-André Dowd sent a letter to the Committee on Public Finance. In it, he commented on Bill 62 - Act mainly to diversify the acquisition strategies of public bodies and increase their agility in carrying out infrastructure projects. His findings and recommendations relate to concerns about public integrity and transparency.
The Bill proposes to amend the Act respecting contracting by public bodies in order to, among other things, streamline the administrative framework for awarding contracts and increase the State's agility. In this context, "partnership contracts" could be signed for infrastructure projects between a public body and a contractor.
As the Protecteur du citoyen sees it, the agility sought must not mean a lack of guidelines for public bodies wishing to enter into partnership contracts. The Bill should therefore include the necessary requirements or set out the power to establish them subsequently.
The Protecteur du citoyen is also concerned about the new possibility for public bodies to conclude a contract by mutual agreement following an unsuccessful call for tenders. In such a case, the public body could do business without having to make known its intention to choose an identified supplier. The Protecteur du citoyen believes that this information should be published as soon as it is known to exist.
Lastly, the Bill would give the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) the power to acquire a building or part of a building through expropriation. As it now stands, the Protecteur du citoyen has no jurisdiction regarding the SQI. However, it already handles expropriation complaints and notes the importance of the issues for the citizens concerned. The Protecteur du citoyen believes it should have jurisdiction regarding the SQI in the specific context of the SQI’s exercise of its expropriation powers.
The Protecteur du citoyen made two recommendations to the Committee on Public Finance.
Letter by the Protecteur du citoyen concerning Bill 62 (PDF, 214 KiB, in French only)
