Life’s good when you’re a pal to the Conservatives. Just ask contractor LM Sauve.
A lot of things about the contract have been unusual, starting with its awarding to Sauve, which overcame stiff resistance to win the contract.
– Company president Paul Sauve passed a federal security check, although he had sought the assistance of the Montreal police in 2007 to protect him from his former partner, Normand Ouimet, a Hells Angel who now faces 22 murder charges.
– His firm was much smaller than the other firms in the running, and officials had to lower the requirements so that he could pre-qualify to bid.
– A few months before the contracting process started in July 2007, Sauve sought protection from creditors, stating in a news release that the firm was in a “precarious financial situation.”
– Public Works officials were told that the architect supervising the renovation — Julia Gersovitz — was “aghast” that Sauve might get the job because of the firm’s work on other projects. Officials who raised similar doubts were overruled.
– The firm’s bid was so low that officials doubted Sauve’s ability to complete the job as promised, and had the bid reviewed by experts. Officials ultimately decided that the insurer’s guarantee took them off the hook.
In spite of those difficulties, Sauve was awarded the contract in May 2008. After problems on the site, Public Works ordered Sauve off the job in April 2009.
Opposition politicians have raised questions about whether Conservative backroom boys helped Sauve win the job.
Sauve organized a fundraiser for then-public works minister Christian Paradis, and paid more than $100,000 to longtime Tory fixer Gilles Varin, who set up meetings with Conservative political staff.
Sauve has testified before a Commons committee that he believes Varin greased the wheels in Ottawa to help him win the contract: “Because we paid, we received.”
