Councillors for the City of Calgary sought clarification on SNC-Lavalin’s involvement in the Green Line project after receiving concerns from citizens about the controversial company.
SNC-Lavalin has been under the microscope in recent years for bribery lawsuits and a political scandal involving the Justin Trudeau government.
The company was awarded the contract to be delivery partner on phase one of the Green Line last November, the largest infrastructure project in Calgary’s history. SNC-Lavalin was awarded as part of a consortium of companies referred to as CSIX-Partners which also includes Aldea Services Inc., Altus Group, Mott MacDonald and Turner & Townsend.
“My office has been flooded with emails and phone calls in regard to the procurement process for the Green Line and how certain companies have been chosen to be involved,” said Councillor Dan McLean during an executive committee meeting on Jan. 31.
McLean asked Green Line CEO Darshpreet Bhatti to elaborate on how and why Lavalin was chosen to be part of the project.
“There’s really two major principles in my view. One (is) being transparent, the other (is) being fair,” said Bhatti.
“We apply that to every entity that is seeking an opportunity with the city and there’s no difference for the delivery partner as well.”
Bhatti emphasized there is a legislated process for companies to apply to work on projects like the Green Line and there are trade agreements that must be followed on a provincial and federal legal level.
“There are also acts that are within the Canadian legislature that are tied to whether you have collusion happening or whether there are people who have been indicted for wrongdoing,” he said.
“All of these companies, when they bid on our projects, they actually have to give us a certificate by a senior officer who can bind the organization or affirms collectively that everyone in that company that is being put forward as a name to work on the project, as well as the company, is compliant with those requirements.”
The selection was also subject to a strenuous review process, Bhatti said.
“We have a fairness monitor on our project independently reviewing these things to make sure that we’re not biased toward one company over the other. We also have external legal counsel,” he said.
“We look at a whole gamut of things, from looking at what the city policies are, what the best practices are and then legally and legislatively are they compliant with the requirements within the province (and) Canada at large?”
Bhatti said only companies that meet all the requirements and comply with the process can be chosen.
“We cannot arbitrarily choose that, ‘We don’t like you or we don’t want you to be part of this.’ They have to go through the process.”
Councillor Andre Chabot wanted Bhatti to clarify if there was any political involvement on the procurement of the Green Line project.
“None whatsoever,” Bhatti said.
“I don’t think that’s clear out there. A lot of folks think that somehow we are involved in the actual selection of who gets awarded the contract. It’s determined through policies and procedures is it not?” said Chabot.
“That is correct,” Bhatti replied, further saying it was the Green Line Board who awarded the contract.
“They have the delegated authority to make those decisions on behalf of the city,” Bhatti said.
Bhatti touted the broad range of experience the CSIX consortium brings to the table as beneficial for Green Line’s delivery.
“Many of them have delivered LRT projects. Some are known for being successfully delivered and, yes, some have had challenges,” he said.
Bhatti said drawing from the consortium’s collective successes and disruptions provides valuable lessons for the project.
As delivery partner, CSIX will be advising and assisting with project functions like commercial management, technical support, project controls and construction management.
Bhatti said the project is on schedule to award a contract for a development partner by Q2 2023.
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