A contractor who had two contracts approved at the Marie-Victorin School Service Center, for work in two schools on the South Shore of Montreal, had his interventions canceled due to “budgetary circumstances”.
Until recently, the school service center was looking for a company to carry out ventilation work on the roofs of two schools in Longueuil. The President and CEO of Ventilation Manic Inc, Daniel Turner, won these two contracts following a tender.
While plans had already been made, Mr Turner received two emails this week explaining that the contracts were being terminated, due to “budgetary circumstances beyond our control [qui] forces the Marie-Victorin School Service Center to reduce its expenses.
The entrepreneur admitted to having never seen this in his more than 40 years of career. “I have never had a contract canceled that was started to say that there was no money,” he explained to TVA Nouvelles.
“It’s like if you build a house, you hire a contractor then the workers come to your house and you say: stop, I have no more money,” he illustrated.
The School Service Center confirmed the postponement of this work “due to the need to respect new criteria for managing our budgets”.
“Nevertheless, it is important to clarify that this postponement in no way compromises the health and safety of our students,” Geneviève Cormier, spokesperson for the Marie-Victorin School Service Center, said by email.
More money to the government, according to the oppositions
“The federal government has transferred more than $430 million for ventilation work for our schools. However, the terminated contract is precisely a contract for ventilation in our schools. So where did the money go? reacted Marwah Rizqy, spokesperson for the Quebec Liberal Party, Treasury Board.
“These are stories that are starting to multiply, it smacks of austerity, even if the government cannot use that word,” underlined Vincent Marissal, spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Treasury Board .
For his part, PQ MP Pascal Bérubé assured that he would closely monitor what is happening elsewhere. “This sends a very clear message that there is no more money in the Quebec government and that this is starting to affect even the renovation of schools.”
The president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, recalled this week that there were no measures given regarding budget reductions.
“We are carrying out the necessary checks with the CSS, but one thing is certain, health and safety work must be prioritized,” the office of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, indicated by email on Friday.
“Everyone has a budget to respect, especially school service centers. We are therefore asking them to respect the amounts provided for in the last budget presented in March,” he added.
– With information from Andy St-André, TVA Nouvelles
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