Marcel Roireau – former vice-president of operations at Construction DJL Inc., a road construction company – has been sentenced to 12 months of house arrest after pleading guilty to bid-rigging charges in the Superior Court of Quebec.
On Sept. 14, 2023, the Competition Bureau Canada, which investigated the case, laid criminal charges against Roireau and Serge Daunais in connection with the paving contracts awarded by the Ministère des Transports du Québec in and around the Granby region.
Before the Quebec Superior Court, Roireau pleaded guilty under the bid-rigging provisions of the Competition Act, 1985, the Competition Bureau announced in a news release.
Roireau admitted to participating in the scheme from 2008–09, where he colluded with competitors Sintra Inc. and Pavages Maska Inc. to rig bids, the news release said. This scheme allowed the conspirators to circumvent market forces and to manipulate contract awards, prices, and the quality of products and services, the news release added.
The court proceedings against Daunais, formerly vice-president of Pavages Maska, are ongoing, the news release noted.
The Competition Bureau stressed in its news release that bid-rigging was a serious offence that undermined the competitive bidding process.
In its news release, the Competition Bureau encouraged those involved in illegal agreements to come forward via its immunity and leniency programs, which offers reduced penalties or even possible immunity in exchange for cooperation.
The Competition Bureau noted in its news release that it also had a whistleblowing initiative, which aims to protect the confidentiality of those reporting potential breaches of the Competition Act.
Construction DJL settles
Last January, the Competition Bureau announced that Construction DJL would pay $1.5 million as a part of its settlement with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which was filed with the Quebec Superior Court.
“The settlement reached with Construction DJL sends a strong message: bid-rigging is not tolerated in Canada,” said Matthew Boswell, competition commissioner, in the Competition Bureau’s news release from that time.
The decision to resolve the matter through a settlement took into consideration the company’s reimbursement of overpayments via the Quebec’s Voluntary Reimbursement Program and the fact that the individual participants in the bid-rigging scheme were no longer employed at the company, according to the news release.
This settlement concluded the Competition Bureau’s investigation into the company’s role in the scheme, the news release noted. However, the Competition Bureau required the company to adhere to its corporate compliance program and to impose appropriate control procedures so that the program would be effective, the news release added.