Bid-rigging in Gatineau: an engineering sector executive receives his sentence

A fifth engineering executive who pleaded guilty in a bid-rigging case in Gatineau, Outaouais, was handed a $25,000 sentence on Friday.

François Paulhus was an executive for the firm Genivar, now known as WSP Canada, when he took part in a scheme that targeted 21 contracts awarded by the City of Gatineau between 2004 and 2008. The municipality would thus have been the victim of a fraud of approximately $1.8 million.

Mr. Paulhus admitted before the Court of Quebec to having participated in this rigging in 2004, when he was regional director at Genivar. « He conspired with executives of other engineering firms to set bid prices to distribute Gatineau’s infrastructure contracts among their respective firms, » ​​the Competition Bureau said in a statement.

While four other people were charged in this case in June 2018, François Paulhus was officially charged in June 2021. They all pleaded guilty for their respective roles in this case.

“Bid-rigging for public contracts is a serious crime that drives up costs for municipalities and is tantamount to stealing taxpayers’ money. Tackling bid-rigging is a top priority for the Competition Bureau, and we will continue to vigorously pursue the individuals and companies who commit these crimes and rob municipalities of public funds,” said the Commissioner of competition, Matthew Boswell.