If the City of Montreal hoped to see the construction sites of its future compost treatment plants resume quickly after 10 months of paralysis, it is likely to be disappointed.
While the City is still negotiating with the company Veolia for a resumption of work, several subcontractors have completely emptied the construction sites of their equipment and are accumulating millions of dollars in unpaid invoices, learned The Press.
Some even threaten to have the sites sold by bailiffs to be reimbursed.
The two projects, located in Montreal East and Saint-Laurent, must process thousands of tons of table waste from Montrealers. They have been experiencing significant problems for years, but these reached their climax in July 2022: the general contractor EBC then left the sites, for lack of payment from its partner Veolia.
The French company, which holds the two municipal contracts, has since been trying to make the City of Montreal pay.
“With all the problems, everyone is on edge,” said Tony Vasilakos, president of Airex, a specialist dust management contractor. Mr. Vasilakos estimates his claim at between $200,000 and $250,000.
Everyone says: “The City of Montreal will pay, don’t worry”, but it’s been 10 months…
Tony Vasilakos, President of Airex
“We have effectively demobilized for several months, explained by email Francis Roy of Humaco, a subcontractor specializing in acoustics. We are also waiting for the large sums due since the summer of 2022.” “We took out our trailers, we recovered the remaining tools,” confirmed Éric Ladouceur, from Ventilabec, involved in the two sites. We owe him “less than 3 [millions de dollars]more than 1”.
The Press was able to confirm that other companies had physically left the two sites, in particular the automation firm Excelpro and the biotechnology company BEKON.
Threats of auctions
These departures are not only symbolic: a possible remobilization will lead to additional delays and additional costs. Some specialized equipment or workers may have been deployed to other construction sites, which have taken the place of compost processing plants in the priority list.
According to the Land Register of Quebec, various construction companies involved in the project took advantage of a dozen legal hypothecs on the two construction sites of the City of Montreal in order to protect their debt.
Some have even gone so far as to file legal notices of sale in recent months, informing the City of Montreal of their desire to have the construction sites sold at auction to get paid.
“Negotiations with the City and with EBC are continuing and, if successful, we expect to be able to take on the work in a time frame acceptable to all parties as soon as possible,” said Carrie K. Griffiths, communications manager for Veolia.
EBC declined to comment on our information.
“On the verge of concluding an agreement”
On April 15, the Plante administration had the city council vote for an increase of 32 million in the budgets of compost treatment plants, after an initial increase of 13 million last year. Objective: to negotiate a resumption of work with Veolia. The overall project budget now exceeds a third of a billion dollars.
The sum released three weeks ago aims to “ensure that the company duly pays its subcontractors so that work resumes as quickly as possible”, underlined Marikym Gaudrault, in Valérie Plante’s office. “The exchanges are progressing well and we are on the verge of concluding an agreement. »
Nothing to convince the opposition at City Hall.
“It’s an endless chasm. For the benefit of Montrealers, I would like us to come to a conclusion,” said the mayor of Saint-Laurent, Alan DeSousa, in a telephone interview.
It seems to me that every time we talk about this file, there are two constant things: delays and additional requests for money. I can’t wait for this to be corrected and for the taxpayers to stop paying for the administration’s management errors.
Alan DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent
Mr. DeSousa is not the only one to be critical. At the last Montreal agglomeration council – which brings together all the cities on the island of Montreal – a group of elected officials criticized the attitude of the Plante administration in this matter. Representatives from Montreal West, Côte-Saint-Luc, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Beaconsfield and Mont-Royal deplored the fact that Montreal is increasing its contingency budget without prior agreement with Veolia.
“Unconditionally and without an agreement, it is not reasonable or responsible to vote for this increase,” lamented Dida Berku, elected representative of Côte-Saint-Luc.
“We understand the concerns that have been expressed, we also share them,” replied Montreal elected official Émilie Thuillier. There are discussions. Not everything can be said. »
The story so far
2019: The City of Montreal awards SUEZ the contracts for the design, construction and operation of two organic matter treatment centers. One will produce compost in Saint-Laurent, the other natural gas in Montreal East. SUEZ is acquired by Veolia the following year.
July 2022: EBC, the Quebec construction firm hired by Veolia for the two projects, leaves the sites due to payment problems. Construction sites have since been paralyzed.
April 2023: The Plante administration has the city council vote for a $32 million increase in the contingency budget for projects. This envelope had already been increased by 13 million in 2022.