Former Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau smiles during the Charbonneau Commission on June 13, 2012 in Montreal. Duchesneau says engineers that work for the province are often young, less experienced and lack the proper educational background. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
June 18, 2012 - 12:43 PM
MONTREAL - A shortage of experienced engineers left the Quebec government without proper oversight at construction sites, a star witness told a corruption inquiry today.
Jacques Duchesneau says engineers that work for the province are often young, less experienced, lack the proper educational background and often find themselves dealing with former superiors who've jumped to the private sector.
Testifying at Quebec's corruption inquiry, Duchesneau says there's so much paperwork to do, engineers don't have time to go actual sites as often as they'd like.
Duchesneau says the shortage of government expertise has also forced municipalities to use private engineering firms — which often suggest work that isn't necessary.
Duchesneau is testifying for a third day today, accompanied by two of his former employees who are discussing cases of collusion between entrepreneurs or a lack of competition in bidding.
The commission will continue hearing Duchesneau for the rest of the week before adjourning until mid-September.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012