As the OPP continues its investigation into the allegations of bid rigging between the City of Toronto and paving contractors, at least four senior transportation managers “have left the employ” of the city.
According to a report by The Toronto Star, it has seen an internal memo sent by Transportation Services General Manager Barbara Gray to city workers on Thursday advising the four staff members were “no longer with the organization.”
“We have made some management changes to better align our division to meet operational needs,” the memo said, according to the Star.
READ MORE: City of Toronto being investigated by OPP on suspicion of bid rigging
The managers let go reportedly are:
Jacqueline White, director of transportation services – North York district
Hector Moreno, a manager in transportation services – Scarborough district
Trevor Tenn, a manager in transportation services – Toronto and East York district
Bruce Shaw, a manager in transportation services – North York district
City of Toronto spokesperson Wynna Brown told Global News in an email statement Friday that the city would not discuss personnel matters.
“There have been some recent management changes in Transportation Services. These changes are aimed at better positioning the Transportation Services Division to achieve its operational requirements,” Brown said.
Global News attempted to contact all four employees cited and emails bounced back from every account saying, “Please be advised that (name) has left the employ of the City of Toronto,” and to contact the acting senior strategic director of the department.
Global News has not been able to confirm if the staff changes are connected with ongoing investigations.
The staff announcement comes after news last month that the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch is conducting a probe after the city’s auditor general, Beverly Romeo-Beehler, notified the police service in March about potential discrepancies in some of the city’s contracts.
Romeo-Beehler looked over five years of paving contracts the city awarded to private companies between 2010 and 2015 after earlier checks hinted to potential rigging, which could be costing taxpayers millions every year.
The allegations are similar to the provincial auditor general’s report in November in which Bonnie Lysyk discovered substandard work by contractors.
READ MORE: Poor oversight of Ontario road and transit contracts cause for concern: auditor general
Romeo-Beehler analyzed about half of the road work contracts from the past year, which totalled an estimated $1 billion. She identified collusion in several cases, including at least one instance where a winning bidder subletted work to a company that appeared to have submitted an insufficient offer for the same contract in the original bidding process.
Meanwhile, the OPP hasn’t identified any companies or individuals involved in the investigation.
— With files from Don Mitchell and Gabby Rodrigues
Comments