Transports Quebec suffers from breakdown in communication: auditor general

Quebec’s auditor general has released a report on Transports Quebec and calls her findings “severe.”

It comes a week after the ministry failed to rescue hundreds of people stranded on Highway 13 during an intense blizzard that hit the province.

Guylaine Leclerc couldn’t say what happened that night, but found there is a breakdown in communication in the ministry as a whole.

READ MORE: UPAC reportedly investigating Quebec’s transport ministry

The day after the storm, both transport minister Laurent Lessard and public safety minister Martin Coiteux said no one woke them up to tell them there was a crisis.

“There is a lack of understanding on why all those controls, procedures, ethics are in place,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There is a lack of understanding on why all those controls, procedures, ethics are in place," she said.

Leclerc described a culture where employees sometimes make up their own rules: “They don’t follow and they don’t believe.”

The audit found when employees have questions for their own superiors, it can take up to 44 days to get an answer.

“I was worried about different things and when I read that report, I could say I was right,” said former transport minister Robert Poëti.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I was worried about different things and when I read that report, I could say I was right," said former transport minister <a href="http://globalnews.ca/tag/robert-poeti/" target="_blank">Robert Poëti</a>.

Poëti was shuffled out of cabinet after he spoke out about his concerns when it came to the awarding of government contracts.

READ MORE: Exclusive: Robert Poëti reflects on being shuffled out of cabinet, wanting to make a difference

“If you just put report on top of report on top of report, that doesn’t do the job and the proof was last week,” Poëti said.

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Nevertheless, Lessard insisted he’s been working with Poëti and taking his advice.

“Five minutes after I was named to cabinet, we spoke,” Lessard said.

READ MORE: Quebec opposition parties call for transport minister’s resignation after Highway 13 pile-up

Politicians insist implementing the auditor general’s recommendations would improve communication at Transports Quebec.

“What happened on Autoroute 13 last week, I think we can make a link that there are major problems of management,” said Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) leader François Legault.

Leclerc will produce a second report on the transport ministry in June.

A report by external investigator Florent Gagné will be made public on May 26.