Montreal unveils new plan to monitor city contracts

The City of Montreal says it will soon have a tool in place to evaluate contractors.

The performance assessment will make sure the city doesn't hire contractors and service providers who consistently under-perform.

Any contract worth more than $100,000 will be evaluated, and companies that receive a passing score will be first in line for future contracts.

A company that receives a grade below 70 per cent will be put on a list, unable to bid, for two years.

If that company is the lowest bidder on a future contract, that contract will have to be re-evaluated by the city's executive committee or by the borough council concerned.

"Irrespective of previous performances, we have to give the contract to the lowest bidder," executive committee member Lionel Perez said Wednesday.

"With this program, we will now be able to exclude those bidders that have an unsatisfactory performance."

The plan is expected to be in place in about two months.

Opposition Projet Montréal said it's happy with the measure — and said it called for such a change two years ago.