BPR is an engineering firm in the Canadian province of Quebec .
21-411: BPR may refer to: BPR (Quebec firm) , a Canadian engineering firm BPR Global GT Series , a 1994–1996 international sports car racing series Berkeley Political Review , a nonpartisan political magazine. Banque Populaire du Rwanda Belarusian People's Republic Blue Ridge Public Radio Business process re-engineering Bypass ratio of
42-470: A 6 am budget meeting dressed in his bathrobe and arguing that the meeting had been scheduled too early for public participation. Blanchard was re-elected in the 2009 municipal election . Tremblay's party, now renamed as Union Montreal , again won a majority on council, and Blanchard continued to serve as an opposition member. In April 2011, following rising concerns about corruption in the awarding of municipal contracts, Tremblay appointed Blanchard to head
63-541: A committee that would review contracts considered to "deviate from norms." Blanchard acknowledged in September 2012 that there were several restrictions on the types of contracts his committee could review, that it ultimately reviewed only five to ten percent of city council and island council contracts, and that it was almost never able to review borough-level contracts. Tremblay resigned as mayor in November 2012 amid
84-578: A few weeks before the city adopted more stringent contracting rules; he further argued that issuing a new call would result in delays and unsafe road conditions. "It wasn't an easy decision, but, legally, we had no choice," Blanchard said. "We understand that Montrealers will ask 'why?'" Blanchard automatically served as a member of the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council during his term as city councillor for Hochelaga. After becoming mayor of Montreal, he automatically became mayor of
105-747: A prominent employee that his firm would not otherwise be successful. BPR allegedly agreed to the kickback scheme and funneled between $ 145,000 and $ 155,000 to the party. Gazette reporter Henry Aubin subsequently cited Lavallée as one of the very few corporate leaders to express any regret for their business decisions to the Charbonneau Commission. Lavallée resigned his position with the company in April 2013. In August 2013, new Montreal mayor Laurent Blanchard reluctantly announced that new municipal contracts for infrastructure renewal would be awarded to BPR and SNC-Lavalin , another firm cited at
126-471: A turbofan engine Bulgarian People's Republic Former Socialist country and Europe and a member of the Warsaw Pact Bureau of Public Roads United States government agency Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title BPR . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
147-455: Is innocent. Blanchard was selected as the new interim mayor of the city on June 25, 2013. He obtained 30 of 61 votes from the city council, against 28 votes for Harout Chitilian and three votes for acting mayor Jane Cowell-Poitras . Two additional candidates, François Croteau and Alan DeSousa , withdrew their names in advance of voting. Following the vote, Projet Montréal leader Richard Bergeron commented, "With Laurent Blanchard, we have
168-403: Is not seeking re-election as mayor in the 2013 municipal election . In August 2013, Blanchard reluctantly announced that municipal contracts for infrastructure renewal would go to SNC-Lavalin and BPR , firms that had previously been cited at the Charbonneau Commission for alleged bid-rigging. In explaining this decision, he noted that the relevant call for tenders had been issued in late 2012,
189-666: The Charbonneau Commission on corruption in Montreal's construction sector. He stated that his firm had tried to expand its Montreal operations in the early 2000s, but had been unable to make much progress until meeting with political fundraiser Bernard Trépanier and being told to funnel three per cent of every project they won to the Union Montreal municipal party. Lavallée testified that he found this arrangement "shameful and degrading" but had been advised by
210-512: The Montreal Executive Committee to rescind a policy it had approved in camera the previous month, restricting Montreal civil servants from disclosing information deemed to be "confidential," "reserved," "for internal use" or "personal." Blanchard noted that this policy had never been presented to the full council. In the same period, he joined with fellow councillor Gaëtan Primeau in a "bathrobe protest," showing up to
231-679: The 1980s, and in 2002 it established a joint venture in Montreal with the Bechtel Group. It became part of the Tetra Tech group of companies on October 5, 2010. In 2008, the municipal government of Montreal gave BPR responsibility for overseeing aspects of the bidding process for a contract to overhaul the city's waterworks. According to an article in the Montreal Gazette , BPR was responsible for such matters as "writing
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#1732765583156252-462: The Charbonneau Commission for alleged bid-rigging. In explaining this decision, Blanchard noted that the relevant call for tenders had been issued in late 2012, a few weeks before the city adopted more stringent contracting rules; he also stated that starting the process over would result in delays and unsafe road conditions. "It wasn't an easy decision, but, legally, we had no choice," Blanchard said. "We understand that Montrealers will ask 'why?'" BPR
273-529: The assurance that we will have no unpleasant surprises to be afraid of. Laurent Blanchard is above all suspicion. I think Montrealers have seen enough for now." Blanchard has said that the central theme of his interim mayoralty will be, "The city continues to function." He announced his new executive committee on June 28, 2013, making only minor changes from the previous committee's membership. In addition to serving as mayor, Blanchard has executive responsibility for finances, human resources, and legal affairs. He
294-665: The backdrop of a growing corruption scandal, and Michael Applebaum was chosen by council as his successor. On November 22, 2012, Applebaum named Blanchard to chair the city's executive committee (i.e., the municipal cabinet) on November 22, 2012. The new mayor had previously announced that the committee chair would be non-partisan, and so, as a condition of his appointment, Blanchard resigned from Vision Montreal to serve as an independent member. He also held executive responsibilities for infrastructure, buildings, real estate transactions, information technology, and corporate communications. In April 2013, Applebaum and Blanchard announced that
315-420: The company Dessau would be banned from bidding on public contracts for five years, after a former senior vice-president testified before the Charbonneau Commission on municipal corruption that the company had taken part in collusion and price inflation. Michael Applebaum resigned as mayor on June 18, 2013, after being charged with fourteen criminal offenses including fraud and corruption; he maintains that he
336-458: The election of Denis Coderre on November 3, 2013 . Blanchard was born in Montreal's Mercier district and worked in the publishing sector before entering political life. He was for many years the owner and publisher of Les Nouvelles de l'Est and also became assistant to the president of Hebdos Télémédia in the late 1980s. Blanchard was a political attaché in mayor Jean Doré 's administration from 1991 to 1994, working in internal affairs, and
357-401: The firm. Laurent Blanchard Laurent Blanchard (born November 25, 1952) is a politician in Montreal , Quebec , Canada. He represented the east-end Hochelaga ward on Montreal city council from 2005 to 2013, initially as a member of Vision Montreal and later as an independent. On June 25, 2013, he was elected by council as interim Mayor of Montreal , a position he served in until
378-501: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BPR&oldid=1148375916 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages BPR (Quebec firm) According to BPR's website, the firm was founded in 1961 by a trio of engineers named Beaulieu, Poulin, and Robitaille. It expanded its activities throughout Quebec in
399-403: The tender specifications for a contract, taking part in information sessions with bidders and even helping to assess the bids," all of which are "traditionally reserved for the civil service." The city's auditor-general strongly questioned the bidding process, leading to its cancellation by Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay . In March 2013, Pierre Lavallée, president of BPR Inc., testified before
420-755: Was described in 2012 as having close ties to the Conservative Party of Canada . Leo Housakos was hired in late 2008 to oversee one of BPR's wholly owned subsidiaries and, shortly thereafter, was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper . He remained employed with the BPR subsidiary until October 2009, when he was advised by the Senate's ethics officer that he could not simultaneously fill both roles. An investigation cleared him of any conflict-of-interest pertaining to his time with
441-485: Was director-general of the Corporation de développement de l’Est (CDEST) from 1995 to 2002. Blanchard was first elected to city council in the 2005 municipal election, defeating incumbent councillor Luc Larivée from mayor Gérald Tremblay 's Montreal Island Citizens Union (MICU). Tremblay's party won a majority on council, and Blanchard served as a member of the official opposition . In 2006, Blanchard urged
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