“I think we should let the investigation unfold,” says John Gamble, president of the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies, to which BPR Triax belongs. “Our members are bound by a strict code of ethics.”

Although the allegations are “troubling,” says Pierre Hamel, legal affairs director for L’Association de la construction du Quebec in Montreal, they have been focused mainly on a few large firms and shouldn’t be considered indicative of the provincial industry as a whole. The group represents about 15,000 member firms that are primarily involved in commercial and institutional building. He says 85% of the members "have less than five employees.”

Quebec has been taking measures to tighten up its public procurement process since 2009 when corruption allegations began boiling. Construction firms which have been convicted of a criminal offence or tax evasion are penalized with a five-year  restrictive licence which prevents them from bidding on public sector projects, says Hamel.  “They can still bid on private projects.”

Avram Fisher, industry sector analyst for BMO Capital Markets, speculates the probe will widen and "likely ensnare additional local and regional engineering companies involved in municipal projects." He says "this scandal will result in the opening of the Quebec market to foreign competition, a benefit to firms from outside the province, including U.S. and European companies."