City council will vote on what to do about a contractor that overbilled by $1.1 million
Capital Sewer Services Inc. has earned $220 million for 31 different city contracts over the last five years
Toronto city councillors are expected to vote this week on how to deal with a contracted company that overbilled the city by more than $1 million.
A forensic audit conducted by KPMG found that Capital Sewer Services Inc. charged $1.1 million more than it should have for a sewer rehabilitation project in York Centre. Over the past five years, the company has earned approximately $220 million for 31 different contracts awarded by the city, according to the CBC.
Related: City council abruptly dissolved the Toronto Parking Authority board
The maximum suspension the city can issue against rule-breaking suppliers is five years, which would prevent Capital Sewer Services and any affiliated companies from completing city work during that time. The CBC report notes that KPMG found the overbilling to be intentional.
At an unrelated news conference this week, Mayor Olivia Chow said very clearly that she believes the maximum punishment should apply. “There needs to be penalties. I absolutely support the five-year ban,” she said.
Earlier this month, David Beswick, president of the firm’s parent company, Capital Infrastructure Group, argued against receiving the maximum ban, claiming that one rogue employee was to blame. “A single, long-time trusted employee, someone who held a position of great responsibility, betrayed not only me and our company, but also the trust of you,” Beswick said at a general government committee meeting, referring to a member of the company’s senior management team.
Beswick insisted that he would ensure overbilling wouldn’t happen again and said the maximum ban could cause a loss of 300 jobs.
Related: Clayton La Touche has been removed from his role as the TDSB’s director of education
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
