Ville-Marie collapse possibly caused by construction

A report claims that the Ville Marie tunnel collapse might have been caused by construction work. Transport Minister Sam Hamad confirmed work was being done exactly where the ceiling collapsed on Sunday. 

Laco Construction was awarded a contract of nearly ten million dollars in June to repair the expressway. It has been reported that the company made an error while rebuilding a support wall. No one from the construction company based in Rivière des Prairies is available to comment on the news report. 

This is not the first time Laco Construction has been surrounded by controversy. In August of 2008, one of their employees was crushed while removing a framing wall on a highway extension in Saint Constant. An extensive investigation determined that there was a lack of trained personnel for the wall’s removal. 

The company then pleaded guilty the following spring to tax evasion and was fined twenty-two thousand dollars. Revenue Quebec alleged they produced fake invoices to obtain tax credit for a span of five years. A week later, Laco Construction pleaded guilty to another Revenue Quebec case and were ordered to pay more than seventy-two thousand dollars in fines and costs.