Dear Justice,
I am writing to bring to your immediate attention a matter of grave concern involving Mr. Brian Bax, a project manager at Ottawa Community Housing (OCH). We believe Mr. Bax's actions may have seriously compromised public safety and demand thorough investigation.
Background:
My company, entered negotiations with Mr. Brian Bax for the fire-stopping project at 300 Wiggins. Despite an initially positive response and a commitment to issue a work order, Mr. Bax later reversed his decision, disqualifying us based on a false pretense that only pre-qualified contractors experienced in fire-stopping would be engaged in future work.
Issues:
Interference and False Pretenses: Mr. Bax's interference with our work, combined with a false pretense regarding pre-qualified contractors, raises serious concerns about the fairness and transparency of OCH's procurement process.
Discovery of False Pretense: Recent access to Merx documents has unveiled the false pretense made by Mr. Bax, further highlighting the need for a comprehensive investigation into his actions.
Quality of Work at 300 Wiggins: The work awarded at 300 Wiggins to another contractor resulted in poor quality, substantiated by photographic evidence. This questions the soundness of Mr. Bax's decision-making process.
Tragedy at 251 Donald Avenue: Our scheduled work at 251 Donald Avenue was removed due to Mr. Bax's false pretense, leading to the awarding of fire-stopping work to a contractor with a terrible performance history. A subsequent fire in the second-story electrical closet resulted in tenant injuries and displacement.
Public Safety Concerns: It is our opinion that had the fire-stopping been executed properly by a qualified contractor, such as ourselves, the tragedy at 251 Donald Avenue could have been averted, containing the fire and smoke to a limited area.
Accolades and Third-Party Evaluations: Our company has received numerous accolades from third-party evaluations, attesting to our quality of work and competency, further calling into question Mr. Bax's decisions.
Comparison with Other Buildings: Notably, in two other buildings where we performed fire-stopping work and fire-rated door installations, fires occurred but were successfully contained with no injuries and minimal displacement. This underscores the importance of competent contractors in ensuring public safety.
Requested Action:
We urgently request a thorough and immediate investigation into these matters to determine whether any laws, regulations, or ethical standards have been violated. The alleged interference, false pretenses, and public safety concerns warrant swift attention to prevent further risks and harm.
We are prepared to provide any additional documentation, correspondence, or information that may assist in the investigation. Your prompt attention to this matter is critical, and we trust that a fair and impartial assessment will be conducted to ensure accountability within the public procurement process and to prevent further tragedies.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to a resolution that upholds the principles of fairness, justice, and public safety.
Sincerely,
Paul Carroll
January 31, 2024
Genivieve Carroll
January 31, 2024
A USB is attached that has a 6 ½ minute video describing and documenting the alleged offence/s.
It can also be viewed at this URL: