The provincial government’s crackdown on drunk drivers has proved financially lucrative for two private contracting companies that have the cornerstone on ignition locks and responsible driving programs.
Government payments to Delta-based Stroh Healthcare Consulting Corp., the government’s exclusive provider of the Responsible Driver Program, shot up to $3,172,050 in the fiscal year the legislation was changed, up from $2,286,850.
Guardian Interlock Systems is the exclusive provider of the province’s Ignition Interlock Program.
Stephanie Melvin, deputy superintendent of motor vehicles, said that while the province doesn’t track the revenue that program generates, it’s safe to say the tougher impaired-driving penalties drove them up.
“You can assume that [Guardian Interlock’s revenues] have gone up as well, because for people who were getting an immediate roadside prohibition, it was very likely that they were also being referred to ignition interlock.”
Melvin added that the contracts with Stroh and Guardian were signed in 2005. She said a request for proposals (RFP) process was used in choosing Stroh and a notice of intent process was used to select Guardian.
She said the province used the latter process because it believed U.S.-based Guardian, as the technology’s patent holder, was the sole potential provider.
“We put out a notice of intent just to confirm that and see if there was anyone else who had come forward and say, ‘Hey no, you know what, we could also provide the service’ – and then in that case we would have done an RFP,” Melvin said. “But no one else came forward, so we were able to confirm that, yes, they were the service providers.”
Melvin said that, because of the legally-binding nature of the agreements, the province didn’t revisit the two contracts when the legislation was toughened.
“We’d followed all of the proper procedure and the service providers have been great; they’ve been extremely responsive; they’re very, very skilled and experienced folks, and they’ve been meeting all of their contractual obligations and we were satisfied with their work,” she said. “From any businessperson’s perspective, especially when you’re going through new legislation, there wasn’t any legal reason or any operational reason to make a change at the point.”
But Melvin added that, if the program-related revenues of the two companies jumped in the program’s first year, they would have dropped since November 30, 2011, when the BC Supreme Court ruled that a major part of the legislation was unconstitutional.
The court decision struck down immediate roadside prohibitions for drivers in the “fail” blood-alcohol range on the grounds that there’s no meaningful review of results in that range.
With that part of the legislation in limbo, Melvin said the volume of work for both government contractors will drop.
She noted that Stroh’s contract ends this June and Guardian’s ends in September. Melvin added that in both cases, the government can exercise a three-year renewal clause if the companies agree.
Asked if the government will consider the added revenue potential of the contracts as it decides whether to renew or go out to tender, Melvin said a lot of factors will influence the decision.
“[But] I couldn’t say exactly what they are right now because every situation is different.”
Kathy Corrigan, MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake and Opposition critic for the minister of public safety and solicitor general, questioned the length of the two seven-year contracts and the options that allow them to be extended for another three further without having to undergo a tendering process.
“That’s a long time for someone to corner the market,” she said. “You always have to guard against lack of fairness and lack of transparency.”
Stroh and Guardian did not respond to repeated interview requests by press deadline. •
