The Association of Quebec Advertising Agencies (AAPQ) is speaking out against the Autorité des marches financiers (AMF), the Quebec government body that regulates the province’s financial markets, for its alleged mishandling of an RFP.

According to the AAPQ, eight Quebec agencies answered the RFP last May for a contract estimated at $1 million. Two weeks after the closing date, the AMF informed the agencies that the contract would not be awarded within the call, and no reason was given. The AAPQ alleges that this decision was made without having read or assessed the eight presentations submitted.

The AAPQ says that the AMF went on to award a private contract with a non-bidder media group (Quebecor Media) for advertising that was included in the RFP.

‘When there’s a contract from a public organization that is over $100K, they usually need to go through an RFP process under the law,’ says Yanik Deschenes, president and GM of the AAPQ, ‘which AMF has done, but what we denounce is the fact that they have decided to abandon the RFP and to give a private contract to a media group.’

The AMF allegedly cancelled the call two weeks after the submissions were made, incurring a cost of about $200,000 for the agencies, for which they were not compensated. The AAPQ is now asking the AMF to compensate the agencies that participated.

To see the advertising in question, click here.

The AMF did not respond to a request for comment by press time.