Guy-Favreau Complex: The federal headquarters in Montreal is infested with rats

Dozens of mouse traps on the garden side, trap doors on the floors, an “intensive action plan” costing $50,000 for extermination… the Guy-Favreau complex in Montreal, which houses several iconic federal offices, is said to be recovering from a rat infestation. The Journal.

In recent weeks, frustrated federal officials have denounced the situation NewspaperWho was able to confirm the extent of the problem with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

“From October 2023 to April 2024, the exterminator visited the Guy-Favreau complex at least once a month. Since implementing the Intensive Action Plan in early May, he has come ten times,” said SPAC spokeswoman Sonia Tengelsen.

“A regular pest management service contract at the Guy-Favreau complex costs $10,000 a year. The cost of implementing the intensive action plan from late May 2024 to fall 2024, including sealing work, is about $50,000,” she noted, confirming that the situation has improved since then.

Detection elements are placed at several locations in the premises.

Photo by Frances Hallin

More elaborate traps are also placed inside the walls.

Photo by Frances Hallin

“Large volume of reports»

According to Public Services and Procurement Canada, real estate contractor BGIS will begin receiving reports in late 2023 and winter 2024.

“After receiving a high volume of reports regarding the presence of rats, the real estate developer has stepped up an intensive action plan and measures in early May 2024 to address the situation,” the ministry said.

Many federal departments have a presence at the Guy-Favreau Complex in the heart of the metropolis, making it a key location.

Photo by Frances Hallin

This building houses the busiest passport office in the metropolis.

Photo by Frances Hallin

According to Nathaniel Leavy, co-owner of Mayhew Extermination, rats reproduce at a tremendous rate when the conditions of the area allow them to survive easily.

“They enter through windows, doors, soffits, holes around air conditioning, openings around heat pumps. The condition of the building makes a difference,” he observes.

“The lifespan of mice is about two years. The maintenance period is twenty days and she gives birth to five to six cubs,” he said.

Dozens of traps in the garden

During the visit NewspaperOn Monday, many employees gritted their teeth as they had surprise guests in their office.

“They've even set traps upstairs,” one of them sighed, preferring to stay silent to avoid the waves.

“In the basement rooms, there is excrement everywhere,” lamented a worker from a business inside the building.

For Yvonne Barriere, Quebec regional vice-president for the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the situation is “deplorable”.

“After a complicated period of bed bugs in Place du Portage in Gatineau, we have had problems with cockroaches for a long time. We don't have offices to accommodate civil servants and we are going to put several buildings up for sale to convert them into social housing. Not very inspiring! ” he curses.

Despite several attempts, The Journal BGIS, which manages the federal government building, could not be reached for an interview Monday.