This article written in french by Stéphane St-Amour was automatically translated using AI
The Société de transport de Laval (STL) has strongly reacted to an article published yesterday on the Courrier Laval website. The article detailed the opposition party Action Laval’s efforts to have the Minister of Municipal Affairs block a $3M loan bylaw intended to replace STL’s HR management systems.
Right from the start, the STL clarifies in an email that it “must acquire and implement a human resources information system to replace its current systems, which are reaching the end of their lifecycle. One of these systems will expire in December 2027 and will not be replaced. Furthermore, these systems are hosted on servers and databases that are no longer supported, posing cybersecurity risks.”
Best Practices
The public transit agency states that it has “complied with best practices as well as the framework of the Public Transit Companies Act.”
Following cost estimates submitted by five companies after an Expression of Interest issued in August 2024, the STL recommended that its board of directors approve and adopt a $3M loan bylaw.
“The new system will encompass all aspects of data management, payroll, time and attendance tracking for all employee categories, organizational charts, as well as performance management and absence and disability management. This acquisition is part of STL’s operating expenses, which ensure continuity in its operations.”
Clarification
The public transit organization refutes Action Laval‘s claims that the company had been acquired by another firm that could provide an update at a significantly lower cost.
In fact, in a statement echoing remarks made by their colleague David De Cotis at the March 12 municipal meeting, party leader Achille Cifelli and mayoral candidate Frédéric Mayer mistakenly conflated two companies with similar names.
“STL currently uses software from the company Tandem RH, which was based in Longueuil. This company was acquired by Dynacom Technologies, based in Laval, in 2016 and became Dynacom Solutions RH. During the March 12 city council meeting, Mr. De Cotis referred to the company Tandem HR, which was acquired in 2024 by Vensure HR, based in Arizona. The Tandem RH system used by STL will no longer be supported by Dynacom Solutions RH, meaning an update at a lower cost will not be possible.”
Regarding the claim that 97% of the $3M budget consists of labor costs, STL explains that this is due to the selected solution being hosted in the cloud.
Pooling Resources
The Société de transport de Laval (STL) also responds to comments made by Parti Laval councillor Louise Lortie, who lamented during the municipal assembly the lack of collaboration between transit agencies for this type of service, which could have helped reduce costs.
On this matter, STL reinforces the explanation previously provided by Mayor Stéphane Boyer, as reported in the article.
“This system acquisition cannot currently be conducted jointly with other regional transit agencies because, after consulting our counterparts, we found that not all organizations are at the same stage of obsolescence or have the same HR software needs. Additionally, other transit agencies do not operate within the same financial ecosystems that our HR systems must integrate with. These particularities made pooling resources an unfeasible alternative.”
Budget Discipline
STL highlights the “considerable optimization efforts” undertaken over the past two years. By reducing its workforce by 7% and administrative expenses by 2%, the organization has achieved recurring savings of $15.5M, allowing it to present a balanced budget for the current fiscal year.
Finally, STL defends the “service adjustments” made with the goal of minimizing the impact on users, who remain fewer in number than in 2019, before the pandemic struck.
“This is why the senior residence shuttle service was suspended,” explains STL, noting that in 2023 and 2024, half of the trips operated empty, while the average number of passengers per ride was only 1.8.
Without stating it explicitly, the Société de transport de Laval was responding to remarks made by mayoral candidate Frédéric Mayer, who expressed his “shame at seeing the current [municipal] administration cut services for seniors, cut jobs at STL, reduce bus service on multiple routes, yet spend $3M on HR software.”
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