N.W.T. won't pay contractor's Deh Cho Bridge bills, says minister

An N.W.T. company says it's still owed more than $1.3 million for work it did on the Deh Cho Bridge, but the territorial government says it's not responsible for the bill and won't pay it.

Construction of the $202 million bridge across the Mackenzie River at Fort Providence, N.W.T., was intended to be a public-private partnership, though a report by the auditor general concluded it didn't meet the criteria for one.

Rowe's Construction of Hay River was subcontracted by now-bankrupt Atcon Construction to help build the bridge.

In 2014, the N.W.T. government and Rowe's hired a consultant to investigate its outstanding bills. The consultant's report was tabled in the legislature on Monday.

The report states that the company is legitimately owed more than $680,000 for its work on the bridge, though there wasn't enough documentation to determine whether Rowe's was owed the remaining $600,000.

The report also states the territorial government has no legal obligation to pay Rowe's because the company's contract was with Atcon.

The report states there were problems with the work Rowe's and Atcon did on the bridge that had to be fixed, and the cost of the repairs to the work done by Rowe's should be subtracted from the money owed to the company.

Transportation Minister Tom Beaulieu said in the legislature that the government would not be paying any of the money owed to Rowe's.

Beaulieu says the company's contract was with Atcon, and it is not up to the territorial government to pay the remaining funds.

When Atcon went into receivership in March 2010, it had $70 million in loan guarantees from the New Brunswick government for the project.

Beaulieu says an agreement made between N.W.T. and New Brunswick, where the province agreed to pay for any repairs left by Atcon or its subcontractors, was intended to fund repairs only, and there is not enough left in the fund to pay Rowe's' bill.

He added, regardless of the report's findings, that Rowe's doesn't have the proper documentation to prove it is owed the money.

'Absolutely hogwash'

Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny said the government is sending the wrong message to northern companies.

"What we're hearing today is absolutely hogwash," he said.

"We've got a northern contractor here, the only northern contractor left that has yet to be paid for their work and service they did on the bridge. The government has said 'we agree with the terms but we just don't have the money left.'

"What kind of message are we we putting out there? 'Please do the work for the government and we'll pay you when we think or when we feel?'"

Ronald Schaub, general manager for Rowe's Construction, said in an email that the company is working with the Department of Transportation and the GNWT to resolve the issue.

"All parties agreed to a third-party mediator review and this has been completed. We accept the findings and support his recommendations."

The report is non-binding.