Yellowknife (Feb 28/05) - A Calgary-based construction company pleaded guilty last week to violating safety regulations during work on a multi-million dollar hotel in Inuvik.

Ninety North, one of the largest contracting firms in the territory, admitted in a Yellowknife courtroom that crews worked on the low-rise Capital Suites building without safety lines last fall.

Crown attorney Noel Sinclair said the company ignored seven orders from a safety official to ensure workers on the roof were properly tied-on.

Sinclair accused Ninety North of being less interested in safety than completing the $7-million project on time and on budget.

He said a three-inch thick safety manual produced by the company was little more than a "paperweight" and a "doorstop."

Defence lawyer Paul Smith dismissed suggestions the company was more concerned about profit than safety.

"Ninety North takes its responsibility to safety seriously," he said.

Smith said Ninety North - the general contractor on the project - tried repeatedly to ensure subcontractors on the roof were tied down. But many of the workers refused to follow the safety guidelines, which are mandated by the territorial government. Smith admitted the company could have fired the subcontractors, but said that would have resulted in construction delays and possible cost overruns.

The company had a payroll of $3.2 million in 2004, but that number is expected to drop by about 80 per cent in the coming year, Smith said.

He added that Ninety North does not have any previous convictions for safety violations.

The maximum fine for the offence is $500,000. Sinclair asked for a fine of $15,000, a number Smith called excessive. He suggested a fine of $5,000.

Territorial Court judge Bernadette Schmaltz adjourned the case until March 31, when she is expected to announce her decision.