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Construction company faces safety charges NAC recently awarded $30 million for bid on new water treatment plant
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 24, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An Ontario-based construction company recently awarded a $30-million-plus contract to build Yellowknife's new water treatment plant is facing 14 Safety Act and Safety Regulation charges for an incident last year.
An employee with North American Construction (1993) Limited (NAC) was seriously injured in a fall at the Northwest Territories Power Corporation Bluefish Hydro site on May 6, 2012. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission laid 14 charges against NAC, alleging the company failed to ensure scaffolding was properly built and maintained at the hydro site.
Clem Hand, manager of corporate services and risk management for the City of Yellowknife, said NAC was awarded the contract because they were the lowest bidder.
"There's nothing this city has in place that would keep the city from entering into an agreement with a company that has charges against them," Hand said.
The bidding process used to award the contract doesn't evaluate individual companies, Hand explained. The city still accepts bids from companies with charges against them.
"If the charges ended up putting them in some sort of scenario where they can't perform work in the Northwest Territories, then that would be an issue," Hand said.
NAC is charged with six counts of violating the Northwest Territories Safety Act. Two employees are also facing charges of violating the safety act. One, who was in charge of inspecting the scaffolding, is facing five counts and another with three.
The matter was adjourned in court Tuesday until September 12 at 9:30 a.m. The defendants will speak to the charges and enter a plea at that date.
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