Opposition throws the book at Tories over courthouse cost

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Opposition parties are raising questions about the unfinished Justice Building in downtown Fredericton whose steel skeleton has sat untouched for months.

The attorney general and justice minister says his Progressive Conservative government cancelled the single bid to do the work on a new courthouse because it was $35 million over the expected cost and he was “not going to be held for ransom” by a big Toronto construction firm.

Ted Flemming told the house on Friday that after scuppering the initial plan in the summer for a contract manager, the Tories changed course and told the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to act as the project management team for the rest of the work to help save money.

Tenders for carrying out construction closed Thursday, with three bids in. One of them, EllisDon Corporation, is the same international construction giant that provided a bid of $93 million in the summer – which according to Flemming, was well above the department’s estimate of under $60 million.

The other two are Bird Construction, based out of Quispamsis, and Lindsay Construction from Saint John. The three bids are still sealed, and as of Friday morning the tender had not been awarded.

Chuck Chiasson, the Liberal infrastructure critic, said during question period he’d been trying to get better information but “there seems to be a gag order in the department.”

He pointed out that the previous Gallant Liberal government had planned to convert the old Centennial building only a block away on King Street to a courthouse and additional government office space for $76 million.

When the Higgs Tory government came to power in the fall of 2018, it quickly cancelled the plan, saying taxpayers couldn’t afford it. But it came with a steep cancellation cost – $13 million.

Chiasson said when you add that cancellation fee to the new build, plus lost revenues on renting government office space, it surpasses the amount deemed too expensive four years ago.

Flemming countered that no one could have predicted the problems with inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic.

He said his government was doing everything it could to contain costs.

“We all know there are supply chain issues and escalating costs, and we are working diligently to make sure that the province of New Brunswick and people of New Brunswick get the best value for their money,” the cabinet minister said. “I am not going to be held ransom by some Toronto construction company.”

EllisDon is a global construction firm with headquarters in Mississauga, beside Toronto, with $3.5 billion in annual revenue. It also has an office in Halifax.

The company did not respond to requests for comment.

I said, ‘This is nuts. This is bonkers. Because it’s just cost you more money.

David Coon

“Stay tuned for more because it’s going to be one of the finest justice buildings in Canada,” Flemming said.

The minister told reporters afterwards EllisDon had submitted a “take it or leave it” bid because it already had lots of work and knew it was the only construction firm vying for the job.

“Five or six years ago we probably would have had 10, 12 companies bid on this. Well, the world has changed, there’s construction everywhere and everyone is very, very busy.”

The minister said the situation reminded him of his own home in Rothesay.

“My wife wanted a new kitchen. We had a price two or three years ago and now she’s decided its time for the new kitchen. Well, I’ll tell you, it’s not the same price. I was astounded. I said, ‘is this the same kitchen or not?’ I mean, it was 40, 50 per cent more. Well, not to get into my domestic issues, but she’s not as happy about it as I am saving the money.”

Flemming said by moving toward a new model, with the government acting as the project manager, money could be saved for taxpayers. He later added that more details would be announced in next week’s capital budget.

Based on what’s happened so far, Chiasson wasn’t optimistic.

“We know that the project was cancelled because a sole bidder came in way over what they were expecting to pay. But my question and concern is, is it still going to come in way over what it was originally supposed to be at?”

The unfinished justice building and the vacant Centennial building are within view of each other in the middle of David Coon’s riding.

The Green leader said he had warned Premier Blaine Higgs four years ago he was making a mistake.

“I’m in a position with the premier here of ‘I told you so,’ because immediately after he announced they were going to abandon the plan to build the justice building behind the old Centennial building and renovate that building, I met with him. I said, ‘This is nuts. This is bonkers. Because it’s just cost you more money with all the work that’s already been at the Centennial Building to prepare, and the penalties you’ll have to pay for abandoning it,” Coon told reporters.

“It was classic, Blaine Higgs-shoot-from -the-hip and worry about the consequences after.”