Village begins harbour cleanup in wake of contractor’s removal

      The Village of Grand Manan has begun cleaning up piles of debris at North Head harbour, as work on the dredging project has stopped again and the contractor, Greenfield Construction, has been removed from the project.
      Greenfield was awarded the federal $15.8 million contract in 2021 for harbour dredging, a new marginal wharf and boat ramp. The company has been the subject of complaints and subcontractor disputes from the Maritimes to BC, and it is linked to scandal ridden Atcon, which went bankrupt in 2010. At the start, islanders expressed concerns about the choice of lowest bidding contractor, and some already felt their fears of potential property damage from blasting and well contamination were not being addressed.
      The expected completion date of January 2023 came and went. Work had stopped with huge piles of debris blocking the view of the harbour, and equipment was removed from the site. The village agreed to accept up to 10,000 cubic metres of clean "Class A" rock at its construction/demolition (C&D) site. Village CAO Chris Rayner says about 6,500 cubic metres were transported. He says the village conducted its own contaminant testing on each rock pile with random samples at different depths, and he is "absolutely" confident that the material was clean. Testing of harbour sediment prior to excavation revealed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, DDT derivatives and petroleum hydrocarbons exceeding various guidelines. Rayner says the promised "containment cell" was installed and that all the contaminated "Class B" material was trucked off the island.
      Not all the neighbours are confident that groundwater contamination couldn't have occurred before that, however. Across the road, Post Office Pizza owners Walter and Gina Colby say, "It was rained on for two years." Walter thinks the containment cell was lacking and should have had a raised tank for runoff. "These were concerns we raised four years ago." Gina adds, "I'd guarantee" contaminants leached out.
      The village has been left in the middle, as Rayner notes the project "is not subject to any of our municipal bylaws." In February a Department of Fisheries (DFO) Small Craft Harbours employee told him work was expected to resume in the spring. Another inquiry when this didn't happen received no reply. Finally, a Public Services and Procurement (PSPC) engineer told him in May that the contractor had been removed from the project. "It's not rocket science; they just need to clean this up," Rayner says.
      PSPC Senior Communications Advisor Kyle Findlay confirms they "took the work out of the contractor's hands" last fall and notified Greenfield's bonding company at the time. "A bonding company covers losses or completes the project if the bonded party fails to meet their contractual commitments." He says PSPC is assessing the amount of work remaining, including additional dredging, and "considering options to ensure that work resumes at the earliest opportunity." They do not have a completion date. A statement from spokesperson Janie Haché cited in a Telegraph Journal article said the work was 40% done.
      Village councillors met with MP John Williamson on June 30 to discuss this matter among other subjects. On July 4 the village announced they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PSPC to cover the cost of cleaning up the piles and transporting the rock to the C&D site. A fleet of village equipment arrived on site, and by July 8 only one pile remained, with the area expected to be cleared by the end of the week.

Malfeasance alleged

      Williamson says he's "never seen an infrastructure project that's been so badly botched" by those responsible. Larger projects "have been completed sooner, on time, and on budget, and in this case, none of that has happened." This is "not just a case of bad luck or bureaucratic delay. It is a failure of honesty, proper government oversight and a disregard for a community that depends on the ocean for its livelihood." He says his requests for updates got a runaround from DFO with "flat out lies" about work continuing. "I shouldn't have to send e mails to every department involved." He alleges that DFO knew last fall that the contract was "failing and irreparable." He will ask for an investigation by the Office of the Procurement Ombud – an independent government organization that investigates complaints and helps resolve contract disputes between businesses and the federal government. He also wants the contract re-tendered, with a public plan to inform people when it will be finished.
      Small Craft Harbours is generally a reliable program, Williamson says, and he has "some level of confidence" the project will eventually be completed. "The wrong company was chosen." Other countries have "blackball lists" of bad contractors, he says, but Canada does not because they want to encourage competition and keep contract tenders open. However, he adds, there are "stories across the country" about Greenfield, and he would like to see them removed from consideration for future contracts. The ombudsman will review the case and make recommendations.
      Meanwhile, neighbouring business owners have struggled with noise, dust, blasting disruption and unsightly debris. The Compass Rose restaurant is closed for a second summer, only serving breakfast to its inn guests. Old Well House Café operator Kiera Dall'Osto told CBC that she was packing it in and moving away after investing over $200,000 on property upgrades over seven seasons. The café building and adjacent house are for sale.
      "We couldn't see the ocean for two and a half years," Walter Colby says. "There are three abutting restaurants; two have already closed and the third is hanging on." They worry about the future of their business and the building's resale value. The project damaged their septic field under a pile of rocks, and eventually it will need replacing. They've been unsatisfied with responses to their inquiries from both Williamson and PSPC.
      "This is malfeasance by the federal government," Colby says. "They picked a [bad] contractor. [North Head] is the jewel of Grand Manan, the entry door. The front door of Grand Manan has been [spoiled]."
      Williamson calls the MOU "a small but positive" step "until a more reliable contractor," which he hopes will be local, can finish the work. He says he will continue to press the issue with fisheries and procurement ministers. "I will be loud in ensuring work continues" and that the village doesn't suffer as a result of the contract dispute.