N.B. company with Atcon links is target of project complaints in 2 provinces
CBC
A Miramichi company with links to the controversial Atcon Group is the subject of complaints in two provinces over its handling of public infrastructure contracts.
On Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, residents are complaining that Greenfield Construction has left huge piles of ugly rubble from a federal dredging project in the centre of picturesque North Head.
And in Alberta, a hauling company that was a subcontractor to Greenfield has filed claims with the provincial Transportation Department because it hasn't been paid in more than year.
"It's a frustrating experience," says Kayla-Rose Stach, the manager of accounting and administration at McJay Heavy Haul in Rocky View County, Alta.
The firm hauled Greenfield's heavy equipment to four provincial road and bridge worksites.
Stach hopes the province will force Greenfield to pay up.
"I kind of want some answers and I hope no other company is going through this with Greenfield," she said.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick Southwest Conservative MP John Williamson is calling on Ottawa to force Greenfield to clear away massive piles of dredging debris on Grand Manan.
In 2021 the federal government awarded Greenfield a $15.8 million contract for a new wharf and boat ramp in North Head.
The work involved major dredging of the harbour.
Debris from that dredging has been piling up within sight of the ferry terminal, and now work has stopped at the site — one of five wharf projects in the region where Greenfield Construction is behind schedule.
Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse says the six-metre-high pile of rubble is a major disruption for people who live in North Head.
"When you're on the road or when you're at the restaurants that are across the road, it blocks the view of the fishing harbour, so it's very much in your face," she said.
"For the businesses, for the residents that are in that immediate area … it's not the view they signed up for when they opened their business or purchased that property."
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