Province tries to get building of new Fredericton justice building going again
CBC
The New Brunswick government is renewing efforts to build a new justice building in downtown Fredericton.
The province is now seeking a construction management firm to continue the courthouse work, which got as far as the frame before it was stopped in August.
An earlier tender was cancelled because the sole bid came in at an amount substantially higher than what the government wanted to spend.
"It should be more of an economical approach to the whole project," Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Richard Ames told reporters at the legislature Wednesday.
The only response to the province's request for proposals "came in way out of whack," Ames said.
"Like it was just cahootles of money over [budget], so what we did is we sent out another RFP that closes in November and the project manager will take care of that."
The government under Premier Blaine Higgs announced it would build a new courthouse on King Street after deciding to axe an earlier plan for one that would be attached to the Centennial Building, just down the street.
Earlier tenders had been issued to prepare the site, starting in December 2021, as well as to erect the steel frame of the building, which was completed this past spring.
The bulk of the remaining work was to be done by a contractor starting this year, and on July 7, the province issued a tender for that work.
By the time the tender closed on July 13, the only company to respond was EllisDon, which submitted a bid $30 million higher than the province's original budget of $60 million for the project.
In an email to CBC News, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Tyler McLean said the construction management model is working well in other jurisdictions, as it removes some of the risk that would typically be the responsibility of a general contractor.
"Construction management is advantageous in periods of unstable markets and price uncertainty," McLean said.
"It transfers the risk of future price increases from the contractor to the owner. In a traditional tender, this risk is carried by the contractor."
The latest tender for the justice building was issued last Thursday, and will remain open until next Thursday.
Canada is preparing for U.S. President Donald Trump to hit the country with potentially devastating tariffs on Tuesday, but the federal government and the premiers say they are in the dark about what will actually materialize and how high those promised levies will be.
Former P.E.I. Premier Dennis King has been appointed as Canada's new ambassador to Ireland, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday in a news release.
Oxford and Elgin counties have the highest number of measles cases in the country, the province's public health agency says, as local medical officials warn of more possible exposures to the deadly virus.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford will take questions from media Monday for the first time since his Progressive Conservatives won their third-straight majority in a snap election last week.
Newfoundland and Labrador is staring down federal, provincial, and municipal elections in the next eight months, but for one new Canadian the opportunity to vote is something she's not taking for granted.
Even with a dirt trench running down the hallway, and exposed wires and pipes hanging from the ceiling, it still kind of looks like an elementary school.
Some of the most affordable rental housing in Nova Scotia is rapidly becoming less so, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data analyzed by CBC News.
A two-time federal Conservative candidate in Miramichi says he doesn't think current party MP Jake Stewart can win again in a federal election that is expected to start within weeks.
Quebec municipalities and human rights groups are voicing concerns about proposed legislation that would require newcomers to abide by a set of common values.
Amazon and Walmart Canada have so far ignored the NDP government's requests to restrict the online sale of machetes to Manitobans, the province says.
Saskatoon city council is seeking money to crack down on unlicensed short-term rentals in the city, like those on AirBnB and VRBO, amid an active moratorium on licensing certain new short-term rentals.
When Kwaku Ayisi lost a friend who hadn't even reached 40 to breast cancer, it inspired him to look at the barriers Black women face in Saskatchewan's breast-health system.
A northern Alberta town is losing its only family doctor clinic and officials are trying to find solutions before the doors close for good at the end of May.