Manitoba broke rules with STARS contract: auditor general
Investigation looks at why air ambulance service contract was signed without being tendered The Manitoba government did not follow proper procedures when it signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the STARS air ambulance service, and it’s paid way more than other provinces, a report by the provincial auditor general has found. The report by Auditor General Carol Bellringer, released on Wednesday, looked into why the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service was brought to the province without the contract being tendered. When Manitoba Health signed a 10-year services purchase agreement (SPA) with STARS in 2011, no one else was given a chance to submit bids. As well, details of the untendered contract were not made public, as required by law, the audit report stated. [Read More…]P3 projects help bridge the infrastructure gap
The federal government’s announcement of a $14-billion Building Canada Fund brings Ottawa’s national infrastructure commitment for the next 10 years to $70-billion, the largest in Canadian history. But according to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, there is still a gap of more than $200-billion needed to repair existing infrastructure and finance new projects. Where will that money come from? Faced with deficits fuelled mainly by health-care costs, the provinces aren’t going to be of much help. And most cities and municipalities are struggling to contain growing debts. [Read More…]Government project barriers are a concern to contractors
I am reminded daily by contractors about how difficult it is to bid on municipal projects. Very often, there are contractors and manufacturers from the business community that say it is simply too difficult to be a supplier to government. Often, there is more than a degree of merit in these complaints. Local preference policies, for instance – which discriminate against suppliers solely on the basis that they come from down the road – more than fit the bill of being unreasonable barriers to entry. Other unreasonable barriers grow out of excessive zeal for creating the appearance of integrity. [Read More…]CN to phase out own fleet of DOT-111 rail tankers
Canadian National Railway Co said on Tuesday will phase out its fleet of 183 older DOT-111 tank rail cars over the next four years as part of a safety improvement plan. CN said it will spend $7 million by the end of the year to replace the 40 DOT-111 tank cars it uses to carry diesel fuel to its freight yards. It will phase out the remaining 143 leased DOT-111 cars over the next four years as their leases expire. [Read More…]Vancouver near top of list of cities threatened by rising sea levels
Coastal flooding could cost the global economy $1-trillion a year a few short decades from now because of the rise in sea levels caused by global warming if action is not taken now to stem the flow and Vancouver is one of the cities most at-risk for losses, says a new study. The article, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Climate Change, is part of an ongoing project by the Organization for Economic Co-operation. [Read More…]Industry News
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