By replacing negotiation with competition, the tendering process in construction is intended to bring more certainty, fairness and efficiency to the allocation of contracts. Despite this, the tendering system is an idiosyncratic mechanism, giving rise to certain obligations that may…
WINNIPEG—The Manitoba government is launching an independent review of how Winnipeg city hall approves and inspects construction projects and property development, to address what Premier Brian Pallister says is a drag on the economy. Pallister also offered April 18 to…
TORONTO—A proposed amendment to Toronto’s noise bylaw that would restrict builders from pouring concrete or conducting heavy crane work after 7 p.m. puts thousands of jobs at risk and threatens to slow high-rise development across the city to a crawl,…
TORONTO—The chief executive of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. says he never cited the protection of 9,000 Canadian jobs as a reason the company should be granted a remediation agreement to avoid a criminal trial on allegations it paid millions of dollars…
OTTAWA—The Liberal-dominated justice committee of the House of Commons pulled the plug March 19 on its probe of the SNC-Lavalin affair, prompting fresh howls of opposition outrage and a walkout by Conservative MPs from the government’s budget presentation later in…
OTTAWA—Engineering firm WSP Global Inc. has been ordered to pay $4 million for bid-rigging on municipal infrastructure contracts in Quebec, according to the Competition Bureau. Canada’s competition watchdog said March 13 the payment is part of a settlement filed with…
Project wrap-up entails a variety of legal processes, including the release of contract and statutory holdback funds, shifting responsibility for insurance coverage, and commencing lien filing and statutory limitation periods. These processes often turn on a project achieving completion. The…
MONTREAL—SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is suing its former CEO in connection with a bribery scandal around the construction of a $1.3-billion Montreal hospital as the beleaguered engineering and construction giant continues its effort to distance itself from its former leadership. The…
Whatever your role on a project, always be sure to read the Course of Construction policy. It is surprising how often parties overlook potential coverage for a loss by assuming they are not insured. Knowing who is covered by the…
MONTREAL—Former SNC-Lavalin CEO Pierre Duhaime pleaded guilty Feb. 1 to a charge of helping a public servant commit breach of trust in connection with a bribery scandal around the construction of a $1.3-billion Montreal hospital. Duhaime was the last defendant…
MONTREAL—The former head of a Montreal construction trade school was arrested by the province’s anti-corruption unit Jan. 23 and charged with fraud-related crimes against the school. The anti-corruption unit said officers arrested Alain Prud’homme, who was director of the trade…
OTTAWA—The Competition Bureau says a former executive of Quebec engineering firm Dessau received a 12-month sentence after pleading guilty Jan. 17 in the Court of Quebec to rigging bids for City of Gatineau infrastructure contracts. Dave Boulay, formerly Dessau’s director…
KAMLOOPS, B.C.—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted the benefits of a liquefied natural gas project that’s at the centre of an impasse with First Nations in a speech to supporters in Kamloops, B.C., on Wednesday. RCMP arrested 14 people Monday in…
When we think of credit, we usually think of a method of paying for goods or services. In the construction context, however, credit can serve a role analogous to that of a performance bond. While owners can choose to request…
HELENA, Mont.—The company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline is asking a judge to change his order blocking the project to allow pre-construction work to continue, such as purchasing materials and finalizing contracts. Attorneys for the company will…
MONTREAL—The workers building the new $4.2-billion Champlain Bridge toil in difficult conditions, high above the St. Lawrence River. But one of their biggest challenges has been to find a clean—and heated—portable toilet on the work site. Quebec’s workplace safety board…
MONTREAL—The head of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. tried to assuage concerns over criminal charges at home and diplomatic tensions with the government of Saudi Arabia, saying the challenges will not hurt its business. “Despite the political issues we’ve had to contend…
MONTREAL—A month-long preliminary inquiry into SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. kicked off Oct. 29, more than three-and-a-half years after federal authorities slapped the construction and engineering giant with fraud and corruption charges. Prosecutors began to present their case to a Court of…
The Canadian engineering and construction industries often insist on using only written change orders when agreeing to alterations to a project’s scope. Other means of communication, such as verbal direction, are often seen as inadequate and non-binding. But this nearly…
TORONTO—A Toronto-based heavy civil construction company was fined $325,000 after a worker was killed by a runaway steel casing on a road reconstruction site in Markham, Ont. Coco Paving Inc. was handed the fine in Newmarket court Oct. 15. The…
