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RECORD
FILE PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH
Premier Greg Selinger is
seen in this 2014 file photo. The premier was grilled by Liberal MLA Jon Gerrard
about a lawsuit initiated against the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health
Authority after it cancelled the tender for Selkirk's new hospital.
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By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record
Liberal MLA Jon Gerrard
grilled Premier Greg Selinger about a lawsuit initiated against the
Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority after it cancelled the tender for
Selkirk’s new hospital.
And Gerrard demanded to know why the RHA denied the lawsuit’s
existence in a Freedom Of Information request during question period last
month.
“Manitobans have been
concerned for some time about the contracting policies of this government and
for good reason,” Gerrard said on May 12, while questioning the premier.
He asked why the
construction contract for Selkirk’s new hospital was originally awarded to PCL
Constructors and then cancelled and given to another company that was not one
of the original bidders on the project.
During question period Selinger said the RHA and the province was acting on legal advice when the tender was
cancelled.
“Proper procedures were
followed based on that legal advice,” Selinger said.
Gerrard said construction
of the hospital was delayed two years because of the lawsuit, which was eventually settled out of court.
Court documents obtained
by the Selkirk Record earlier this year show PCL filed a lawsuit against the
RHA in May 2013.
PCL alleged the RHA
breached an obligation by cancelling the tender on false and misleading
grounds, and said the health authority utilized the tender process to conduct a
reverse auction and engage in a bid-shopping process.
Emails previously obtained by the
Selkirk Record through a FOI request show senior officials
with Manitoba Health were aware of the lawsuit, and one civil servant called
the litigation surrounding the hospital “the ugly file”.
Last December, Gerrard’s
office filed an FOI request asking the RHA if it had been
served with any lawsuits from 2009 - 2014, and in a reply signed by former CEO
John Stinson, the RHA said it had not.
But a story published in
the Selkirk Record this April showed the RHA was served with a statement of
claim from PCL shortly after it was dumped from the project.
Gerrard said the statement
of claim raised serious questions about how the hospital’s tender was handled.
“What is the
Interlake-Eastern RHA under today’s NDP trying to hide by denying the lawsuit
when we have evidence the lawsuit was initiated?” Gerrard asked before tabling
a copy of his information request that was denied.
The Record asked for an
interview with Interlake-Eastern RHA CEO Ron Van Denakker, but a spokeswoman
said he was unavailable.
In an emailed statement
last Friday, Van Denakker denied the RHA was ever served with a lawsuit.
“The RHA did not enter
into any lawsuits from 2009-2014. A statement of claim settled out of court is
not qualified as a lawsuit. The information received through the FIPPA request
is accurate,” Van Denakker said.
A spokeswoman declined to
comment further “we have nothing more to say,” she said.
Selinger told the House he
is pleased construction on Selkirk’s new hospital has begun.
“This is going to be an
important facility to serve the people not only in Selkirk, but to serve the
people of the Interlake,” he said.
The new hospital has a
construction budget of $111 million.
-- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition June 11 2015 p.3
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