Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said Thursday that criticism of a $40 million contract awarded to a construction company with ties to the provincial Liberal Party was “ridiculous.”
On Wednesday, the government announced that Marco Group had won the contract to expand and redevelop the emergency department at St. John’s Health Sciences Centre.
Interim PC leader David Brazil said the project does nothing to improve access to health care in the province, adding: “Another friendly Liberal business gets $30 million more than originally intended.
Furey said Brazil was dishonest.
“I mean, it’s just ridiculous… It’s petty politics,” Furey said at a Thursday news conference.
“If you look at the contracts that are awarded across the province, people are winning the contracts based on a public bidding process.”
In August, the government launched a public tender to upgrade and expand the emergency department at the Health Sciences Centre.
Marco Group was the lowest bidder among four companies competing for the project.
JMJ Holdings and Pomerleau Inc. offered approximately $41.4 and $41.2 million respectively, and Olympic Construction Ltd. offered about $44 million. Marco Group offered $40.5 million.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Infrastructure Minister Elvis Loveless said the firm will lead a $40.5 million project that will see major work carried out to redevelop the space.
Marco Group CEO Chris Hickman donated to Andrew Furey’s leadership campaign in 2020. Marco Group also donated to the Liberal Party in the 2021 election and to the campaigns of Loveless and John Abbott , currently Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development.
The company did not donate to the NDP, the PC Party, or their candidates, in the 2021 election.
“I hope the people of the province will think that as the former minister responsible for awarding the tenders for the ferries that don’t match, he will know that the public tender process eludes to the influence of ministers,” Furey said, referring to Brazil’s work with the 2013 Bell Island Ferrythat’s to say.
A 2021 Auditor General’s report found that the provincial government mismanaged its plan to secure two new provincial ferries, the MV Veteran and the MV Legionnaire, in 2013. The report raised concerns about the management by the Ministry of Transport ferry procurement, including issues with lack of training, oversight during sea trials and concerns during construction.
The Health Sciences Center emergency room is overwhelmed due to a shortage of health care workers in the province. Furey says the current emergency service is outdated and needs to be replaced.
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