By Cheryl Jahn

BC Construction Association issues alert

Jun 20, 2024 | 2:58 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – In 1981 the Supreme Court of Canada created “Contract A.” According to BC Construction Association, prior to that ruling bidders were subject to unscrupulous owners.

“It lays out the rules of the tendering process for the tendering authority,” explains Nicole Bryan, CEO of the Northern Regional Construction Association. “It creates a guideline as to which the bidders need to follow, as well as the tendering authority. So it keeps things fair between the bidder and the buyer of construction services.”

But the BCCA has issued an alert for the first time in its history. It cautions that, without Contract A, general contractors have no legal recourse for being treated unfairly.

“It creates an opportunity for negotiations to happen pre- and post-close. It creates an opportunity for suppliers to go back to suppliers to negotiate prices again before and after close. These are things that should be prevented.”

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The College and the City were among the list of owners shunning Contract A. Three projects at CNC: the Medical Laboratory Technology Science Expansion and the sidewalk construction project and LED lighting installation project. The City of Prince George was cited for three projects as well: the Kin Centre heat energy recovery program, the wasterwater treatment centre re-roofing and the supply and installation of field lights as Spruce City Stadium.

The City has issued a lengthy statement. In a nutshell it reads:

“Public entities in BC and the rest of Canada are moving this way to ensure the public gets quality and value for taxpayer dollars. In the interest of streamlining the process, the City is using the Request For Proposal (RFP) process excluding Contract A to not only ensure the qualifications of the Proponent, but also for them to provide input with innovative ideas that could enhance projects.

This allows us to assess their input and deal with any design changes that may be required before the contract award to ensure the City receives the best project delivery from the awarded contractor. It is true that we solicit offers from Proponents, as RFPs typically do, but those offers are revokable. In this way, all Proponents benefit from both fairness and flexibility.

The City of Prince George has been using this process for several years now and it is consistent with trade agreement requirements and is a fair, open and transparent process. The City will continue to favour the tender process instead of an RFP in the case of a “build a box” project, when contractor skills are not a factor and input from Proponents to enhance the project is not being sought.”

“The city acts on the interests of the 82,000 people on the public and and looks for the agreement that’s going to do the best for the city. But also one that’s fair, open and transparent,” says Councillor Garth Frizzell.

A total of 44 jurisdictions were noted in the BCCA’s alert.