Whitehorse company demands 3rd-party opinion on Dawson contract

A Yukon contractor whose bid to build a sewage plant in Dawson City was rejected by the Yukon governmentwants amediator to review the government's decision.

Government officials turned down Ketza Construction's $16-million bid last month, opting instead to consider a bid by a Vancouver company.

An official told CBC News at the time that Ketza's bid was "technically not strong enough." The company's offer was rebuffed before the bid was even opened.

That decision upset Ketza and a number of Yukon subcontractors, including plumber Bill Mason, who had hoped to work on the Dawson sewage plant project.

"They came back and said we didn't meet the technical standards, and that's wrong," Mason told CBC News.

Project managers responsible for the Dawson sewage plant are currently considering a $25-million bid by Corix Water Systems of Vancouver, which has the sole remaining bid after the Ketza Construction bid was rejected.

15-page rebuttal

Last week, Ketza Construction, along with Mason and others involved in the unsuccessful bid, handed a 15-page rebuttal to the government, demanding that a third-party mediator review the bidding process.

"We're still optimistic that we can somehow get considered for this project, whether it be by third-party review or whatever," Mason said.

"But we haven't eliminated any of our options, and that includes legal options."

At least one opposition MLA has taken up the contractors' cause, grilling Community Services Minister Archie Lang over the issue Tuesday in the Yukon legislature.

"I'm asking for an explanation, and I'm not hearing it at all," Porter Creek SouthLiberal MLA Don Inveraritysaid inthelegislature.

Lang promised that answers related to the Dawson contract would be forthcoming but notjust now.

"As this thing unfolds, it will be very self-explanatory ... why the contract is signed and who we sign the contract with," Lang said.

The territorial government has yet to respond to Ketza Construction's rebuttal or its demand for a third-party mediator.

Mason argued that had the government accepted Ketza's bid, most of the money spent would have stayed in the Yukon.

"Welders, excavators, contractors our Yukon content was well over 95 per cent," he said.