The Saskatchewan NDP is concerned that the construction of SaskPower’s proposed natural gas power plant will exclude contractors and workers from Moose Jaw and Saskatchewan in favour of American companies.
Flanked by two Moose Jaw tradesmen and two MLAs, Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili expressed his concern about the procurement process during a media scrum at the Timothy Eaton Centre on Feb. 19.
He explained that the final two companies bidding to complete the project — Kiewit Corporation and Burns and McDonnell — are from the United States. The former company is based in Omaha, Neb., while the latter company is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.
Two American companies making the shortlist to build this project shows that another Saskatchewan project will be built by companies from out of province and out of country, he continued. This follows a trend similar to that of major projects such as the Regina bypass, Swift Current power station and North Battleford hospital.
“And you know what? The Sask. Party is once again leaving Saskatchewan companies and Saskatchewan workers out in the cold,” Meili said. “We’ve got lots of people in the province — people in the building trades — who need those jobs.”
Money generated from this project needs to go back into communities and the provincial economy instead of the pockets of an American company, he remarked. When Saskatchewan tax dollars are building schools, roads and buildings, provincial companies and workers should be doing the work. Those groups will spend money in communities and pay taxes so more schools, hospitals and roads can be constructed.
Since the Saskatchewan NDP believes the provincial government is taking the wrong approach on this project, it wants the province to start over and look to Saskatchewan companies to build this project and others, Meili continued.
“They have way too narrow of a bottom line. They work for the very cheapest. Sometimes it’s actually cheap — the quality isn’t as good,” said Meili. “And you’re also not reinvesting that money locally in the local economy.”
In a news release issued after the scrum, the NDP said the province’s construction industry is struggling due to the Sask. Party’s alleged failure to make Saskatchewan workers a priority. The news released indicated the value of building permits decreased by 57 per cent year over year, which was the largest drop among all provinces.
Furthermore, job numbers from Statistics Canada indicated there were 6,300 fewer construction jobs in January compared to last year, and a decrease of 6,800 construction jobs overall compared to 2018.
SaskPower’s vice-president of supply chain told a chamber of commerce luncheon recently that the project vendor would be encouraged to hire local and provincial workers and seek out local building materials. Meili indicated during the scrum that the NDP is not confident that would happen based on past history. For example, only 20 per cent of the Swift Current power station was built using provincial workers or building materials.
“The premier bragged in the house (legislature) that 20 per cent of that money stayed with local contractors. That means 80 per cent went outside the province,” he continued.
“If we had an in-Saskatchewan company to keep 100 per cent of those dollars here, have 100 per cent of the workers from Saskatchewan, that’s the way it should be … . It would be much better if we had a Saskatchewan company as the main builder.”
