A Winnipeg-based manufacturing and fabricating company is suing both the general contractor and the health authority attached to a troubled hospital project, claiming it was never paid.
Dustrial Plastic and Steel’s lawsuit, filed December 4, against the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) and construction company EllisDon, alleges the defendants did not pay more than $1.8 million dollars Dustrial was owed from the project.
Although the health authority is named in the suit, WRHA interim president Real Cloutier maintains that legal action should not involve the organization.
"As far as we are concerned our contract is with the general contractor. Our obligation is not with the subcontractors," Cloutier told the media during the unveiling of the new Women's Hospital Wednesday.
Valued at $232.9 million, the state-of-the-art hospital for new mothers and women is expected to be completed this fall. The current state of its project, however, could suggest otherwise.
CBC News reported that although some parts of the facility are ready for use, most of the ceilings are open. Much of the building’s electrical and data system work also still needs more work.
In a recent statement, the WRHA noted that the project was originally expected to be completed by the fall of 2016. When first announced, the WRHA said – in December 2010 –that the project was expected to be completed by 2014.
CBC reported that while the facility will be completed by this fall, it will not be operational until the fall of 2019.
"While the revised timeframe is regrettable, it is necessary to deliver a completed project able to provide excellent patient care," Cloutier said.
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