Prince George, B.C. – Construction of the  Wood Innovation and Design Centre is getting close and the topic  is heating up.

 

Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Development, Pat Bell, says the contract is expected to be signed in 3-4 weeks, and depending on the weather, construction could start in 6-8 weeks. “Under the contract, they will be obligated to complete the project before the end of 2014”says Bell, “that time frame is important because we would like to make the Wood Innovation and Design Centre available for use during the 2015 Winter Games. We thought it would be a logical opportunity to showcase the new building and what can be done with wood.”

 

But the WIDC remains a hot issue in the Provincial Legislature where the subject dominated Question Period because of allegations made by Dan McLaren of Commonwealth Campuses Corporation. 

 

Acting on a story published by the CBC yesterday, the NDP pressed the government over allegations  contained in a letter from Dan McLaren. The letter alleges the government promised his company and the Bid Group would get to build the WIDC. The letter of complaint was sent in November of last year to the Fairness Advisor, and copies were sent to the Premier, Legal Services Branch and Ms Dana Hayden, the Deputy Minister.  

 

The fairness advisor (Judy Sheckell Q.C.)  was not able to find any issue with the procurement process, but said the allegations went beyond the scope of her mandate and could not offer any determination on that portion of the complaint.

 

NDP Leader Adrian Dix   asked “What steps has the government taken since the allegations were made to assess and respond to those allegations independently”.

 

Minister Bond  told the House, that the procurement process has been looked at by the fairness adviser “and there will be further information on that in the days  ahead.” It is expected the full report of the fairness adviser will be released in 3-4 weeks when the contract is signed. Minister Bond pointed out there has been no reference of any information “or any other materials to the office of the Attorney General.” She also noted “the ministry did ask the fairness adviser to review the procurement process, and indeed, the procurement was actually temporarily suspended to allow time for this review. That’s exactly what should have happened, and that’s exactly what did happen.”

 

The initial bid documents called for proponents to submit a bid that would include an added value  project involving private developers on “adjacent lands” to the WIDC site. The City indicated to 250News, that was a reference to the parking lot owned by the City next to the WIDC site, and was not a reference to any of the properties owned by Commonwealth Campuses.  The bid documents were then revised to reflect a removal of that requirement.

 

Minister Bell, who is accused of making promises to Commonwealth Campuses, says “At no time, did I ever offer to any of these individuals a promise of inclusion in the process. That would be in contravention of my oath of office and my statutory responsibilities and under no circumstances would I do that.”

 

The $25 million dollar project has been plagued with controversy  for the past three years.   The site was part of a block of lots assembled by Commonwealth Campus Corporation with a loan from the Northern Development Initiatives Trust. That block included the Prince George Hotel, which the City then purchased from Commonwealth for $2.5 million .   The City would then pay another million dollars to demolish the hotel and clear the site. 

 

NDI Trust launched foreclosure action against Commonwealth in late November of last year in an effort to recover the $1.5 million ( plus interest) it had loaned Commonwealth to purchase the other lots in the 400 block of George Street. That action is still before the courts.