Interpaving now working on Greater Sudbury road construction as subcontractor

A Sudbury construction company that's barred from bidding on municipal contracts is now working as a subcontractor for the city.

Interpaving Limited has been hired by Garson Pipe to work on a portion of Skead Road leading up to Sudbury's airport.

A city spokesperson says the decision to ban Interpaving from municipal contracts doesn't prevent the company from working as a subcontractor.

The ban came down after a 58-year-old pedestrian was killed at one of Interpaving's construction sites last year.

The province's Ministry of Labour is still investigating. It issued seven orders to Interpaving after the fatality.

The ministry says Interpaving complied but the company appealed the orders to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

One work order to develop a traffic control plan for pedestrian safety was cancelled after an agreement was reached between the ministry and Interpaving.

This fall, Interpaving will appeal to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to have the six other work orders rescinded.

No criminal charges have been laid.

The president of the Ontario General Contractor Association,says the city shouldn't punishInterpavingunless the company has been found guilty of something.

"It's very heavy handed and I don't think it would ever stand the test of law, and they could be opening themselves up,"CliveThurstontold CBC News.

"Mainly because it's the courts who determine guilt or innocence,not a municipality. And if they set themselves up as judge, jury and executioner, they're just asking for trouble. It's why we have the Ministry of Labour. It's why we have the courts. It's why we have a system. It's why we have investigations to find out what happened, who's at fault."

Interpavingexploring 'all other options'

As reported in a previous CBC News story,the city did not specify why it no longer will allowInterpavingto to bid on municipal work.

"The City has decided to removeInterpaving'sability to submit bids on City projects, effective immediately," the statement read."This is a legal matter, and we cannot provide further comment."

The companystated in a release at the time that it hoped to "reach a reasonable resolution [with the city]. However, if necessary,Interpavingwill explore all other options available."

Interpavinghas been a major workhorse for Greater Sudbury, regularlydoing millions of dollars worth ofrepavingand other construction work for the city.

Interpavingwas awarded $9 million worth of city contracts in 2015.

The Sudbury-based company also does a lot of work for the province, including a $10 millionrepavingjob onHighway 144, which wasawarded days after the fatal accident on Elgin last summer.

This is not the first time the ministryhas been called to anInterpavingjob site.

In the last two years, it has issued 23 orders to the company for violations at construction sites in northern Ontario almost all of them related to the safety of workers and the public.

Meanwhile, the family of Cecile Paquette, the woman killed at one of Interpaving's construction sites last September, is suing the city, Interpaving and the man who was operating the piece of equipment that killed her.