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Government’s tendering process was a ‘sham,’ say court documents

This week, Lebel and McGrath Decorating Ltd. launched a lawsuit against the Yukon’s Community Services department.

This week, Lebel and McGrath Decorating Ltd. launched a lawsuit against the Yukon’s Community Services department.

The lawsuit challenges a government tender to paint the athletes’ village that was released March 17th.

The territorial government’s tendering process is “a sham,” and has undermined its integrity, said court documents.

“The tendering process employed by the government of Yukon was neither fair, equitable, consistent, predictable or efficient.”

Lebel and McGrath was the only business to submit a bid before the government tender closed, March 30th.

Four days later, YTG requested a meeting with the decorating company.

Lebel and McGrath’s Pierre Lebel and government representatives Mike Frasher, Randy Shewen and Jamie Gleason attended the “bid-review meeting.”

The meeting was called to review the scope and cost of the work, said court files.

At the meeting, Lebel was asked to provide a breakdown of the costs Lebel and McGrath would incur in performing the contract. He provided that information.

A week later, YTG invited other painting contractors to the athletes’ village.

The visit was arranged so contractors could prepare and provide the government with bids to paint the athletes’ village based on hourly rates.

“By doing this, the government of Yukon was soliciting bids from other painting contractors for work which was subject to the invitation to tender,” said court documents.

But by accepting Lebel and McGrath’s bid, YTG entered into a contract with the business “with an implied term that the government of Yukon would treat the plaintiff in a fair and equal manner,” said the files.

By soliciting hourly rates from third-party contractors, to perform work that was already tendered, the government breached this contract, said court files.

In addition, through its tender process, YTG obtained information with respect to the costs Lebel and McGrath would incur carrying out the contract.

“And then (YTG) used that information to obtain more favourable bids from other contractors,” said the court files.

Pro-Luz Painting and Decorating was awarded the $119,000 contract to paint the village.

Lebel and McGrath is claiming the profits it lost after its contract was breached, which amount to $54,998.

It is also claiming interest before and after judgment, and any other costs the court may deem just.

(GK)

 COURTS

Thirty-year-old

abuse claims filed in Supreme Court

Sexual abuse, physical assaults and negligence top the list of claims filed against the Yukon commissioner and two employees of a Watson Lake group home last week.

The plaintiff, whose identity is protected under a court-ordered publication ban, is claiming “physical, mental and emotional” injuries from the assaults.

The plaintiff alleges he suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and a loss of self-esteem.

He is unable to form healthy emotional attachments, abuses alcohol, thinks of suicide and has an impaired ability to find and keep jobs, according to court documents.

The plaintiff, a Yukon resident who was living at a Watson Lake group home in 1977, claims he was repeatedly sexually abused by another youth then living in the group home, and physically assaulted by one of the home’s operators.

Although the assaults were reported, the group home’s operators, Alex and Anne Mercier, and the government failed to take the appropriate steps to prevent the attacks from happening again, according to court documents.

The plaintiff alleges that the home’s operators knew the sexual assaults were happening.

And the Yukon commissioner, through the department of Children’s Services, breached its duty to the plaintiff by “failing to investigate Alex and Anne Mercier’s suitability to be in charge of young children like the plaintiff on an unsupervised basis for extended periods of time,” according to the court document. (LC)