Rural firms fear being sidelined on school projects

The Construction Association of Rural Manitoba has raised concerns over the Manitoba Jobs Agreement.

The construction of four schools — located in southwest Brandon, Winnipeg’s Devonshire Park and Prairie Pointe neighbourhoods, and West St. Paul’s Meadowlands — will be among the first projects to fall under the agreement, which the NDP rolled out in September.

Premier Wab Kinew held a news conference in Winnipeg on Monday to give an update on the first projects.

CARM, which represents both unionized and open-shop construction firms in rural Manitoba, said the structure of the agreement that covers the school projects could limit opportunities for rural contractors.

The association has been in discussions with the government for a couple of months about perceived flaws in the agreement, executive director Shawn Wood told the Sun on Monday.

“Our industry is very disappointed in the government’s decision to hold that press conference today … We have been in works and talking to the government to address some flaws in the agreement,” Wood said in an interview.

“We are still waiting for another meeting, forecasting next week, but it seems they are just going ahead with this anyway … without any consultation.”

One key concern is the decision to bundle all four new schools into a single construction package, Wood said.

“Many of our members are smaller firms and don’t have the capacity to work on four schools simultaneously,” he said.

The Manitoba government announced that construction will begin immediately on the two schools in Winnipeg and the one in West St. Paul, while site development is underway for the school in Brandon.

The four schools will be built simultaneously using a standardized design, the province said.

One purpose of Kinew’s news conference on Monday was to dispel fears non-unionized companies would be shunted to the side.

Industry associations have shared concern on behalf of local companies.

Penn-co Construction, a Winnipeg-based non-unionized contractor, was awarded the main contract for the four school builds.

As well, six sub-contractors have inked deals; three are unionized, three are not, Kinew said.

“We can say with proof now that this thing is open to everybody as long as you’re willing to pay your workers well,” he said. “(It) makes sense during the cost-of-living issues that we’re facing.”

Construction projects falling under the agreement are subject to contracts outlining wages, safety protections and apprentice usage. Manitoba Building Trades — which represents 13 member unions — oversees contract compliance.

While Penn-co has been named project manager for the four-school package, specific contractors for Brandon have not yet been confirmed, Wood said.

He said construction is not expected to begin immediately.

“I’m not foreseeing the ground being broken (in Brandon) until probably the spring,” Wood said, adding that details about tendering and construction timelines remain limited.

Wood said the association would continue discussions with the provincial government to address concerns with the MJA, but for now, uncertainty remains over how much local employment the Brandon project will generate.

“Right now, we don’t know enough about what’s happening or when groundbreaking is taking place,” Wood said. “Until we sit down with the government, that’s all we can say.”

» aodutola@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press

» X: @AbiolaOdutola