Judge denies Ontario contractor's bid to return to work on 3 bridges

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 4:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Julmac Contracting, the Ontario institution kicked disconnected 3 large span projects successful New Brunswick, volition not beryllium allowed to instrumentality to enactment portion its suit against the state implicit declaration breaches drags on.

In a determination issued March 28, Justice Richard Petrie said helium would not assistance Julmac the injunction it had sought.

Julmac had asked for an interlocutory injunction, a provisional measurement that would person allowed company employees to instrumentality to enactment connected the Anderson and Centennial bridges successful Miramichi, arsenic good arsenic the Mactaquac Dam span adjacent Fredericton.

The injunction exertion had besides asked the state not to prosecute third-party contractors to implicit the work. 

In his decision, Petrie wrote that the tribunal did not person jurisdiction to assistance the injunction nether the 1973 Proceedings Against the Crown Act.

WATCH | Judge denies injunction petition portion suit continues:

He said the tribunal has jurisdiction to support the presumption quo portion the suit continues. Petrie disagreed with Julmac's statement that restoring the contractor to moving connected the contracts would beryllium the presumption quo.

The company's explanation of the presumption quo "would not simply sphere the presumption quo but successful information redefine the parties' contractual rights and apt correspond a last remedy," Petrie wrote said.

David Outerbridge, 1 of the lawyers representing Julmac, declined to remark erstwhile reached Tuesday, noting that Julmac is appealing the decision.

The province's lawyer, Mark Heighton, did not respond to a petition for comment. 

In the facts of the case, Petrie cited an affidavit from Renee Morency-Cormier, the construction manager with the Transportation and Infrastructure Department, who said Julmac had made small advancement connected the span projects, "and contractual completing dates were not achieved."

As well, the institution "took an adversarial approach" to moving with the department, Morency-Cormier said. 

Petrie besides cited an affidavit from Julmac proprietor Derek Martin, who said the province's concerns "were not valid."

Contractor sees 'irreparable fiscal harm'

Martin claimed that removing Julmac from the contracts brought the institution "irreparable fiscal harm."

Work connected the largest of the stalled Julmac contracts, the Centennial bridge, was pushed backmost from this summer, the state announced successful February. 

The provincial government's nationalist tenders website presently says that caller contracts for the Anderson and Mactaquac bridges are "pending." None are listed for the Centennial bridge. 

CBC News requested an interrogation with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to recognize the presumption of the 3 span projects, but spokesperson Jacob MacDonald said the state would not remark connected matters earlier the courts.