Evidence of meeting #103 for Public Accounts in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was champlain.
A video is available from Parliament.
Director General, Major Bridges, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
Since we are still in talks, we have not yet settled on what the exact amounts will be.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Ms. Bossé, with all due respect, the government announced this decision two and a half years ago. In all that time, you haven't been able to assess the financial impact?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Program Operations, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
It is based on formulas. The funding for the Champlain Bridge and the toll revenue you are talking about are from two different sources.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
You can appreciate that the fact that you are still in talks after two and a half years is a bit surprising, to put it mildly.
I'd like to raise another issue, Ms. Gillis. In your report, you say that, despite having to deal with a strike, you were able to make up the time that was lost. What strike was it and how much did it hurt construction progress?
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
In terms of the construction schedule, the $235-million settlement allowed SSL to hire more workers and buy additional equipment to make more progress on construction and make up for the strike delays.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
What was the total financial impact of the strike on the project budget?
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
We negotiated a $235-million settlement with SSL to cover the consequences of the strike, transportation permit issues, and claims. That was the total package.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Does that mean that the $235 million was not originally budgeted for but was added to the total cost? Is that the case?
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
The $235 million was not factored into the original budget.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Ferguson, does the $500 million in avoidable expenditures you mention in your report include the $235 million?
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Nearly half of the cost overrun, then, is due to the strike. Is that right?
Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General
It wasn't entirely due to the strike. We indicated—
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
I said half, or nearly half—$235 million out of $500 million.
Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General
In paragraph 4.75 of the report, we explain that the $235 million was broken down into two items: $63 million for the settlement of all existing claims related to transportation and $172 million for additional acceleration measures. The second item may include the impact from the strike, but I don't have the exact details on that.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Kevin Sorenson
Thank you, Mr. Deltell. We can come back to you.
Now we will move to Ms. Mendès.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm trying to recollect—and I'm googling it as I go along—all the reports we've read on the deterioration of Champlain Bridge before the decision was finally made in 2011, and there were a lot, not just by Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated, but by independent engineers and all sorts of other stakeholders. This had been going on for quite a few years. It's not something that we just heard about in 2007 or 2008; we found out way earlier that the bridge was having serious problems.
That said, we started the construction of this beautiful new bridge. I can see it coming out of the water every week. It is a beautiful project. It has put a lot of Canadians to work. I think people from all over Canada have been joining the construction site throughout. We have the costs that have been added because of the transportation limitations of the former bridge. Things couldn't be brought across the bridge, so they had to be brought in by barge or by train or whatever other means. We had the strike. We had all sorts of other impediments that caused some delays and some additional costs. I would say that generally speaking, the project itself has kept to its initial expectations or design.
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
The project itself has kept to its original design, yes. The $235-million negotiated settlement is the only additional cost that we've had to date on this particular project.
Liberal
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
It's a combination of circumstances.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC
The Quebec engineers' strike caused some costs. I think that's what we were referring to in the report.
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
There was the iron workers' strike, the public service engineers' strike, yes.
Liberal
Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC
But definitely the fact that SSL had to use different means to bring materials to the construction site was definitely another added cost.
Deputy Minister, Infrastructure and Communities, Office of Infrastructure of Canada
The permits related to heavy load on roads from the Quebec government as well as permits from JCCBI on heavy loads going over the current Champlain Bridge also contributed and were also part of the negotiated settlement, yes.