Nova Scotia’s premier is defending hiring an American company to do major preservation work on the Macdonald Bridge in Halifax.
Tim Houston told reporters last week, he was curious if there was another way to approach tackling the project, but it came down to public safety.
“My understanding is there’s not a Nova Scotia company that is able to do this work. I don’t even think there was a Canadian company that was able to do the work. But I am pleased that the work will be done,” said Houston.
The harbour span is set to get 70 years of paint scraped off its towers over a two-year time frame, with dozens of workers, 90 meters above the ocean.
Houston added, despite Liberty Blastech nabbing the contract, the 80 to 90 percent of workers and supplies involved will be sourced locally.
“The bridge…you have to do this job right. You have to make sure that you’re dealing with companies that are qualified and able to do the work. In this case, that’s what we are faced with,” said Houston.
“But we will always look for opportunities for Nova Scotian companies or Canadians.”
Contradicting tariff response
As part of our response to the tariffs imposed on our country by the United States, the province was looking into not allowing American companies to bid on government contracts – while cancelling others.
When asked if this project contradicted that rule, Houston said they did cancel a number of American contracts since, including some in the fishery and record keeping sectors.
“But in this…work needs to be done…and it has to be done by qualified, confident people. And you know? A lot of Nova Scotians will work on that project,” said Houston.
The Macdonald Bridge will be closed for four weekends as work gets underway, starting Friday, April 25.
