Posted on May 13, 2021
Tozer family company Greenfield Construction awarded $15.8M contract
Any day now, Kevin Sampson expects heavy machinery to roll up to picturesque North Head Harbour for a wharf improvement project that could disrupt the fishing community until the fall of 2022.
Last month, the federal government awarded a $15.8 million contract to Greenfield Construction to dredge the harbour basin and build an addition to the aging North Head wharf.
Greenfield is run by Carolyn Tozer, daughter of Robbie Tozer, former CEO of Atcon.
The improvements are meant to help the local fishery by providing more space to move heavy loads of lobster bait and salmon feed.
Sampson welcomes the investment, but he’s worried about the impact on local health and safety.
The project includes blasting and dredging, and Sampson said a drying cell for all that silt will be built outside his Compass Rose Restaurant.
“We’ve been taking cancellations left and right since word of this has gotten out,” he said.
About 18,000 square metres of marine habitat will be altered or destroyed, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which authorized the work.
Rocks will have to be removed with a barge-mounted crane or an excavator and loaded onto dump trucks.
“I live in a fishing community. That’s my life and that’s part of the charm of staying at my inn,” said Sampson. “My guests want to sit here on my deck and look at the boats coming and going.”
“Now, what do I tell them? Will the dust and noise continue through the weekends? Will they be blasting until the sun goes down?”
“If they’re blasting at 10 [at night], I’m done.”
Homeowners caught by surprise
Public Services and Procurement Canada says it made arrangements to hand-deliver more than 50 letters to local property owners back in July 2019, describing the project location and its scope.
But the mayor of Grand Manan, Dennis Greene, said the community was caught off guard, and several residents who appeared before Grand Manan village council May 3 said they were caught by surprise.
“If 50 letters went out, where did they go?” asked Pete Sesplankis. “I certainly didn’t get one.”
Sesplankis said residents have a lot of concerns, and the start of construction should be delayed.
“I think it’s a damn shame that it couldn’t happen starting on the 19th of September rather than at the beginning of the tourism season,” he told council.
Homeowner David Moses is also concerned about the trucking.
“We have children playing and riding bicycles,” he told council. “We have walkers, runners.”
Two to three blasts per week
Project managers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada hosted a question-and-answer session for about a dozen people recently at St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
Notes from that April 27 meeting confirmed that the blasting will likely last for three months and that two to three blasts will be scheduled per week, around the same time of day.
“Each blast will be relatively small to minimize the amount of fracturing in the rock, thus reducing the potential for projectiles,” said the Q & A information sheet.
Residents will be given 72 hours notice and may have to leave the area. Boats will have to be moved from the harbour.
According to the federal departments, the contractor is permitted to work round-the-clock but must also follow local bylaws. Blasting must stop by 10 p.m. and rock crushing must be completed between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The notes indicate that Greenfield plans to assign its crews to a schedule of 10 days on and four days off, with each workday starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 7 p.m.
‘Taxpayers have been burned once before’
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said it filed a request for more information about the contract because of Greenfield’s history.
The company was incorporated in 2010 after the Atcon group of companies, based in Miramichi, was placed in receivership.
The corporate registry lists Carolyn and Breanne Tozer as company directors.
Messages left for the Tozer family at Greenfield Construction were not returned.
But taxpayers likely haven’t forgotten what happened with Atcon, said Renaud Brossard, Quebec & interim Atlantic director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Atcon was placed in receivership nine months after receiving $50 million in loan guarantees from the province and according to the auditor-general, the province was ultimately unable to recover $70 million.
“Taxpayers have been burned once before on this,” said Brossard.
“We really hope that the bureaucrats in charge of approving those contracts are willing to explain to the public just how much due diligence they did before approving such a contract and why it’s a good deal for taxpayers.”
Public Services and Procurement Canada said Greenfield Construction Ltd. met both the integrity and financial provisions set out in the federal bidding process and provided the lowest bid.
Sampson said he spoke to Robbie Tozer by phone and also met with Tozer while he was visiting the site on Grand Manan.
‘Nothing against Greenfield’
“And I thought, great, I’m talking to the big boss. I’m talking to the man who can make all the decisions.”
Sampson said Tozer confirmed he did intend to blast at low tide and also indicated Sampson would likely have to leave the property while blasting was taking place.
“It was polite and cordial. I have no issues with Robbie. He’s just the contractor.”
“My frustration is with the federal government. They should have consulted with us and they should have dealt with our concerns right in the contract,” said Sampson.
Wharves are island’s lifeblood
The Grand Manan Harbour Authority said it welcomes the federal investment in the community.
“We need to get these heavy loads off the main structure which is partially load-restricted now,” said authority president Brian Guptill.
“The wharves are the lifeblood connection between the water and the land.”
Guptill said about 35 boats use the wharf on a regular basis.
And he said he has no issues with the contractor.
“I just hope everybody gets paid,” said Guptill. “He’s had some other government contracts over the years and he hasn’t had any problems.”
“There’s lot of people that have gone bankrupt in their past and gone on to have very successful businesses.”
Greene, the mayor, said the project should be a concern to everyone on the island. North Head Harbour is the gateway to Grand Manan. It’s where the ferry arrives from the mainland.
Grand Manan council had pledged to hold a public meeting on the project, but a date has yet to be set.
