
FEATURE
Eliminating private
companies from bidding
on roadwork negates
competitive pricing and
efficiencies on the work.
what type of work will be needed. These groups then can plan ac-cordingly
for the next season.
Lipp says the more advanced notice the industry has for projects,
the more competitive the pricing is going to be. It also gives business
operations more stability because they’re able to cost out for equip-ment
and employees.
The City of Regina does provide advance notice of what they may
make available to the private sector for tendering. However, noth-ing
is guaranteed.
“It’s pretty deflating to sit in on those meetings with the city and
get a laundry list of all of the projects that are going to be put out for
next year and to know you’re not going to get any of them, or that
they’re going to self-perform them all,” said Lipp.
Standard and specialty aggregate
production as well as delivery
from our sources or yours
• Aggregates • Washing
• Crushing • Loading
• Screening • Hauling
cheaper and more efficient service than private contractors, then
they would be forced to realign and become more competitive.
“If the government wants to make the argument that it can per-form
the job better and cheaper than the free market, then it’s wel-comed
to make that argument,” said MacKay. “But I think they need
to provide evidence for those arguments with bills of sale. When any
government buys anything with taxpayer dollars, they need to be
able to show taxpayers the receipt.”
By comparison, other Saskatchewan cities like Saskatoon, Moose
Jaw, Prince Albert and Yorkton outsource road maintenance proj-ects
to the private sector.
In Saskatoon, for example, that administration invites industry
members to a planning meeting for upcoming projects and outlines
EMSHAY ENTERPRISES LTD.
P.O. Box 1504, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 7A8 info@emshay.ca 306-537-0632 306-924-4917
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thinkbigmagazine.ca | Quarter 4 2017 | Think BIG 33