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The provincial government has fired the Calgary-based firm tasked with building the $763-million Grande Prairie Regional Hospital following a heated dispute over the project’s timeline and budget.

“We clearly have a number of differences with Graham (Construction and Engineering),” said Infrastructure Minister Sandra Jansen during a phone call with reporters Monday. “I can’t remember another time when this happened … it is really a rare occurrence.”

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Construction will be suspended until a new firm is hired, Jansen said.

The province plans to issue an invitational request for proposal, meaning a shortlist of companies will have the opportunity to compete for the bid. Jansen said that decision was made to move quickly and get a new contract in place by the end of October.

The move comes after the province issued a notice of default to Graham on July 30 and spelled out an Aug. 22 deadline for the company to submit a plan to get the hospital project back on track.