A Calgary-based construction firm formerly responsible for the $763-million Grande Prairie Regional Hospital project is pursuing a claim for damages.

Graham Construction and Engineering said in a news release it is “deeply disappointed” the government has ripped up its contract with the firm, adding the timeline released by the province “omits a key fact.”

The company said it issued a notice of termination to the province on Aug. 17 because contractual obligations weren’t met, disputing the chain of events laid out by the province on Monday which it said ended the deal.

“This was the culmination of Graham’s continued advice … that the project was underfunded to build the project as designed by Alberta Infrastructure’s designer,” Graham Construction and Engineering’s Monday release said. “We also had conversations with the Government of Alberta as recently as last week in which we believed we were moving towards a solution for Grande Prairie.”

The company said it was prepared to reboot the project and offered to bring in a third-party mediator, but has been placed in an “untenable position” by the province.

Graham has argued it had to deal with continual design changes, scope increases and delays outside its control since the contract was finalized in 2016.

Alberta Infrastructure confirmed it received correspondence from Graham on Aug. 17, but said it wasn’t considered “a valid notice of termination.”

“Graham’s correspondence suggested the province failed to make sufficient financial arrangements to fund the contract. That was incorrect, as the funds were allocated in the provincial budget,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Burgess in a statement.

Hospital contract termination a ‘debacle’