

Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press





TORONTO -- A company contracted to clear Ontario highways of snow has been hit with $900,000 in fines for failing to adequately maintain the Queen's Elizabeth Way last winter.

Carillion Canada was fined $500,000 for not clearing the Queen Elizabeth Way during a snow storm last November, and fined another $400,000 for not doing an adequate job on the same stretch of the QEW in another storm in December.

Transportation Minister Stephen Del Duca said Tuesday he met with Carillion and other companies contracted for road maintenance to make it clear they must do a better job this winter.

"I am confident that working together, Ontarians will see the improvements on our roads that they deserve," he said.

Del Duca could not say why he still has no explanation as to what happened with the slow road clearing during the storms nearly a year ago.

"There's an understanding that something went wrong," he said. "We're trying to land on exactly what it was."

The minister also admitted the government would buy snow plows and other equipment for some companies, even after it awarded them long-term contracts.

"We are engaged in a discussion with all of our contractors to make sure that they have appropriate equipment on the highways for the upcoming winter season, which has meant that in some cases new equipment has to be purchased," said Del Duca.

The New Democrats said the province should not be buying plows for companies it hired to maintain highways.

"If I was the government I would have made sure the companies had the equipment to perform the job," said NDP transportation critic Wayne Gates. "I'm actually surprised they don't have an out clause in their agreements so they can get out of them if the companies are not performing the work."

The Progressive Conservatives said the Liberals lowered maintenance standards in 2009 to reduce costs, resulting in dangerous driving conditions across Ontario during and after winter storms.

"The Liberal government put motorists lives at risk to save a few bucks," said PC transportation critic Michael Harris. "They wanted to save money by changing the contracts, but we're now paying contractors to buy equipment that they should have had to fulfil the contract in the first place."

The provincial auditor reported in April that the government did save money on winter road maintenance over the last five years, but at a cost that included taking twice as long to clear highways of snow or ice than it did previously.

Prior to the contract changes in 2009, Ontario's most travelled highways were cleared about 2.1 hours after a storm, but auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said that increased to an average of 4.7 hours by 2013-14.

"We can't help but think the negative consequences of the changes made five years ago to performance-based contracts might have been foreseeable and avoidable," Lysyk said in a special report.

Carillion has eight contracts with the province -- worth $87 million a year -- to maintain highways around Chatham, London, Peel and Halton regions, Simcoe, Huntsville, Thunder Bay, Bancroft and the Kingston area.

The company did not respond to requests for comment, but Del Duca said Carillion is fighting the fines. He admitted the company can negotiate the amount of any penalties levied for non-compliance of contracts.

"There is still the opportunity for back and forth between the ministry and this particular contractor on those two storms from last year...before a final decision is rendered with respect to the fines themselves," he said.

The auditor reported that the government waived $4.8 million of $13.3 million in fines levied against contractors in the winter of 2013/14, while another $5.2 million was being reassessed, reducing the fines by up to 76 per cent.