Contractors’ problems may be self-inflicted

I find it a little strange to hear the sad tale of the poor contractors, complaining of hard times at the hands of the Nunavut Housing Corp., when in fact, if the the truth be known, they are partly responsible for most of their own problems. (Nunatsiaq News, May 27, 2011)

The corporation’s community manpower sheets were designed to keep a close eye on contractors to see if they spend their stated contract moneys in each community for supplies, hotels and local labour.

As stated in each contract, all moneys that are stated in a said contract must be accounted for. That’s the law of the land, so get over it boys.

In regards to material shortages, each contractor has 14 days to tell the corporation of any and all material shortages, in what is called an OSD report.

I used to tell my contractors that they were out of luck if they did not do their part,  as it is their job to tell me if we have a material problem, as clearly stated in their signed contract.

I also did this at their pre-construction meetings to make sure that they clearly understood what they had to do as part of their contract with the housing corporation .

All I can say about most contractors is they may be good at building houses, but they are really bad at completing their paperwork.

I spent most of my unpaid Saturdays helping contractors fill out their contract requests for payments, as I was told, it was part of the job, that is, if one wanted to keep the train on the track.

Alan Robinson
Repulse Bay

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