Director has ties to winning company, says AUPE
CALGARY – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is calling for an investigation into the awarding of a contract to run the power plant at SAIT after it was learned that a senior college director was previously in a senior role with the company getting the work.
“We have learned that Brad Boser, the director of facilities management at SAIT, was general manager at Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS) from January 2013 to January 2016,” says AUPE vice-president Bobby-Joe Borodey.
BGIS has been awarded a contract to take over the running of the power plant at SAIT, which will result in the loss eight jobs of AUPE members. Another eight jobs are being eliminated at the SAIT Campus Centre.
Borodey asks: “Was a conflict of interest declared? Did Boser remove himself from the process to award the contract? How many companies bid for the contract?”
AUPE says that Albertans have a right to know that due process was followed.
Boser was a regional director with SNC-Lavelin from January 2008 to December 2012.
“We are not accusing Boser of any wrongdoing, but asking that this contract be put on hold until a full and independent third party can investigate. We believe Boser and SAIT should welcome this opportunity to show that everything is above board,” says Borodey.
“Albertans are losing faith in how the UCP government and public institutions are handing over taxpayer money and public assets to corporate interests. Not only are corporations walking away with nearly $5 billion in tax cuts and $1.3 billion in failed investments, but more vital publicly owned services are being given to private, profit-making interests,” she says.
“This government has already targeted 11,000 front-line health-care jobs as a gift for its corporate friends and is looking at privatizing several Government of Alberta services, as well as operations at other post-secondary institutions,” says Borodey.
“We are in the middle of the biggest raid on public assets that Alberta has even seen. This must not be done without full transparency.”
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Bobby -Joe Borodey is available for comment.
For more information, please contact Terry Inigo-Jones, communications officer, 403-831-4394 or t.inigo-jones@upe.org; or Jon Milton, communications officer, at j.milton@aupe.org.