More delays to N.B. bridge work likely amid internal trade fight [Video]

New Brunswick could face new delays on three major bridge projects as the provincial government moves to fire a major contractor — a move the company believes is tied to its legal fight over interprovincial trade barriers.

CBC News has learned that Julmac Contracting Ltd. received notices of default from the province on three projects: upgrades to the Mactaquac Dam bridge near Fredericton and the Centennial Bridge in Miramichi, and a replacement for Miramichi’s Anderson Bridge.

A notice of default tells a construction company it has failed to live up to the terms of a contract and is often the first step toward terminating the agreement.

The province issued the notices just weeks before a deadline in tribunal proceedings that will hear a complaint by Julmac under Canada’s interprovincial free-trade agreement — the first case of its kind to reach that point.

WATCH | ‘We’re doing the work,’ bridge contractor …