A Lambton College official says, by law, they are not able to give preference to local companies when tendering contracts.
Cindy Buchanan, the college's senior director for marketing, communications and brand management, made the comment after information pickets appeared Saturday morning at campus entrances.
Construction trades say out-of-town contractors are being used, rather than local skilled workers, for the college's expansion project. They say the plumbers and pipefitters, electricians and carpenters unions put at least 240 apprentices through college programs each year.
Buchanan says Lambton College and all public entities are required to comply with provincial legislation and regulations defined in the broader public service purchasing directive. "The process is intended to ensure the tendering of contracts involving taxpayers' funds are transparent and accessible to all," says Buchanan. "So all large college construction contracts are publicly offered for tender and companies that meet certain criteria based on capacity and experience are invited to bid for the job."
She says as long as all the bid requirements are met, the low bid is awarded the contract. "Unfortunately on our two contract projects, local contractors were not the low bidders or did not meet the qualification criteria."
Buchanan says for 50 years Lambton College has been and continues to be strongly connected to Sarnia-Lambton. "We work with many local contractors every year and in fact it was a local company that built the college fire school a few years ago. We highly value our relationship with our community and our local companies."
Saturday's pickets coincided with the college's annual spring open house that attracts prospective students from across the province to the London Rd. campus. Information hand-outs were being distributed to vehicles at college entrances.
Work began last fall on a $40-million-plus expansion project that will see construction of a new health and research centre and athletics and fitness complex.
-With files from Rick Burrows