A construction firm contracted to renovate St. James Civic Centre is suing the city, alleging it relied on shoddy information that caused delays and added costs.

The city-owned Ness Avenue facility, which features an indoor hockey arena, swimming pool, auditorium, weight room and other community-accessible spaces, was closed in April 2020 for major work originally slated to take just over a year.

But it took until last September to reopen. Mayor Scott Gillingham — then the councillor for St. James — blamed the lengthy closure on alleged contractor errors.

“It’s delayed primarily related to two (silica) dust-release events, where the contractors… didn’t have the proper barriers in place and the dust went through the whole facility,” Gillingham said last August, adding at the time that the city was going to seek money from the contractor.

But Canotech Consultants Ltd., whose subcontractor was blamed for the alleged releases of the hazardous dust in July and November 2021, alleged in a statement of claim filed in the Court of King’s Bench on Sept. 15 that no silica was actually released in either incident.

Inhaled silica dust can cause irreversible damage to the lungs and potentially lead to lung cancer, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

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