Ottawa LRT builder Rideau Transit Group and its general contractor on the Confederation Line project have pushed back against a subcontractor’s $12.8-million lawsuit, claiming Hardrock Concrete isn’t owed any money and that company breached its subcontract by failing to remit taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency and leaving wages and union remittances unpaid.

OLRT Constructors, the transit project’s general contractor and RTG’s construction component, is also countersuing for more than $10 million in damages, claiming there were “major deficiencies” in the work performed by Hardrock that the company refused or failed to fix, setting OLRT back an estimated $6.5 million to address the deficiencies.

Hardrock also left the general contractor with damaged equipment, costs incurred because of excess rebound from sprayed concrete and overtime payments to work crews to try to overcome delays caused by Hardrock, they allege.

The statement of defence and counterclaim, filed last spring, have not been tested in court.

This newspaper reported on the story of Frank Schwenzer and his company, Hardrock Concrete, in March 2020.

In a statement of claim filed one month earlier against RTG, OLRT and the City of Ottawa, Schwenzer alleged Hardrock was owed more than $10.8 million for its Confederation Line work, which had been plagued by delays that OLRT was responsible for. The company incurred additional labour, material and other costs to complete the shotcrete installation, the claim added.

It further alleged that the reputations of Schwenzer and his company had been irreparably damaged, the business of Hardrock Concrete “effectively destroyed” and that Schwenzer had suffered “anxiety and unnecessary stress” because of the defendants’ behaviour.

Given the opportunity to comment for this story, Schwenzer did not respond to this newspaper on Friday.

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