MacLellan Gets Bluenose File
Nova Scotia Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan will now be responsible for the controversial Bluenose file. The Premier’s Office made the announcement this afternoon, just hours after province’s Auditor General released his report on the troubled Bluenose II restoration project. Michael Pickup says that poor planning, inadequate management and weak government oversight increased costs and contributed to delays on the project. He adds that staff with the lead department on the project, Communities, Culture and Heritage, lacked experience managing large construction projects. Premier Stephen McNeil says that the Transportation Department has experience managing large and complex projects, which is why MacLellan was asked to take on the file along with his deputy Minister, Paul LaFleche. The long-delayed Bluenose II rebuild was originally billed at 14-million dollars, but Pickup says that figure has since ballooned to 20 million, with an additional four to five million in dispute.