The court application by Norcope Construction to stop Sidhu Trucking from continuing with a $2-million contract was adjourned this morning until July 28.

Norcope is claiming the Yukon government breached its contract with Norcope by awarding the work to Sidhu.

The work, Norcope claims in its lawsuit, should have been tagged on as an extra to the main $15.9-million contract Norcope was awarded for installing water, sewer and utility lines in the new Whistle Bend subdivision.

Today's court date was to address Norcope's application for an injunction to stop Sidhu Trucking from moving anymore dirt until the matter between Norcope and the Yukon government is settled.

But a last-minute letter to the court from Sidhu's lawyer received by Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower forced the adjournment.

When Gower convened court at 9:05 a.m., he immediately brought the matter of the letter to the attention of Norcope lawyer Kim Martin of Vancouver and Yukon government lawyer Sarah Hansen, both of whom had not seen it.

After a recess of more than an hour, court was reconvened and Martin told Gower there was no choice but to adjourn the case.

She told Gower while Sidhu Trucking was obviously aware over the last couple of weeks of the Norcope lawsuit, Sidhu's Edmonton lawyer only became aware of today's court proceedings Thursday.

Without any explanation or arguments, Martin simply suggested and Gower agreed there was no choice but to adjourn the matter. And the first available court date was July 28, she pointed out.

Several government officials were in the courtroom to hear the case, as were representatives of Norcope, and others.

Norcope owner Doug Gonder, who was scheduled to testify first thing this morning, said after the adjournment he could not comment.

Department of Justice official Tom Ullyett said as it is in all cases, adjournments also give the parties more time to talk.

"The passage of time always gives parties more time to think about their positions, hold discussions and try to resolve the matter,” said the assistant deputy minister.

Ullyett said he could not discuss specifics of the contract work in question, how much of the $2-million job Sidhu has already completed or how much will be complete when the application is next in court more than a month from now.

Word on the street, however, is that the whole issue over a stop work order is pointless, as Sidhu Trucking will be finished the job in no time.

Government officials are also declining to explain why a $2-million extra was required within days of the main contract being awarded.

Gonder has suggested in court documents the additional $2 million worth of work is essential to the viability of the Whistle Bend contract for his company.

He's indicated he'd already invested money in additional equipment, fully expecting the extra work would obviously fall under his contract.

Government officials have said the work was given to Sidhu Trucking as an extra, because Sidhu Trucking was also doing work in the new subdivision.

In an interview the day his employees drove a fleet of heavy equipment downtown and surrounded the government's main administration building in protest, Gonder explained the government had initially asked him to do the extra work for $1.

He said of course he said no, and when he provided a more realistic price, the government rejected it. After he responded again by cutting his initial price in half, he never heard from the the government, he said.

Under the terms of the contract, Gonder maintains, the government is legally obligated to negotiate in good faith when dealing with extras and add-ons to contracts.

Simply breaking off discussions is not good faith, Gonder contends.

Shortly after this morning's proceedings ended, the three rock trucks which had remained parked in front of Premier Darrell Pasloski's window for the last two weeks, were rolling down Second Avenue on their way back home.

NDP MLA Steve Cardiff, who was in court this morning, said afterward he is still waiting for an explanation about how the issue got off the rails in the first place, but it seems Community Services Minister Archie Lang is ignoring him.

"It is pretty strange in my mind to have a $2-million extra or addition to a contract right after the contract is let,” Cardiff said.

He said moving the application of an injunction to July 28 will probably be moot, as the work will likely be done.

But the lawsuit will go on, he said.

Somebody, Cardiff added, could still be on the hook for significant compensation money – and that somebody could be Yukon taxpayers.

The New Democrat said having the application for an injunction – a legal matter normally given priority – set over to July 28 also says something about the congestion in the Yukon court system.