The rejection of a legal survey for the new Whitehorse Copper subdivision is something of an insult to injury for Roy Slade.

Slade, a senior partner with Yukon Engineering Services, was involved in a joint effort by four local companies that prepared a bid for the survey work back in the fall of 2005.

Admittedly, Slade said in an interview, the $592,000 price the firms submitted to do the job contained a comfortable profit margin, though the Yukon government was pressing tight time lines.

But even if you cut the work to the bone, there was no way the job was worth anything less than $500,000, Slade insisted.

He said the four-way partnership Underhill Geomatics, Challenger Geomatics, Aucoin Surveys, and Yukon Engineering was somewhat shocked when the government awarded the work to Lamerton and Associates for $149,990.

Slade said the four companies came together for the very first time to bid on the work because they all knew not one single company could complete the work in the schedule set out by the government.

The original tender came out in September 2005, and called for completion of the survey plan for Dec. 31 of that year.

Slade said after the four companies met with the government to suggest the time line was impossible to meet, the government moved the deadline to March 31, 2006.

Even given the extra three months, he said, it would have been tough for the staff of the four companies to meet the deadline.

Slade strongly suspects the cost of the work has gone above the original price, if you start adding up all the little extras under all the little accounting columns the government uses.

It's somewhat frustrating to see the job awarded for so much below what the four other engineering and survey firms estimated it at, he said.

Then comes last Monday's news that the city has to raise property taxes by a whopping 7.5 per cent, with more increases to come.

The breaking point, said Slade, was the news out of the legislative assembly on Wednesday that Natural Resources Canada has refused to accept the subdivision survey, the contractual deadline for which was 20 months ago.

Slade said he's taken aback both as a local company competing in a local market that expects a fair shake, and as a taxpayer.

The powers that be, he said, keep talking about these different pockets of money like they're something isolated, and separate.

The truth of the matter is these different pockets of money are joined right at the hip, Slade insisted.

'There is only one person paying for all this, and that is us.'

Brian Thompson of Natural Resources Canada's Whitehorse office confirmed Thursday the survey plan did not meet the standards required, though he declined to describe the problem.

Thompson said they are working with the contractor to correct the matter.

Liberal MLA Gary McRobb used the issue to corner Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang in the legislature Wednesday.

'Mr. Speaker, the minister's own lands branch has stymied people who have purchased these lots in good faith back in July,' McRobb said during question period.

'The government is telling them, Sorry, we can't give you title to their lots.''

McRobb said not only has the survey problem caused grief for the first 42 people who were successful in the July land lottery, but that it's delayed next spring's lottery for the second phase as well.

Lang assured the legislature that officials in his department are working to reach a resolution to the problem as he was speaking.

'That's what we're doing now, and we are doing it as quickly as we can in order to get those lots out into individual's hands so they can proceed with their building program.'

Government spokesman Doug Caldwell said the Yukon Housing Corp. is prepared to jump in and assist any of the 42 who have agreements for sale but can't advance their building plans because of the survey issue.

Banks require title to the land and a legal survey before they'll provide a home mortgage loan.

Yukon Housing, Caldwell said, is prepared to provide interim financing, or an interim mortgage, to any of the 42 agreement holders who are being held back by the survey problems.

As far as he knows, there's only been one buyer who's run into any issue, Caldwell said.

When the agreement holder went to get an address for his new lot from Canada Post, Caldwell said, he was told the subdivision didn't exist yet, which prompted the buyer to approach the Yukon government.

As far as knows, that's been the only problem that has surfaced, Caldwell said.

He also understands there are lot owners who have begun doing foundation work with their own money.

Caldwell said because the government's project manager is out of the territory, he hasn't been able to get a detailed explanation regarding the nature and extent of the problem, or how long it will take to fix.

One thing is certain: the phase-two lottery for another 60-plus lots next spring will not proceed if the survey work isn't straightened out, Caldwell said.

While he doesn't know the details, he said, staff in the department have indicated it's not a huge problem but a bunch of little ones.

Lamerton and Associates has so far been paid $178,134, with another $18,000 being held back as the standard government holdback, amounting to $195,947, Caldwell confirmed.

He said he doesn't know if the company has finished invoicing the job.

Slade said he is somewhat perplexed with the suggestion that Yukon Housing will provide the individual lot surveys if asked to.

In the first place, he asked, if there isn't a legal subdivision survey, what is it going to work from?

Secondly, Slade pointed out, the group of four companies provided a price that was based on the economy of scale that comes with dispatching survey crews to do a whole bunch of work in single day.

The cost of sending them out there to do individual lot surveys is going to add up fairly quickly, he suggested.

'And who is going to pay for all of this?'

Yukon Housing, for now, said Caldwell.

He also pointed out that there are established monuments survey control points in the subdivision that Yukon Housing could work from.

The Star's call to Lamerton and Associates seeking comment on the situation was not returned before press time this afternoon.