Tender suddenly vanished after a single day
Two companies interested in the Yukon’s air ambulance contract say they couldn’t bid because the tender process was flawed.
Two companies interested in the Yukon’s air ambulance contract say they couldn’t bid because the tender process was flawed.
Tintina Air of Whitehorse and Carson Air of Kelowna, B.C., say the process was unrealistic.
The companies say the tender call did not provide nearly enough time to respond or prepare to take over the contract if they were successful.
Alkan Air – the Whitehorse company which currently provides the service – was the only company to bid on the two-year contract with a provision for an optional third year.
Alkan submitted a price of $5.8 million for the first year, $5.9 for the second year and $6.1 for the optional year, for a three total of $17.8 million. The official award is scheduled for Dec. 23.
Tintina Air owner Dave Sharp explained in an interview last week it was not possible to bid on the work in late November and expect to be ready for April 1.
He pointed out the tender came out initially last May – but was pulled down within a day without any explanation.
Being prepared to take over April 1 would have been tight even if the contract had been awarded last June 30, as scheduled in the May tender documents, he explained.
To have fewer than four months to be ready is completely unrealistic given the sophisticated nature of the contract, Sharp said: specialized aircraft outfitted with special equipment, including a special loading door; lining up the required flight personnel to provide the 24/7 service; providing the heated hangar space....
“The reason Tintina Air did not bid is the same reason as everybody else who took out bid packages did not bid,” he said.
“It’s impossible for anybody other than Alkan to be up and ready, and equipped as specified in the contract, in the two or three months allowed by the bid process.”
Sharp pointed out the same type of air ambulance contract awarded in the Northwest Territories a couple of years ago provided about a year from the date of the contract award to the beginning of the contract.
Carson Air has five of the six air ambulance contracts in B.C.
In email correspondence, Keith Hillier, Carson’s vice-president of operations, wrote: “I can confirm that Carson Air reviewed the tender package for the Yukon Air Ambulance RFP and after careful consideration, we declined to submit a proposal.
“The short response time to the RFP, the lack of available properties for lease at the Whitehorse Airport, and the limited time available to begin operations in Whitehorse would have prevented us from submitting a competitive bid to the Yukon Government.”
Last Thursday, the Star asked the Department of Highways and Public Works to provide an explanation about why the tender was put out last May and suddenly taken down. No response was provided as of press time this afternoon.
The department was asked to explain the decision to re-issue the tender three days after the Nov. 7 territorial election. No explanation was provided.
The Star was also told it could not see the files on the original tender call last May, nor the file on the Nov. 10 tender call, because they are protected under access to information legislation.
During the tender process, the list of companies and individuals who have downloaded tender packages is available. Once the tender closes, the list is taken down.
The owner of Tintina Air said the prohibitive time lines in the air ambulance tender run contrary to the government’s policy of making the procurement process available to the greatest number of respondents.
“If this is done every time the contract comes out, there is only going to be one bidder,” Sharp said. “With one bidder, you are always not going to get the most competitive bid.”
Highways and Public Works Minister Richard Mostyn was unavailable this morning to discuss whether he’s received any concerns about the air ambulance tender process, or if he has any concerns himself.
Comments (9)
Up 39 Down 13
Wolfe on Dec 13, 2016 at 1:35 pm
@Nile..
Nice try for a diversion..
What you should have said is
"I bet you'll find that those who have major investments in Alkan were also YUKON PARTY supporters in the last election."
Does the name Nielsen ring a bell?
This tender was snuck in as a last minute deal as the Yukon Party was voted out.
As Mr. Sharpe pointed out, this tender came out in early summer, and pulled a day later. Only to re-appear exactly the day after a YP defeat. Total manipulation by political insiders.
Up 13 Down 39
Nile on Dec 13, 2016 at 12:03 pm
I bet you'll find that those who have major investments in Alkan were also Liberal supporters in the last election.
Up 27 Down 16
Lorne on Dec 13, 2016 at 9:30 am
In recent years, the Yukon through the Hospital Corporation, has built two new rural hospitals. These are not nursing stations, they were built with the intent of being fully staffed with Doctors and support staff.
With fully staffed hospitals in each corner and a central location is there the need for immediate medical transportation 24/7? Can we not stabilize a patient and transport them during a 12 hour window? We have also been increasing the medical equipment at the Whitehorse General Hospital. Less need to move patients "down south".
Keeping in mind that the entire Yukon population is around 40,000 persons, could someone explain to me why we need an 18 million dollar contract for medical transportation services?
And correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this rate is only the basing fee rate, on top of this there are additional flight time charges for the aircraft.
It should also be noted that an entire new department of "flight nurses/Doctors" has also been established. At what cost?
Sooner or later, and I am thinking sooner, this is going to catch up to Yukoners. This is not sustainable. Something is going to give. Chances are, we are going to face some hefty increases in medical taxes. The source of funding, Ottawa, will not cover this outrageous spending for much longer.
An empire is being built that is about to collapse! Fees will be imposed upon Yukoners for medical coverage, all because of poor fiscal spending in this department. If one were to ask for a cost per capita-for entire program, not just the aircraft, you need to include ambulances, staff, buildings and maintenance, I am sure the figure would be staggering compared to any other jurisdiction in Canada.
Time for Yukoners to accept that living in a frontier and rural area comes with some risk and maybe a cost. These services could easily be pared back to realistic levels before we are faced with major health care taxes!
Up 43 Down 16
To the curb on Dec 12, 2016 at 10:28 pm
This is the Yukon Party's last gasp and the very reason I voted to kick them to the curb. This is BS and we are stuck with it. But it'll be the last time. Bye bye YP. Don't let the tender hit your butt on the way out.
Up 44 Down 8
YukonMax on Dec 12, 2016 at 8:07 pm
Is anyone from Alkan Air sitting on some boards somewhere????
Up 42 Down 7
Wolfe on Dec 12, 2016 at 5:24 pm
Dig deeper..political ties run deep at Alkan..
Mr. Sharp has every right to express concern about the time frame.
Up 43 Down 6
Fake competition on Dec 12, 2016 at 5:07 pm
This is a sole source. It was only competed so the govt could say it met its obligations, because really, only one company can meet the "requirements". Requirements none the less justified or not, impossible timelines and turnaround times. They should have by passed this song and dance, and just awarded directly to the incumbent. Nothing is going to change if the same managers and supervisors are in place no matter what political party is elected. Acquisition Services is good at processing Purchase Orders, no value, no strategy. Actions speak louder than words.
Up 52 Down 22
change on Dec 12, 2016 at 4:18 pm
So much for changing and improving the procurement process.
Same, same but different, isn't that what they say?
Up 76 Down 12
Just Say'in on Dec 12, 2016 at 3:08 pm
This should be looked into. This is not right. Why was the original tender withdrawn? This is a very large expensive tender to be playing games with.