Wheatley's Hike Metal Products isn't ruling out legal action after a $40-million snub by the province.
"We're keeping all our options open, let me say that," says Andy Stanton, president and CEO of Hike Metal.
Stanton isn't happy with the procurement process the province went through in eventually awarding the multi-million dollar ferry contract to Chilean company ASENAV.
"[The provincial government] wouldn't debrief me as to why we were disqualified. They wouldn't debrief companies until after the award of the contract, which is what I find a very sticky and diabolical situation to begin with," says Stanton.
A joint-bid between Hike Metal and a Quebec company was submitted for the ferry contract after Hike Metal was disqualified in the pre-qualification phase.
"We were a little bit higher, but from what I understand the government may have to pay an import tariff on this stuff so, we're still investigating that right now," says Stanton.
The new ferry being built is set to replace the Pelee Islander in 2018.
