Questions remain as to why the provincial government nixed two multi-million dollar projects involving the same company – one a new school in Labrador, the other a refurbished government building, including a courthouse, in Stephenville Crossing.

Government says the potential for escalating cost over-runs could have resulted in a tab of about $100-million.

Cartwright Mayor Shawn Holwell says renovating the existing school or scaling back the new school are not options.

Mayor Holwell notes that Cartwright is growing, with significant underground exploration in the area and the potential of mineral development.

He doesn’t recall seeing JMJ Holdings in town assessing the site, but notes that some of the other bidders did, and built the remediation work into their price.

He says the companies that visited the site did their homework on what they needed to bring in and were well aware of the costs associated with building such a structure in Cartwright.