Prompt Payment legislation blueprint drafted
By Staff Report
Construction Financing Skills DevelopmentA milestone has been reached on the road to addressing concerns over prompt payment for general and trade contractors in Ontario
The Ontario Caucus of the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) and the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) have drawn up a blueprint of what could ultimately become the basis for Canada’s first legislation governing prompt payment.
“After more than a year of collaboration, we now have the groundwork for a workable piece of legislation that will see fairness from the sub-sub, to the trade contractor and general contractor and right up to the owner,” says OGCA president Clive Thurston.
“This is a total industry effort,” adds Richard McKeagan, NTCCC national director. “This is great for the relationship between the trades and generals with benefits for all concerned. Prompt Payment legislation will help address problems in all sectors, up and down the construction supply chain.”
Concerns over prompt payment are not new to the industry, notes OGCA chair David Blake. “Payment periods throughout the supply chain have been routinely getting longer, creating animosity and frustration on all sides. This joint agreement will go a long way to address these concerns and ease tensions. It is a win for everyone involved.”
Research shows there is support from all three provincial parties for some sort of prompt payment legislation in the construction industry, adds NTCCC Ontario Caucus chairman, John Blair (Canadian Masonry Contractors Association). “Now that OGCA and NTCCC have agreed to what the proposed legislation could look like, relative to the terms and conditions, the Ontario industry has a good shot of being the first jurisdiction in Canada to introduce such legislation.”
A joint task force of OGCA and NTCCC will present its recommendations to provincial government representatives in hopes of starting a dialogue towards ground-breaking legislation. Should the government of the day agree to introduce legislation, there is still a lot of work and review to be done, OGCA and NTCCC officials agree.
