Bill 69, Prompt Payment Act, poised to make construction and renovations more expensive for Ontarians

By mandating payment terms, proposed legislation would disrupt the delicate balance of business in the industry and create additional risks for consumers

TORONTO, March 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Ontario construction companies are urging the provincial government to take seriously the wide-ranging unintended consequences of a bill working its way through the province's legislature. Bill 69, the Prompt Payment Act, would seriously disrupt the way the construction industry operates impacting everyone from homeowners conducting renovations to the successful and timely completion of major infrastructure projects. The most likely outcome of the proposed legislation is higher construction and renovation costs.

Construction companies including Eastern Construction, ACS Infrastructure Canada, Carillion, Dragados Canada, EllisDon, PCL Construction, Bird Construction, and Aecon, have banded together to form the Fair Payment Reform Ontario coalition (F-PRO) and join other organizations including the Ontario Home Builders' Association and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in raising concerns about Bill 69. Without sufficient consultation or detailed consideration, the Prompt Payment Act has already passed Second Reading and is scheduled to move through Committee in March and early April.

"The motives behind Bill 69 are well intentioned, but in its current form Bill 69 is seriously flawed, and goes well beyond its intended purpose to ensure tradespeople are paid on time," said Chris Gower, Executive Vice President, PCL Construction.  "If this bill were to pass without major amendments it would mean fundamental changes to the way the construction industry operates. Simple activities such as homeowners or contractors tying payment to performance, or holding back a portion of pay until work is satisfactorily completed, would no longer be allowed. The end result would be higher construction costs, especially for major infrastructure projects funded by the taxpayer."

"We fully support the principles behind Bill 69 - subcontractors should be paid promptly for good work.  However, because Bill 69's reforms are so wide-reaching, the more appropriate mechanism for this discussion is a legal review with industry, rather than a Private Member's Bill that does not adequately anticipate the bill's consequences," added Gower. "We would welcome that kind of process and hope Queen's Park listens to our concerns and moves the discussion currently underway into a more formal process to allow everyone who would be affected by the legislation, whether large or small, to find more workable solutions."

SOURCE: Fair Payment Reform Ontario

Media enquiries:

Joe Pickerill, StrategyCorp
[email protected] (quick response)
416-864-7112 x2225