Ontario Construction News staff writer
Construction associations across Ontario have launched a campaign to raise awareness about prompt payment and adjudication, processes provided under Ontario’s new Construction Act to help contractors to get paid on time.
The Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA) is coordinating the campaign and created a Prompt Payment and Adjudication Toolkit – a comprehensive online resource centre to help all parties to construction projects understand the rules.
The goal is to reduce construction industry payment delays.
“Timely payment should be the norm in the construction industry like it is in every other sector,” said COCA President Ian Cunningham. “Contractors deserve to be paid on time for work that they have completed.
“To ensure timely payment, they should make themselves aware of the prompt payment and adjudication guidelines and be ready before a dispute arises.”
Prompt Payment legislates mandatory timelines for payment. Adjudication is a dispute resolution process that allows a contractor or subcontractor to enforce claims for payment in a more efficient and less expensive way than the previous method of going through the court system.
“Only a small number of contractors are using the prompt payment and adjudication tools provided under the construction act to get paid,” Cunningham said. “Most don’t know about this new process.”
The new toolkit includes downloadable documents with clear, concise information for owners, contractors and subcontractors. Prompt Payment Adjudication 101 provides an overview of the Act in laymen’s terms and provides information about holdbacks and proper invoicing.
A webinar is also available, along with links to government resources.
