Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Authorized Nominating Authority (ANA) under the Ontario Construction Act has listed its first 11 adjudicators as it gets ready for the first cases to be resolved under the act’s provisions.
To qualify, adjudicators must meet several requirements. They need to have 10 years construction industry experience, complete an online and classroom training program, and prove they can communicate effectively. They also must have $5 million in professional liability insurance.
See the adjudicator registry here
The ANA, which operates under the name, Ontario Dispute Adjudication for Construction Contracts (ODACC), says the number of adjudicators it will list on its public roster will depend on demand, but doesn’t outline the total number. Approved adjudicators not on the roster will be put on a waiting list, ODACC says on its website.
“A number of certified adjudicators are not listed on the registry since their online profiles are not yet complete,” an ODACC spokesperson wrote in an email to Ontario Construction News. “We are still accepting applications and the list will be revised as new adjudicators join the roster.”
Adjudicators are allowed to outline their billing rates, which range from $250 to $750 an hour. Occupational qualifications include lawyer, engineer, arbitrator, project manager and quantity surveyor, with some having more than one qualification.
Under ODACC’s fee schedule, there will be flat rate fees for dispute adjudications, ranging from $800 for disputes under $10,000 to $3,000 for disputes between $34,999 and $50,000 – with escalating hourly rates from $250 to $750 for larger disputes. (The $750 hourly rate applies for disputes greater than $1 million.)
ODACC says there is no cap on the number of adjudicators, but that it will control the number listed on the registry, based on expected demand, and others who have completed the qualification process will be put on a waiting list.
“ODACC will review all applications and determine which adjudicator applicants receive a certificate,” the organization says. “ODACC’s decision will be based on the applicant’s qualifications, the demand for adjudication services, and the answers to the evaluation questions.
“Some applicants will be approved to be added to the registry if and when the demand for adjudication requires ODACC to increase the size of the Adjudication Registry. These applicants will be placed on a waiting list. If and when an applicant is moved from the waiting list to the Adjudicator Registry, the applicant will be notified. ODACC will not be able to estimate when an applicant on the waiting list will be placed on the Adjudicator Registry. If the need for adjudicators increases, ODACC will decide which adjudicator applicants to add to the Adjudicator Registry based on ODACC’s responsibility to maintain a suitable registry (as opposed to the order in which the applications were received or approved).”
ODACC says it doesn’t know how many cases it will adjudicate each year.
Transitional provisions under the Ontario Construction Act suggest that it will take some months for the first adjudication to enter the system, since only projects that have started or are in the procurement phase after Oct. 1, 2019 will qualify for adjudication.