TORONTO — Trade contractors and association leaders from across the country came together for the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) Prompt Payment Summit in Toronto recently to discuss the progress that has been made both federally and provincially in adopting prompt payment legislation.
The summit provided an opportunity for members to give presentations on new developments, hear from political champions and discuss strategies to advance the issue.
“In December of 2017, we saw the Government of Ontario pass the first piece of prompt payment legislation in the country, in Bill 142, with unanimous support,” said Sandra Skivsky, the NTCCC’s newly-elected chairperson, in a statement.
“We are now finally beginning to see the effects of all these years of work. The federal government is committed to enacting legislation, and we can see a future where contractors are paid promptly.”
Skivsky was influential in Prompt Payment Ontario’s efforts to help establish prompt payment legislation in the province. She has been involved with the NTCCC since 2006, a release states.
Trade contractors perform more than 80 per cent of all construction work in Canada, however, there is currently no system in place that enforces payment procedures, the release reads. As a result, trade contractors routinely receive late payments. These inefficiencies lead to cash flow problems that ultimately discourage hiring, investments in capital and can result in bankruptcy, according to the NTCCC statement.
The adoption of prompt payment legislation will ensure contractors and subcontractors are paid within reasonable timeframes, removing the uncertainty that can slow projects and reduce productivity, adds the release.
“Our goal is to improve the timeliness of payments throughout the construction industry, and to learn from other jurisdictions such as Ontario with Bill 142,” said Steve MacKinnon, parliamentary secretary to the minister of public services and procurement.
“As we articulated a few months ago, we intend to legislate. From the prime minister on down, we’re excited to have this moving forward, and the argument is compelling.”
Earlier this year the federal government announced independent experts Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel from Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP were contracted to conduct a third-party prompt payment review, lead a consultation process to seek input from industry stakeholders across the country and provide a recommendation report to Public Services and Procurement Canada.
Reynolds and Vogel have been tasked with providing a recommendation report to the government by May 1.
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