It is a rare event but all members of the Ontario Legislature came together to support a heavily amended Bill 142, Amendments to the Construction Lien Act on December 5th by a unanimous vote of 87 to O.
The Bill still requires regulations to the lien and adjudication sections before all the details are known. It is expected that the Lien Act provisions will be implemented in about 6 months. The prompt payment and adjudication provisions will be implemented together on a date to be determined. It will apply to contracts dated that date or later.
The OGCA Construction Lien Act Committee, led by Paul Raboud, was very successful in obtaining a number of amendments to deal with unintended consequences, and support the effective application of the adjudication system. The Construction Act will be an unprecedented change for the construction industry. In particular, the Bill will implement a series of timelines from payment of invoices through to the adjudication process. OGCA will develop education material and organize seminars to communicate the new requirements.