Construction contract payment legislation unveiled

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This article was published 23/03/2023 (1084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Construction industry contractors and suppliers burned by customers who refuse to pay their bills on time may soon have a new legislative foundation to build a case for repayment.

On Thursday, Consumer Protection Minister James Teitsma introduced the Builders’ Liens Amendment Act (Prompt Payment).

The bill would establish a payment schedule and impose deadlines for payors on construction contracts, with mandatory interest charges on missed payments.

It also establishes a mechanism for parties to resolve payment disputes through adjudication rather than taking the matter to court.

“It’s legislation that the entire construction industry has been asking for,” Teitsma said.

The Progressive Conservatives have introduced variations of the bill over the past seven years, but this time around, it’s an amendment to the Builders’ Liens Act.

“That’s important because that’s the way it’s done in Ontario and other jurisdictions, as well. We want to make sure that we have a consistent legislative framework across the country,” Teitsma said.

The bill was introduced after the deadline to guarantee government-sponsored legislation passage by June 1 (barring the Opposition picking bills to hold to the fall), but Teitsma said he’s optimistic it will pass before the summer break.

Bills that do not pass by June 1 will die on the order paper, as a general election is scheduled on, or before, Oct. 3.

“It was a significant amendment to a complicated act, so we did need to take the time, and it did take a little longer than I might have liked to get that legislation drafted,” the minister said.

“This is a bill that’s for the good of the construction industry and it’s going to be good for our economy, and so every party should support it.”

Teitsma was joined at the Manitoba legislature by representatives from the Winnipeg Construction Association, General Contractors Alliance of Canada — Manitoba, Prompt Payment Coalition, and Construction Association of Rural Manitoba.

Prompt Payment member Brad Mason said the legislation is good for all people making a living in Manitoba’s construction industry. Contractors have gone out of business owing to delayed payments, he added.

“A big part of this legislation is it gives us the ability to adjudicate dispute resolution in a timely manner,” Mason said. “This is a game-changer.”

General Contractors Alliance member Teri Urban applauded the Tories’ efforts to update the law. She said the bill would bring the province up to par with other jurisdictions, including Ontario and Saskatchewan.

“Builders’ Liens Act is a little bit of an outdated piece of legislation,” Urban said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca