ARE YOU READY FOR A WHOLE NEW WORLD IN CONSTRUCTION LAW ?
A
s Alberta prepares to embark on the most substantive change to the Builder’s Lien Act in a generation, the government of Alberta has been able to draw upon the
relatively recent experience and practices of Ontario’s Construction Act to develop its own law and regulations with respect
By Brian Shedden, BSS®, Entuitive Differences between the two Acts: On the surface, the two Provincial Acts are substantially similar, as one would expect, but the primary differences appear to lay in the scope of those issues available for Adjudication. In Ontario, Section 13.5 of the Act states:
to both the prompt payment of proper invoices in the construction industry and the timely and effective resolution of disputes arising from non-payment. Adjudication will, for the first time in the history of Alberta, be available as a rapid, low-cost alternative to the traditional litigation route of dispute resolution, which has always favoured
AVAILABILITY OF ADJUDICATION CONTRACT 13.5 (1) Subject to subsection (3), a party to a contract may refer to adjudication a dispute with the other party to the contract respecting any of the following matters:
mitigating the role of Natural Justice in
1. T he valuation of services or materials provided under the contract.
dispute settlement.
2. Payment under the contract,
those with the deeper pockets, essentially
22 AN ABECN/ABECS PUBLICATION
including in respect of a change order, whether approved or not, or a proposed change order. 3. Disputes that are the subject of a notice of non-payment under Part I.1. 4. Amounts retained under section 12 (set-off by trustee) or under subsection 17 (3) (lien set-off). 5. Payment of a holdback under section 26.1 or 26.2. 6. Non-payment of holdback under section 27.1. 7. Any other matter that the parties to the adjudication agree to, or that may be prescribed. 2017, c. 24, s. 11 (1). Ontario’s Construction Act is essentially designed to deal with matters arising from disputes between owners and contractor, contractors and subcontractors and suppliers of what
