The Ministry of the Attorney General released the Construction Lien Act report, titled Striking the Balance: Expert Review of Ontario’s Construction Lien Act, on September 26, 2016. It can be viewed at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/cla_report/. The report looks at the effectiveness of the Act in achieving its policy objectives within a modern context, and addresses the issue of promptness of payment and the effectiveness of dispute resolution under the Act.
According to the Ministry, the information on the website is intended to set the stage for an understanding by stakeholders of what the various positions and schools of thought are regarding the Act.
Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, were retained by the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure to conduct the review in February 2015.
The report makes over 100 recommendations intended to address concerns raised by a wide variety of industry stakeholders. The recommendations address issues such as: elongated payment cycles causing a wide ripple effect to industry participants; inefficient dispute resolution resulting in a drain on judicial resources and the provincial construction economy; the disruptive nature of federal insolvency legislation on construction projects in the event of contractor insolvency; and a variety of technical issues noted by stakeholders to be frustrating the purpose of the Construction Lien Act.
