Articles 2020

The new Act’s provisions contain gaps and inconsistencies which will in our view lead to confusion and potential problems going forward. We have identified some of them, below. Many will no doubt be addressed in due course, although many most likely will not.

Significant changes to the Construction Act came into force in Ontario on October 1, 2019.  While prompt payment and adjudication have been receiving most of the attention, a significant change to how construction liens are preserved in respect of municipal premises should not be overlooked.

While blockchain originated to serve as the public transaction ledger of cryptocurrency, the technology is now being explored for other purposes. It is only a matter of time before the construction industry engages in earnest with blockchain and benefits from the technology.

For the first time, the Ontario Dispute Adjudication for Construction Contracts ("ODACC”) previewed five adjudication processes, costs and an example adjudication timeline—all as part of the application package to become an adjudicator. This first look surveys a number of potential adjudication processes and highlights the summary nature of the regime as envisioned by the Act.

Blake v. Blake is an important cautionary tale for all lawyers: read all of the articles that your firm publishes. A judge may make a factual inference that you know about the case your firm wrote about, especially if you practice in a specialized firm.

Case comment on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Reaction Distributing Inc. v. Algonquin Highlands (Township), 2019 ONCA 433.

Pre-Eng is one of a growing number of cases to adopt a narrower interpretation of the wording of a builder's risk insurance policy, finding that only the insured's actual interest in the property insured was covered by the policy.

Ever since the 1992 decision in Southridge Construction Group Inc. v. 667293 Ontario, section 48 of the Construction Act has been interpreted to the effect that once a lien is discharged, a claimant cannot lien again for services performed prior to the date of the perfection of the first, discharged lien. How has the uniform application of Southridge changed as a result of the recent decision in 9585800 Canada Inc. v. JP Gravel Construction, 2019 ONSC 3396 (S.C.J.)