Articles 2023

Three years into the Interim Adjudication process under Part II.1 of the Construction Act, it is apparent that what was promised as a quick and dirty approach to dispute resolution is turning into a fly-by-night process that creates more problems than solutions. In this article, the author shares his thoughts on some of these problems.

The article addresses a repeating “urban legend” that there is no value to using CCDC contracts, and reinforces why the uniquely Canadian system is not only fair but eliminates a great deal of confusion and problems for all parties concerned.

This article explores two of the most common construction contract formats in Ontario, the CCDC 2 – Stipulated Price Contract and the CCDC 5A Construction Management Contract – For Services, and identifies some of the similarities and differences between these project delivery models.

A summary of the event hosted by the OBA's Construction and Infrastructure Law Section on January 19, 2023.

Referral of lien actions to the Small Claims Court is a new process that is now available to the parties if the lien action is for an amount that is within the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court. The author created this very useful step-by-step guide that describes the transition of a lien action from the Superior Court of Justice to the Small Claims Court once the matter is referred to the Small Claims Court Deputy Judge.

In this article, the author discusses the Divisional Court’s confirmation that adjudicators can determine their own jurisdiction, and the Court’s discussion on whether abandoning or terminating a contract means the contract has “ceased to exist."

The author reviews how the Court of Appeal's recent decision in Breen v. Lake of Bays (Township) creates a cautionary warning to municipalities that issue building permits without conducting final inspections on buildings and the effects that this decision will have on future matters.

This article discusses three recent Ontario court cases in the developing area of Construction Act adjudications, as well as some unanswered questions and lessons learned from the cases and the authors’ own experiences with adjudications so far.

An exciting update on the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) Construction & Infrastructure Law Section Golf Day held on September 30, 2022 as well as the continuing professional development session that followed.

General reviews are a critical component of many construction projects. Professionals engaged to carry out a general review must observe sufficient aspects of the construction to enable verification that the work has been completed with approved plans. Failure to do so, may have negative consequences for the reviewing professional.