Articles

The Ontario Court of Appeal in the recent decision, Keenan v. Canac Kitchens Ltd 2016 ONCA 79 grappled with a frequent issue facing construction companies that often blur the line between independent contractors and employees.

Given the continued market interest in the P3 model and the complex nature of the contractual relationships in P3 projects, the Construction and Infrastructure Law Section of the OBA hosted the “Infrastructure Development Primer II: Into the Trenches” at the end of March, building on the inaugural success of last year's Construction and Infrastructure Section's "Infrastructure Development Primer".

A common point of negotiation in construction industry contracts is whether the standard of negligence should be “negligence” or “gross negligence”.

Efforts have raised the bar in a collective effort to prevent injury or death in the workplace. Nevertheless, the Metron decisions remain a stark reminder of the potential liability faced by companies, their directors and individuals directing the work of others under the Code and occupational health and safety legislation.

An interesting case that may be of interest to Ontario lawyers was released recently on February 3, 2016. In it, the UK Technology and Construction Court (TCC) enforced an adjudication award made less than three months earlier on November 18, 2015 in the United Kingdom.

Richard Wong at Osler and Karen Groulx at Dentons Canada will moderate two panel discussions on March 29, 2016. Register today to attend in-person, or online.

On Friday, February 5, as part of its Institute 2016 program, the Ontario Bar Association hosted a presentation entitled “Good Faith in Construction: Where We Are Post Bhasin”.

It is commonly accepted that providing timely notice in writing of a dispute is essential to the success of a construction claim. A critical term in most standard form construction contracts is the notice requirement for delay claims.

On December 18, 2015 the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services issued Bulletin No. 2015-05, which implements various changes to the electronic land registration system. These changes were made effective as of January 11, 2016.

The Supreme Court of Canada has clarified that builders’ liens and statutory trusts are separate remedies available to an unpaid supplier on a construction project.