Articles 2023

Today
Today

ESG Building Certification

  • April 24, 2024
  • Jason Lewis

An overview of the ways in which environmental, social and governance standards positively affect owners, builders, end-users, and society as a whole.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum

Practicalities of Notices of Non-Payment

  • April 24, 2024
  • Dan Fridmar

Ontario is now a little over four years into the new prompt payment requirements under the Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30. While there have been many articles on the written requirements set out in the new Part I.1 of the Act, not much is set in stone as far as the implementation and enforcement of these new provisions. More particularly, some members of the construction industry are finding it hard to understand and follow the requirements pertaining to Notices of Non-Payment.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum

Unregistered Liens Withdrawn Live On: Gay Company Limited v. 962332 Ontario Inc.

  • April 24, 2024
  • Ivan Merrow and Giorgina Chum

Once lien rights are extinguished, they are extinguished forever. After a lien is first registered on title, does a withdrawal of the Claim for Lien instrument forever extinguish those lien rights? In Gay Company Limited v. 962332 Ontario Inc., 2023 ONSC 6023, survival of the claimant’s lien rights turned on this question.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum

R. v. Greater Sudbury (City) and the Defence of Due Diligence

  • April 23, 2024
  • Catherine DiMarco and Andy Balaura, Pallett Valo LLP

On November 10, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its much-anticipated decision in the matter of R. v. Greater Sudbury (City). The decision is noteworthy in its expanding, in a significant way, the health and safety obligations of an “owner” of a construction project under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O., 1990, c. O.1.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum
head-shot of author Sahil Shoor

Ontario OH&S Update – Supreme Court upholds ONCA decision in R v. Greater Sudbury (City)

  • January 15, 2024
  • Sahil Shoor, partner, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP

On November 10, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a split decision in R v. Greater Sudbury (City). This precedent-setting decision significantly expands the health and safety obligations of an “Owner” under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum
head-shot photos of authors Jay Nathwani and John Margie

Prompt Payment Gaps in the Construction Act

  • January 15, 2024
  • Jay Nathwani, partner, Margie Strub Construction Law, and John Margie, partner, Margie Strub Construction Law

Ontario’s prompt payment system under the Construction Act has changed the way that parties to construction projects understand their payment obligations. But there are several significant gaps in the prompt payment scheme that produce significant uncertainty and risk for contractors. In this article, we discuss three such gaps.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum
head-shot photo of author Paul Ivanoff

Adjudication: Ontario Decision a Reminder that “Rough Justice” is Not Real Justice

  • January 15, 2024
  • Paul Ivanoff, partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

With the introduction of prompt payment and adjudication into Ontario’s Construction Act, the pursuit of “rough justice” became a new tool in the tool-kit of project participants. In spite of its procedural and other frailties, adjudication arrived along with a legislated provision that “the determination and reasons of an adjudicator are admissible as evidence in a court.” The addition of this “admissibility” provision raises interesting questions.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum
head-shot photos of authors Catherine Gleason-Mercier, Nicholas Reynolds and Rachel Poon

I Take it Back – Praxy Cladding Corp. v. Stone Lamina Inc. and the Withdrawal of Admissions from Pleadings and Examinations for Discovery

  • January 15, 2024
  • Catherine Gleason-Mercier, partner, Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP; Nicholas Reynolds, associate, Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP; and Rachel Poon, associate, Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP

In Praxy Cladding Corp. v. Stone Lamina Inc., the Ontario Superior Court reviewed the process for amending pleadings in proceedings under the Construction Act, and in doing so, provided important clarity as to what constitutes an admission, as well as the distinction between an admission from a pleading versus an admission arising out of an examination for discovery. The authors consider the key takeaways from this decision with respect to pleadings and conducting examinations for discovery.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum
photo of author Sharon Sam

Avoiding Discovery Obligation Pitfalls

  • May 10, 2023
  • Sharon Sam and John Margie, Margie Strub Construction Law LLP

The recent article about the Ontario court decision of Premform v Heights Rental, highlights lessons learned when making decisions to exclude certain documents during the discovery process. The failure to comply with discovery obligations may land your client in a predicament before trial, needing the court's permission to rely on the late produced document, and cost consequences.

photo of author Samantha Ambrozy

Ontario the Outlier: An Analysis of the Integration of the Lien and Adjudication Regimes under the Construction Act

  • May 10, 2023
  • Samantha Ambrozy, solicitor, legal section, Toronto Transit Commission; Mark St. Cyr, partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP; and Edward Lynde, partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Can the construction lien and adjudication regimes co-exist in Ontario and work seamlessly, in harmony together? This article explores certain unintended pitfalls, shortcomings, and incongruencies associated with combining the regimes, as illustrated in the wording of the statute itself as well as in recent case law on adjudication.

Construction and Infrastructure Law, Student Forum