CCA to discuss prompt payment/cash
flow issues with federal government
The CCA board passed the following motion at its October 2015
meeting:
“That CCA work with its partner associations, interested stakehold-ers
and federal contracting authorities to educate the federal govern-ment
on the importance of prompt payment and cash flow on federal
construction projects, and work together to resolve any concerns, which
may include the enactment of federal prompt payment legislation ac-ceptable
to the industry.”
This motion was in response to the recommendations from the
CCA Industry Summit, held September 29 in Toronto, which was
devoted entirely to industry payment concerns. The recommenda-tions
included:
• CCA has a leadership role to play in Canada with respect
to industry payment and cash flow issues. CCA needs
to establish a clear policy position on payment and
payment practices in the construction industry;
• CCA can be a hub or clearing house for sharing prompt
payment information and best practices – domestic
(including efforts and developments at the provincial level)
and international (e.g., the U.S., Australia, the UK, etc.);
• There is support for creating new and/or strengthening
existing CCDC/CCA standard contracts and guides that speak
to prompt payment including embracing the adjudication
process; the right to suspend the work/terminate the contract
for breach of the payment terms; and greater transparency
as to the flow of funds in the contracting chain;
• There is general support for the CCA to educate the federal
government on industry payment challenges and to support
the notion of federal prompt payment legislation applicable
to federal government construction contracts only. However,
there was no consensus regarding the timing of such efforts
given concerns regarding any resulting negative impact on
similar efforts already underway at the provincial level; and
• CCA should involve all parties in the contracting chain and the
industry in this discussion – including owners and consultants;
• CCA will establish a taskforce to begin discussions with
the major federal contracting agencies on industry
payment and cash flow concerns on federal construction
contracts and to seek effective solutions.
Update: The federal government has agreed to a joint working group
with CCA. At the moment, the government doesn’t think that payment
is an issue. They are under the impression that they pay out their con-tracts
in a timely fashion. There is currently a private members bill be-fore
the senate regarding prompt payment. The federal government
is talking to the provinces on the area of prompt payment. SHCA will
touch base with Priority Saskatchewan to see where the province’s view
is on this issue.
Quality of design documents
CCA continues to hear grave concerns about the poor quality of de-sign
documents. It is currently hosting a series of regional work-shops
with its partner associations to raise the awareness of the
impact of poor design, to seek feedback on its causes and to identify
potential solutions. CCA will capture and record the major points,
findings and recommendations that emerge from these workshops
in a special report.
Lean Construction Institute of Canada
(LCI-Canada) established
CCA established the Lean Construction Institute of Canada (LCI-Canada)
this past year as a special committee of CCA, similar in
structure and operation to the Canadian Design-Build Institute.
This has been done with the support and acknowledgement of the
flagship Lean Construction Institute (LCI) in the United States.
In addition, CCA is working closely with the Associated General
Contractors (AGC) of America, which runs its own Lean Construction
Education Program and Lean Construction Certification Program,
to utilize as much of that material in Canada as is appropriate.
Currently, LCI-Canada, in concert with CCA’s partner associations,
is conducting Lean Construction 101 seminars across the country.
Federal government and eProcurement
CCA has been working with Defence Construction Canada (DCC) to
ensure that DCC’s upcoming eProcurement system – to use on con-struction
contracts – meets industry expectations.
Corporate social responsibility
CCA has a taskforce looking at the importance of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) to the construction industry and what role CCA
might play. At its October 2015 meeting, the CCA board endorsed
the following as a formal CCA policy statement:
“CCA recognizes that CSR is a rapidly evolving issue and affects
companies differently depending on their size, location and specializa-tion.
CCA recognizes the importance of CSR, and encourages compa-nies
to voluntarily undertake initiatives that enable them to operate
in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.”
Update: The CAPP strategy in term of their CSR has been to consult,
with not much progress. CCA has taken a supportive approach and
has lobbied more vocally with cabinet to expedite the flow and pro-duction
of Canada’s trade-enabling infrastructure. This ties in with the
TTW initiative of the Western Canadian Roadbuilders.
Civil Infrastructure Council pursuing use
of standard contract form for civil works
The CCA Civil Infrastructure Council made a presentation to the
Transportation Association of Canada (TAC), calling upon its Chief
Engineers’ Council to help develop and promote a common, na-tional
set of specifications and the use of a standard contract form
for civil works. The Canadian Construction Documents Committee
(CCDC) has a standard civil works contract form known as CCDC
18. The Civil Infrastructure Council has decided to advance com-mon
contractual language as a first priority and will work in tan-dem
with the CCDC.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
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