Matthew Alter was quoted in the article “Construction Lien Reform,” published by Canadian Lawyer magazine.
Writes Marg Bruineman, “As Ontario prepares to enact the second phase of its construction lien legislation, the other provinces are considering or implementing a similar new prompt payment and adjudication regime.”
Says Matthew: “I think now that the genie is out of the bottle for adjudication of prompt payment in Ontario, there’s a good prospect that other provinces will follow suit.”
“One of the unique things in Ontario is we’re going to continue to have a robust construction lien regime alongside of prompt payment adjudication, which is different than what other jurisdictions around the world have. So, we’ll see how liens and prompt payment and adjudication all work together,” he says. “I think Ontario will be a good test case, generally, for how this system will work, and other provinces will be watching closely to see what the impact of this is here.
“This is going to be something that lawyers are going to really have to be attuned to, and it’s going to have a big impact on the advice they give to their clients in terms of managing construction disputes in the most efficient manner possible. Changes will likely be required to construction contract documents to accommodate these changes, and I think there’s going to be an adjustment period in the construction industry and it will be very exciting to see how it all plays out.”