Prompt Payment in the Construction Industry

Consistent with its mandate of growing the economy, the government wants to ensure that businesses are paid promptly for work performed on (or material provided to) construction projects.  Ministry of Attorney General staff have been tracking the issue of payment delay in the construction industry, including legislative responses in other jurisdictions.  Evidence from other jurisdictions – particularly Ontario - suggests that legislation is working, and so the Attorney General has recently directed Ministry staff to prepare a legislative proposal for further consideration by government. Consistent with the model seen elsewhere, and particularly important in the current fiscal climate, the costs of any dispute resolution mechanisms proposed in legislation would need to be borne by the construction industry, and not by government.

Ministry staff conducted a large table consultation with interested parties in the construction industry through summer and fall of 2024.  As a result of this input, the Ministry now has a good sense of what prompt payment legislation could look like for BC.  That input will inform the legislative proposal now under development.