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On November 6, 2024, Bill 216, Building Ontario for You Act (Budget Measures), 2024 ("Bill 216") received Royal Assent.1 As outlined in our earlier bulletin, Bill 216 introduces amendments to the Construction Act (the "Act"), which are designed to enhance statutory adjudication, modernize the rules surrounding prompt payment and holdback, and improve other legal and procedural matters impacting Ontario's construction sector.2
The Act was brought into force in stages, with general amendments having come into effect on July 1, 2018, and the prompt payment and adjudication regime on October 1, 2019.3 In March 2024, the Ministry of the Attorney General ("MAG") commissioned an independent review resulting in 44 recommendations in the 2024 Ontario Construction Act Review Final Report ("OCAR Final Report").4 Bill 216 implements priority recommendations from that review, however, the amendments to the Act are not yet in force pending finalization of the supporting regulations.5
On August 25, 2025, MAG released a Discussion Paper setting out proposed regulatory amendments to the Act and inviting stakeholder feedback by September 24, 2025.6
We have set out below an overview of these proposed regulatory amendments.
Adjudication Proposals
The OCAR Final Report emphasized the need to strengthen and expand access to Ontario's statutory adjudication regime. Bill 216 addresses some of these recommendations through legislative amendments to the Act. However, MAG proposes to address other recommendations through regulatory changes as follows:
- Expanding Eligible Subject Matters: There would be greater clarity and predictability on the subject matters that are eligible for statutory adjudication. For example, having adjudicable matters extend beyond narrow payment disputes to include intertwined contractual performance issues, such as scope, price, and time, where reasonably necessary, while also updating the list of adjudicable matters to reflect a number of other rights and obligations created by the Act that are not yet subject to statutory adjudication.7
- Private Adjudicators: Parties could appoint private adjudicators outside the Ontario Dispute Adjudication for Construction Contracts ("ODACC") roster.8 ODACC's administrative fee would be capped at $30,000 per adjudication, and adjudicators must charge at least $1,000 per hour.9 Parties have noted that this flexibility is particularly beneficial for complex high-value disputes.10
- Payment of Fees to ODACC: Adjudication fees would be due within five days of ODACC's request, based on an agreed amount or ODACC's estimate.11 ODACC must reconcile any difference between estimated and final fees, and adjudicators may resign if unpaid.12
- "Slip Rule" for Adjudicators: Bill 216 introduces a "slip rule" allowing adjudicators to correct clerical or technical errors.13 MAG would revoke the narrower correction rule in O. Reg. 306/18 and require same-day electronic corrected determinations, with certified copies delivered within five days.14
- Publication of Determinations: Currently, adjudication decisions are kept confidential.15 The draft regulations propose to make adjudication decisions (i.e. determinations) publicly available to create a body of precedents. However, to balance privacy interests, ODACC would maintain a fee-per-use online database of anonymized adjudication determinations.16
Additional Regulatory Proposals
- Joinder of Trust and Lien Claims: MAG proposes amending O. Reg. 302/18 to expressly allow joinder of trust and lien claims, which often arise from the same facts, subject to judicial discretion.17
- Updating Forms: MAG proposes to update the forms under O. Reg 303/18 to reflect any changes made to the Act by Bill 216 to ensure consistency in the forms, such as clarifying in a Written Notice of Lien when the lien amount includes holdback vs. non-holdback claims, to indicate that a contract is terminated on the date of publication in forms for termination notices, to update bond claim forms to specify that sub-subcontractors can claim under bond claims (even without having preserved a lien), and the introduction of a new Form 6 for the notice of annual release of holdback.18
- Construction Trade Newspapers: MAG aims to strengthen certainty surrounding valid publication by proposing to designate Daily Commercial News, Link2Build, and Ontario Construction News as the three official "construction trade newspapers" for the purposes of the Act.19
Effective Date and Next Steps
The amendments introduced by Bill 216 will come into force on a date proclaimed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, with most applying immediately, subject to transitional rules.20 Until Bill 216 and the proposed regulations are in force, the Act continues to operate in its pre-amendment form as of November 5, 2024.21 As previously stated, stakeholders have until September 24, 2025 to review the Discussion Paper and submit feedback.22
We will continue to monitor developments to the Act and its regulations.
Footnotes
1. Ontario, Proposed Regulatory Amendments Following Independent 2024 Ontario Construction Act Review: Discussion Paper (Toronto: Ministry of the Attorney General, 25 August 2025) at pg. 3 - 5 [Discussion Paper].
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid. at pg. 10 - 12.
8. Ibid. at pg. 13 – 15.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid. at pg. 16.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid. at pg. 18.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid. at pg. 21.
18. Ibid. at pg. 23.
19. Ibid. at pg. 27.
20. Ibid. at pg. 28.
21. Ibid. at pg. 3.
22. Ibid. at pg. 5.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
