In May 2018, the provincial government of Saskatchewan expressed their intention to introduce amendments to the current Builders’ Lien Act. The changes will include prompt payment and adjudication provisions that ensure invoices are paid within a 30-day window—a significant revamp of the current payment time of 70 days. A binding process may also be included to ensure that contractors will be paid even if the client is unwilling to.
Currently, Ontario is the only province within Canada that has enacted any form of prompt payment legislation. In April, Manitoba passed the second reading of Bill 218, the Prompt Payments in the Construction Industry Act.
The CISC participated in the Prompt Payment Committee of the Saskatchewan Construction Association (SCA), developing the communication strategy and meeting with government officials to inform them of the need for prompt payment legislation.
We are pleased to see Saskatchewan’s government acknowledging the needs of our construction industry! We’re looking forward to the seeing progress of these changes!
