PAGE OCR B2 – May 2009 – The Ontario Construction Report
OGCA members demand respect as owners
impose onerous contract conditions
STAFF WRITER – The OCR Construction Report Special Feature
April, he and vice president Steve Bauld had 12 unreason- Clive Thurston
able contract documents on their desks that they are hoping
Ontario General Contractors Association president they can get revised.
Clive Thurston believes in consultation rather than con- “Since the start of this year, this industry has been under
frontation when he discovers unfair industry practices, but attack,” Thurston said. “Never in the past seven years that
recent developments with owners imposing onerous and I’ve been OGCA president, has a year been more adver-
unfair contract terms and bidding requirements have set sarial between us and the owners.
him to a boil. “(We’re encountering) tender disputes, and contracts so
In his opening address at the sixth annual Construction one-sided there is no word to describe it,” he said.
Symposium in Collingwood, Thurston said general con- Thurston said that “bonding companies have stood with
tractors are facing increasing pressure from owners and us against the owners, refusing to issue bonds because they
consultants pressing for unfair and unreasonable bidding are so bad.”
practices. He says at the time of the symposium in late This confrontation, Thurston believes, may be because
of the recession – he isn’t sure – and he finds it frustrating
because the OGCA has always had a policy of “consulta-
tion not confrontation” and in the last few years, owners
and the association had been co-operative.
Now, he said, contractors are faced with the choice of
not bidding or qualifying their bids on projects.
“Do owners think we will sign anything,” Thurston
asked. “This can’t go on. It has to stop. The transfer of
risk is so great it could put you out of business.”
Thurston says contractors don’t need to act alone if they
see unfair or onerous contract provisions. They should let
the OGCA know about the problems, and bring them to
the association’s attention. Contractors should not sign
one-sided agreements just because they need work. “The
short term gain could turn into a long-term life of pain
when you lose your company,” he said.
“We do literally build Ontario and we deserve respect
– and we need to start demanding more respect. Your as-
sociation will fight with you with everything we’ve got.”
However, Thurston said despite the increasing tension
and pressure, there are some bright spots. He says the as-
sociation has good relationships with the Ontario Ministry
of Health (“but hospitals are ignoring the guidelines”) and
he is pleased that after several years, the association has
made progress in improving the contracting practices of
Carleton University in Ottawa.
Thurston updated members on other OGCA accom-
plishments in the past year.
A new interactive website at http://www.ogca.ca has
been developed;
The OGCA with other associations has spearheaded the
formation of a WSIB Task Force. “We have brought them
to listen to us and talk to us because they are screwed up,”
he said. “They are in a lot of trouble. They have brought
in more and more regulations and it hasn’t helped. They
have a $14 billion unfunded liability . . . . This task force
is changing the way the WSIB operates. (We met with
WSIB Chair) Steve Mahoney. He listened and he has
promised changes. We are working on several subcom-
mittees and I believe Mr. Mahoney is sincere when he says
it can’t go on this way.”
The OGCA has expanded and improved its Partners
Program.
The association is expanding its educational programs
including Gold Seal recognition, and inexpensive WebEX
online training.
The New Ontario Builder Awards will commence this
year at the association’s annual general meeting in Ottawa
this September. “It is great that we recognize who we are
– it’s time we stop keeping our accomplishments (as
builders) a secret.”
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