Send a letter to your local government representative and let them know that payment delays in Nova Scotia’s construction industry are unacceptable.
Join in on the conversation on social media. We are actively posting information on Twitter – sharing statistics, facts and relevant information that helps support the industry’s need for government to enact appropriate prompt payment legislation.
Learn more about why Nova Scotia needs a prompt payment solution the works for everyone. Take a look at why we need legislation and see what’s been in the news lately. You can also see what the NS Prompt Payment Coalition has done to work with government to come up with a solution.
Our province needs a prompt payment solution that works for everyone, including tradespeople, contractors, government and consumers. While immediately felt in our industry, there is a serious risk to Nova Scotia’s competitiveness long-term if we do not take action to fix the issue now.
Over the last several years, the construction industry has witnessed a very disturbing trend. Delinquent payment in the Industrial Commercial Institutional (ICI) sector, which employs over 30,000 people and contributes $6 billion in revenue to our economy, is producing detrimental results for construction firms in our industry.
Delinquent payments are hurting our economy and continues to worsen. Every year, 35-40 construction-related companies go bankrupt, resulting in 700-800 jobs lost, and these impacts are increasing at an alarming rate. Companies cannot invest in hiring workers, provide training and most importantly, offer a safe place for their employees to work.
A Nova Scotia Prompt Payment Coalition member – the Construction Association of Nova Scotia – continues to survey its members to solicit feedback on prompt payment. Here are some highlights from the 2021 survey:
Prompt payment legislation sets out the rights and responsibilities of all parties to a construction project through the establishment of minimum standards for payment, dispute resolution, and communication. The Act will set out minimum payment requirements and will have a systematic approach to how the money will be released with rights and responsibilities set forth for all parties to a construction project.
If the provincial government enacts legislation, prompt payment will:
The previous provincial government, led by the Honourable Stephen McNeil, made a commitment to introduce prompt payment legislation at the Nova Scotia legislature’s fall sitting in 2020, however, that was delayed due to COVID-19.
We are asking that government commits to formally introducing prompt payment legislation and bring forward final regulatory and adjudication framework by December 30, 2021.
The Nova Scotia Prompt Payment Coalition is a province-wide coalition led by the Construction Association of Nova Scotia and includes contractors, unions, suppliers, general contractors, trade contractors, and anyone else who is invested in working to convince the provincial government to enact appropriate payment legislation that would establish minimum norms for payment schedules.
(902) 468 - 2267
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Nova Scotia
dwilliams@cans.ns.ca