Article Published November 9th, 2010
The National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada was created in 2004 and was loosely modeled on the Council of Construction Trade Associations here in British Columbia. National trade associations realized that our issues were not getting the hearings they deserved on the national industry stage.
NTCCC reminds us: ‘We’re the ones doing the work’
The National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) is a partnership that brings together national construction trade associations.
NTCCC members are skilled trade contractors that are hired by general contractors for specific parts of a larger construction project. “Our thousands of member companies across Canada encompass a significant portion of Canada’s multi-billion dollar construction industry.”
Back then MCA Canada held a meeting and invited a group of organizations (See www.ntccc.ca) that could claim a national presence in Canada to talk about construction trade association priorities. Three prominent issues emerged: getting paid and getting paid promptly for work performed, promotion of unaltered forms of industry accepted standard forms of contracts, and promotion of the bid depository system across Canada. These became the coalition’s first order of business.
In addition the Coalition established two formal working relationships, one with the Construction Sector Council (CSC) – to work with CSC on human resource issues that affect all contractors particularly those that are labour-intensive; and two, to liaise with the Canadian Construction Association’s Trade Contractors Council, as members of both organizations share common interests and concerns.
The existence of the coalition has also facilitated some cooperation and coordination of initiative pertaining to management education.
In recent times the coalition has moved forward on the government relations front to host and maintain contact with the federal government and opposition. The primary goal here was simply one of education – informing the lay MP and cabinet ministers about who we are and who does the work – to build and maintain government structures.
Legislative Maneuvers:
Taking its lead from NTCCC MCA Ontario took up the torch to investigate the opportunity to introduce ‘getting paid’ legislation in that province. The result is a draft bill currently in process with the Ontario government. Through NTCCC we are all monitoring its progress through the legislature while at the same time borrowing the draft for discussion in other Canadian jurisdictions.
Clearly this is a topic of interest to all contractors as it would go far to provide some stability to what can only be described as increasingly unwanted risk. After all contracting is tough enough without having to jeopardize one’s very existence because of unnecessary lengthy delays in payment for completed work.
A copy of the Ontario draft Act is available by clicking on this link. Mechanical contractors are encouraged to read the document, provide feedback and to help drive its adoption as MCABC intends to embark on a similar campaign in the near future.