CEO PANEL DISCUSSION LIEN AND PROMPT PAYMENT REFORM IN ONTARIO’S constructionindustryisnowareality,after alongandtortuouspath.OnDecember 5, 2017, Bill 142, the Construction Lien Amendment Act, passed third reading in the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Legislative Assembly, and just a few days later, on December 12, it received royal assent and became law. The reform of construction lien and holdback rules, and the introduction of a sound and enforceable prompt payment mechanism are front and centre in the new reforms. But the third leg of the stool – the establishment of a respon- sive, real-time mechanism for quick and fair dispute resolution – is probably the least understood among those in the construction industry. What an opportunity, then, to hear directly from the framers of the reforms themselves about the new dispute reso- lution process, and in particular the introduction of a framework for adjudi- cation. This was the main topic of the CEO Power Breakfast panel discussion held November 30, on the second day of Construct Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, a couple of weeks before the Construction Lien Amendment Act became law. Titled A Layman’s Guide to the New Ontario-Built Adjudication/Dispute Resolu- tion Process, the panel featured Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel, partners with the Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Construction Law Group. The pair co-authored Striking the Balance: Expert Review of Ontario’s Construction Lien Act, a report that informed and underpinned the reform process. The discussion was moderated by John Mollenhauer, president and CEO of the Toronto Construction Association, and Glenn Ackerley, a partner with Weir- Foulds LLC. Duncan Glaholt, partner with Glaholt LLP, rounded out the panel. Ackerley and Glaholt were both members of the advisory group that supported Reynolds and Vogel as they assembled their research. Glaholt, one of the first and most persuasive advocates of adjudication in Ontario, drew a laugh when he related how, at the weddings of both of his children, he managed to work adjudication into his toasts to the newlyweds. Resolutionsolution BY ANDREW BROOKS Panelists at the recent CEO Power Breakfast provide insight into the third leg in the stool of lien reform: Ontario’s new adjudication mechanism 14 | Builders' Digest Quarter 4 2017