City of Toronto Continues to Ignore Entire Industry Stakeholder Community

Last year, the City created the Broader Construction Association Consultation Group (BCACG) to improve relations and address problems the City had in acquiring top industry stakeholders to bid their work and address areas of procurement that the industry could help with. This is the fourth one of these groups I have participated in since taking the reins at OGCA. I was more hopeful this time, with a commitment from the Deputy Mayor to ensure this time we would actually be consulted and there would be collaboration. Sadly, this has not happened, again!

Consultation and collaboration is not having people talk at you; it is not having your opinions and suggestions received with a polite pat on the head and then ignored; and it is not one side going back to their "mushroom farm," developing something in the dark and then presenting it as something we all should be amazed by and must surely accept.

This issue of exclusionary clauses being imposed by owners is a problem that has gone nationwide, with the CCA writing to the City to oppose such a clause. The response from the City, sad to say, is typical. We are overreacting - there is nothing to see here - don’t worry, be happy! Their own words show they do not understand what it is they are proposing: "The Report also indicates that the proposed clause will not apply to bid disputes by suppliers or their right to seek other corrective measures against the City under any administrative or judicial review procedure related to the procurement process."

So just what kind of vexatious and frivolous lawsuits are we talking about? If they are not as a result of a dispute on a project, then why is this aimed at our sector?

Of course, everyone with a clear and open mind sees this for what it is: an attempt to intimidate suppliers to the City from seeking redress when the City fails to fulfill its side of a contract.

No consultation took place, no evidence of a problem was presented, no collaboration, and worse, no respect for those who volunteered to sit around a table and offer their expertise and advice free of charge to assist the City of Toronto in becoming more efficient and able to enjoy better stakeholders wanting to do their work, resulting in the best of the best wanting to work for the City.

But let’s be fair. A small cadre of bureaucrats at the City of Toronto, and in some other small-minded municipalities, believe that they know what’s best, despite every single Association representing thousands of firms and workers, despite every Provincial and National professional Association believing these types of policies to be wrong, anti-competitive and not in anyone’s best interests. We have it wrong and they have it right!

City of Toronto Councillors, when this comes before you, we urge you to see it for what it is and refuse to include it in any legislation. Show us the same respect, courage, and integrity, that Minister Steve DelDuca did when he removed the clause from the MTO contracts.

Then let’s see if we can get some real consultation and collaboration going. Got a problem with bad stakeholders? Tell us; give us examples and we will provide you with industry sanctioned and supported methods to deal with the few - the very few - bad apples that exist. Don’t just paint us all with the same brush.

Alliance Partner Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Construction Association commissioned a legal review of the proposed rules. Click here to see the results of that review by one of the most respected and well known "construction" lawyers in the country.