June 23, 2020

As we deal with these extraordinary times caused by the pandemic, which no-one foresaw (and certainly nobody could foresee the impact it was going to have on how we do business), it is disappointing that a few owners are trying to take advantage of this situation, and seem to feel that we, as contractors, are responsible for this pandemic and therefore should pay all the costs.

As projects that were put on hold restart, we have seen attempts to insert new supplementary conditions, passing down even more risk to the general contractor, and refusing to recognize any delay caused by the fact that we were shut down!

When notified, your organization has been responding to these unconscionable attempts by, as I say, a few owners, to make us responsible for all that has gone down during this time.

Recently, a major municipality attempted just such an action. They issued a new set of supplementary conditions to augment the supplementary conditions that your organization and the OAA had spent almost 8 months negotiating with the city some years ago. Without any negotiation and without any notice, this municipality decided to implement these new conditions into the contract.

All bidders were taken aback by this action and in the members only section, you will find out just what their response was.

As I leave this organization, I am proud to leave it at time when members have stood up once again to prevent that which should not be allowed to happen. I know my successor will continue the battle, as will all of you.

Stay strong, stay united most importantly, stay safe because it’s as a united group that you have achieved so much in the recent years. Whether it is the unprecedented health and safety record which is the envy of the rest of the country, producing the finest projects, or stepping up and leading the way dealing with COVID-19, we make a difference.