Sudbury contractors say provisions added to Ontario’s Construction Act in 2019, aren’t effective enough.

They say it’s not uncommon to receive payments for jobs months after completion. The provisions stipulate that clients have 28 days to pay contractors after an invoice is received. Clients can also dispute the invoice within 14 days of receiving it. 

Kerrie Michelutti is owner of Home and Haven in Sudbury. She says sometimes she’s owed significant amounts of money for jobs her business completed. 

“One was over $100,000. We understand that people have cash flow issues and we are respectful of those. But we don’t want to be put into a position where we have cash flow issues as well,” Michelutti said. 

“You have 90 per cent of the rules for 10 per cent of the people. The people who aren’t going to follow the rules aren’t going to follow the rules whether you have a legislative rule in place, or not. Unfortunately you have to be smart,” she said. 

“No matter what, someone can tell that person to pay you but at the end of the day they can’t make you pay them.” 

Brad Davis is also a contractor in Sudbury. His business offers services from carpentry to plumbing. He says he’s been burned by larger commercial clients in the region on a number of occasions.

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