SOURCE: Journal of Commerce
Q&A: B.C. electrical contractors look to ‘keep up the pressure’ on prompt payment by Russell Hixson, December 15, 2021
Prompt payment remains a prominent issue in the B.C. construction industry.
With legislation either implemented or in progress in other provinces, many construction stakeholders in B.C. are pushing on their legislators for a similar outcome in the west. While government officials have said they are making progress on the issue, Deborah Cahill, president of the Electrical Contractors Association of B.C. (ECABC), says her group and its members intend to keep up the pressure.
Why is prompt payment legislation important to ECABC and its members?
For every day we delay, our members are having to spend precious time and resources to chase down payment for work they have already done. This means they might not be able to finance their next job, or need to pause on hiring new staff, which limits the creation of family-supporting jobs. Prompt payment legislation will help strengthen relationships in B.C.’s construction sector as a whole, which is demonstrated by the efforts of my colleagues at the Mechanical Contractors Association of BC and the BC Construction Association, who are also advocating to see this legislation come to light.
Beyond the financials, there is also a human cost to this issue – sleepless nights worrying about whether you have enough money coming in for payroll after an unpaid invoice can really affect a person and their family.
What has ECABC been doing to make progress on this issue?
We’ve been working with our industry partners for a number of years on this issue. From town halls, to letter campaigns, to meetings with decision-makers in past and present governments, we’ve come from almost every angle to try to move this important piece of legislation forward. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve picked up some momentum over the last little bit that I’m hopeful will continue all the way to the finish line.
How would prompt payment legislation impact your members?
It would allow our members to spend their time and resources on what they do best – building British Columbia. If our members were consistently paid on time for work already completed, they would be able to better plan their next job, invest in training for their employees, and just simply sleep better at night knowing that they aren’t going to have to chase payment that’s rightfully theirs.