Demand for construction services is high, but labour supply, costs, and faltering public sector standards and systems around permits, contracts, procurement, and payments are undermining development and putting pressures on B.C.’s builders.

Those are the key findings from the annual BC Construction Association (BCCA) Industry Survey.

“It’s true that labour shortages and the cost of materials are constant challenges,” said Chris Atchison, president of the BCCA. “But industry can manage these pressures – it’s what we do. The biggest hindrances to building housing and other infrastructure today are the associated operations of the authorities having jurisdiction, from crowns to ministries and municipalities.”

The survey reveals that more than 80 per cent of contractors, regardless of size, were paid late for their substantially completed work at least once this past year. Nearly half of large contractors (100 employees plus) report being paid late at least 25 per cent of the time, and 30 per cent of small contractors (20 employees or less) report the same.  With the cost of borrowing skyrocketing, financing projects for owners is a burden most businesses cannot afford.

Contract disputes related to costs are a common occurrence, with 44 per cent of small contractors saying they’ve filed a fixed price contract dispute in the last 12 months, compared to 31 per cent of medium contractors and 28 per cent of large.

BCCA is advocating for three changes that it says will address the challenges facing builders as well as the owners who need the work to be done on budget and on time. They are:

• Introduce prompt payment legislation to normalize standard, reasonable payment terms of 30 days, ensure proper invoices are paid, and give clear rights to lien holdback monies.
• Make public sector projects more attractive to industry by having fair, open and transparent procurement processes and reasonable contract conditions.
• Speed up the permit process with the authorities having jurisdiction, including municipalities and BC Hydro.

“Until B.C. catches up to the rest of Canada, the USA and Britain, and introduces Prompt Payment Legislation, policy-makers need to be tuned into the fact that the financial risks for BC’s contractors are nearing a breaking point,” said Atchison. “There are actions that industry and government can take together and separately that will alleviate the challenges contractors are facing.”