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North York-based ADR Chambers will oversee the adjudication process

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From Law Times

AG names nominating authority for construction disputes

Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey announced the appointment of ADR Chambers on July 18

North York-based ADR Chambers will oversee the adjudication process and training for the upcoming Construction Act changeover.

Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, who previously practised as a certified specialist in real estate, announced the appointment of ADR Chambers on July 18. The long-awaited dispute resolution system is set to take place Oct. 1, after initial rule changes began rolling out last summer.

Lawyers previously told Law Times that the upcoming changes to the Construction Act were like a “freight train coming” at the construction law industry, while others called it a “culture shift” and a “wholly new regime” that will have impacts beyond the construction industry.

The new dispute resolution system — now overseen by ADR Chambers — has been particularly anticipated, lawyers said last year. The office of the attorney general had said the “authorized nominating authority” would be selected last fall.

Changes from Bill 142 allow parties to refer disputes to adjudication, an amped-up type of dispute resolution like arbitration that delivers a decision within 30 days, Dan Leduc, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, previously told Law Times.

“I do quite a lot of arbitrations now, and I think there will be a lot more smaller, quicker arbitrations within the realm of adjudication,” Leduc said last year. “I see cash flow improving for my construction clients, which will make the whole industry a little more competitive in terms of pricing and hopefully less disputes in terms of getting paid, if the whole model pans out the way it is supposed to work.”

Leduc said that, due to Ontario’s changes in this area, “other provinces are following suit as well.”