Who pays the coating supplier on a commercial floor job in Ontario?

Who pays the coating supplier depends on who buys the materials under your contract: if the contractor buys them, the contractor pays the supplier and your business pays the contractor.

That straightforward chain gets more complicated once the Construction Act applies. The Act governs construction contracts in Ontario, and a floor coating job is likely construction work under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which defines construction to include alteration, repair and painting; whether it is an improvement under the Construction Act is a question for a lawyer. Under the Construction Act, each payer in the chain must retain a holdback of 10 per cent of the price of services or materials as supplied (s.22(1)). So the business retains 10 per cent of what it owes the contractor, and the contractor retains 10 per cent of what it owes any subcontractor or supplier. A contractor's lien expires 60 days after the earlier of publication of substantial performance or the contract being completed, abandoned or terminated, unless preserved (s.31(2)).

Payment timing under the Act also matters. The contractor submits a proper invoice, and the business must pay it no later than 28 days after receiving it (s.6.4(1)), unless within 14 days it gives a notice of non-payment in the prescribed form with reasons (s.6.4(2)). If the contractor has subcontractors, the contractor must pay them within 7 days of being paid (s.6.5(1)).

Whether a commercial tenant is an "owner" under the Construction Act depends on the facts and the lease. Get legal advice before signing if you are a tenant and are not sure who holds that role.

One more layer: before the contractor sets foot on site, the business must obtain a WSIB clearance certificate for the contractor and keep it in effect while work is underway (WSIB policy 14-02-19). Without a clearance, the business may be liable for the contractor's WSIB payment obligations up to the value of the labour portion of the contract. The householder exemption does not apply to a business. Keep clearance records for at least three years.

On any dispute or lien question, get legal advice. This site does not monitor or enforce any of this.

Before a contractor visits, it helps to pull together what you know about the floor: its age, what was on it before, what spills or traffic it handles day to day, how long the space can realistically close, and whether there is any old tile or black mastic that should be tested for asbestos before any grinding begins.