National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) has launched a TV campaign to drum up support for Ontario’s Bill 69, which would require developers to pay their contractors within a set time frame.
Otherwise known as the Prompt Payment Act, the private member’s bill has received support from all the three major parties in Ontario and has passed a second reading. However, the provincial government has referred the bill to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Acts and there hasn’t been much progress, according to NTCCC.
“They’re sitting there with this legislation – desperately needed legislation for the construction industry – and it’s stuck in committee,” said Bill MacDonald, founder of Toronto-based MacDonald Communications, which created the campaign. “That means no one is doing anything with it and it’s become a long and frustrating ordeal. NTCC finally put their hands in the air and said ‘we have to go public with this.’”
Four 15-second spots are currently running in Ontario. Two of the spots directly address Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, one addresses Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak and one addresses NPD leader Andrea Horvath. The spots end with a throw to the website, OntarioPromptPayment.com, where people can sign a petition in support of the bill.
MacDonald said the goal of the ads is to elicit public support and get the government’s attention. The campaign will run for three weeks, mainly on news shows, as well as a few spots during the Olympics and on Hockey Night in Canada.
