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On April 1, 2025, Bill 30 (the Service Alberta Statutes Amendment Act, 2024) came into force, changing the Public Works Act (PWA).

As explained below, these changes affect all contractors and subcontractors on public works projects proceeding under contracts entered on or after April 1, 2025. These changes do not affect public works contracts entered before April 1, 2025.

These amendments will significantly change invoicing down the construction chain. All sub-subcontractors and subcontractors, and the contractor, must each issue a proper invoice every 28 days. The Province must pay the undisputed amount of the contractor’s invoice within 28 days. The contractor must pay the undisputed amounts of subcontractors’ proper invoices within 35 days. Subcontractors must pay the undisputed amounts of sub-subcontractors’ proper invoices within 42 days. This may require changes to your invoicing practices:

  • Submitting the “draft” invoices for review and agreement
  • Ensuring the finalized invoices are labelled as “proper” invoices
  • Submitting these proper invoices every 28 days
  • Paying your subcontractors and suppliers within the timelines
  • Adapting your progress reporting and accounting practices accordingly.

These amendments now permit parties to adjudicate disputes of less than $200,000 about payment for labour, material, equipment, or services. The adjudication process mirrors the process in the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act (PPCLA). This may require changes to your dispute claim and response practices:

  • Having relevant documents quickly available
  • Effective record management
  • Having relevant witness’s statements quickly available
  • Prompt access to legal advice

1.0 Amendments to the Public Works Act (Alberta)

1.1 Implementation of proper invoices

Bill 30 amends the PWA by implementing the same prompt payment invoicing and payment requirements for public works projects as the PPCLA. For all public works projects pursuant to the PWA, contractors and subcontractors must submit a "proper invoice" at least every 31 days. In a notable departure from the PPCLA – in which only the contractor issues a proper invoice – all parties down the construction chain must issue proper invoices to the party above.

The Province must pay undisputed amounts of a proper invoice within 28 days. Contractors must in turn pay subcontractors the undisputed amounts of their proper invoices within 35 days and subcontractors pay their sub-subcontractors the undisputed amount of their proper invoices within 42 days. Where all amounts are undisputed, this matches the timeline in the PPCLA: 28 days for the owner to pay the contractor, then 7 days after for the contractor to pay the subcontractor, and 7 days after for the subcontractor to pay sub-subcontractors. However, where there are disputes, a party remains responsible to pay the undisputed portion of the proper invoice even if they have not received payment from the party above. This increases cash flow risks and in all likelihood will result in non-payment at the top of the chain resulting in consistent non-payment further down the chain. 

Unlike the PPCLA, there are no notices of non-payment or non-payment dispute. Contractors and subcontractors will have to enquire the reasons why their proper invoices have not been paid in full, as they will not be told via a mandatory notice.

1.2 New adjudication provisions

Commensurate with the new payment timelines, the amendments also implement the PPCLA’s adjudication into the PWA. As in the PPCLA, parties may submit disputes to adjudication using the same procedure and timelines as the in PPCLA. However, the following disputes cannot be adjudicated:

  • Any dispute unrelated to payment for labor, equipment, materials, or services on a public work (i.e., lost opportunity, lost profit, business interruption);
  • Any dispute over a monetary claim exceeding the limit in Court of Justice Act (Alberta) Section 9(1)(i) (i.e., $200,000), excluding costs and interest; or
  • Any dispute regarding the:
    • Validity of a contract or subcontract termination;
    • Enforcement of a decision by a court or arbitrator;
    • Changes or delays to a construction schedule;
    • Completion or milestone dates in a contract or subcontract; or
    • Disputes over the interpretation of relief events, designated changes in law, remedial actions, or force majeure events in a contract or subcontract.

In other words, adjudication will generally apply only to relatively small (<$200,000) disputes about labour, equipment, materials, or services. Disputes over a larger sum, or about the contract or subcontract’s schedule, delay events, and/or termination, cannot be adjudicated.

Any person can still use the claim mechanism under section 15 of the existing PWA. In that claims process, the claimant issues a claim to the Province using the standard form. The amendments do not add any deadlines or procedure to this claims process. The Province still has discretion to pay or decline any claim, or to pay the money owed to the contractor into court, on any basis and along any timeline that it wishes.

1.3 Will my public works contract be affected by Bill 30?

The new provisions apply to any contract entered into on or after April 1, 2025. The new provisions do not apply to contracts entered into before then, unless otherwise specified in the future by the Regulations.

1.4. Takeaways for the PWA

Alberta is one of the only territories or provinces in Canada that still uses public works legislation. Most others incorporate public works – with certain exemptions and alterations – into lien legislation. Alberta has gone in the opposite direction: incorporating the prompt payment and adjudication aspects of lien legislation into public works.

The PWA amendments adopt the skeleton of the prompt payment regime but not the musculature: there are no mandatory notices of non-payment nor dispute, and thus no obligation for any party to commence adjudication. A subcontractor not paid in full by the contractor may not receive reasons for the nonpayment and nor will the contractor have an obligation to adjudicate with the Province to obtain the unpaid amount. The adjudication process will only apply to relatively small invoices (<$200,000), which on larger projects will generally disqualify all significant contractor disputes from adjudication with the Province. The adjudication process will also not include disputes about schedules, relief events, and termination – that is, the machinery of the contract’s execution.

These amendments signal improved speed of payment but protect the Province from adjudicating major disputes. Such disputes can still be issued under the existing claims process, but the Province retains discretion about the outcome, process, and timelines.  

If you have any questions about this article, please contact the authors or a member of Gowling WLG's Infrastructure and Construction Group, or subscribe to our Building Brief newsletter to stay informed.