CCDC issues new documents

The Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC) consists of four member organizations including the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Canada (ACEC), Canadian Construction Association, Construction Specifications Canada, and Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
Over several decades, CCDC has developed a suite of standard construction documents, the objective being to have a degree of consistency and uniformity in bidding processes and contracting arrangements as well as to reduce negotiation time and to minimize claims and disputes.
Every few years, CCDC will review and update its documents or develop new documents as the construction industry evolves.
Among the most recent documents the committee has introduced are two new ones: CCDC 29 — A Guide to Pre-Qualification (CCDC 29); and CCDC 2MA — Master Agreement and Work Authorization (CCDC 2MA).

CCDC 29 — A Guide to
Pre-Qualification
CCDC 29 provides guidance to owners and procurement authorities on the best procurement practices for the prequalification process for finding the companies that will work on their construction projects. It is a guide to use when prequalifying primarily contractors, but the concepts and principles also apply to the pre-qualification of consultants, construction managers, subcontractors, and design-builders, among others.
CCDC 29 sets out the different types of pre-qualification processes that exist, including an open competitive pre-qualification process, an invitational pre-qualification process, and a pre-qualification process to establish a source list of possible companies who are suitable to do the work.
The document takes a step further by also providing a checklist of items to consider in pre-qualification process documents. CCDC 29 also provides sample documents, such as a sample advertisement, invitation letter, and evaluation form.
When looking to the CCDC 29 for guidance, owners and procurement authorities should also ensure that they have considered any directives, purchasing by-laws, policies, and/or trade agreements to which they are bound.

CCDC 2MA – Master Agreement and Work Authorization
CCDC 2MA will be of great interest to owners and procurement authorities who are involved in ongoing capital repair and maintenance programs. It is a form of Master Agreement designed to be used in a contracting arrangement where there are a series of different projects of varying scale to be performed over a period of time by a single contractor.
The purpose of the CCDC 2MA is to limit having to negotiate the general conditions of the base contract each time there is a need for renovations or capital repairs. The contract can be signed by a single contractor or by each contractor on a source list. Then, if and when, a contractor is to be engaged, the owner or procurement authority will either assign the work to a particular contractor by signing a Work Authorization form, or will issue a request for quotation or bid documents to a group of contractors on a source list. Once the quotations or bids are evaluated and  a contractor selected, the Work Authorization form is issued and signed by the successful contractor. The Work Authorization form was drafted to accompany CCDC 2MA and to be read together with that document.
The CCDC 2MA document itself does not establish a contract for the performance of specific work even though it contains terms and conditions that are similar to the CCDC 2. Paragraph 1.1 of Article A-1 — THE WORK, specifically states: “Work to be performed from time to time shall be set out in the Work Authorization in the form attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.” The Work Authorization form, once executed, will trigger the obligation for a contractor to perform a specific project.
As with any CCDC document, CCDC 2MA can be amended by way of supplementary conditions to take into account any specific requirements of the owner or the project. In such cases, however, it is recommended that a construction law practitioner familiar with the CCDC suite of documents be engaged to assist with addressing specific needs. cce

Rosa Mauro is a lawyer in Miller Thomson LLP’s procurement, construction and infrastructure group. She is based in Toronto.