Quebec consultants shut out from Ontario

The Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec (OICQ) is again trying to organize resistance to the Ontario government’s decision to shut out Quebec construction firms from Ontario.
On March 9 Ontario re-designated Quebec under the “Fairness is a Two-Way Street Act.”
Under the legislation, Quebec construction companies, including consulting engineers, will not be awarded government construction jobs, nor contracts for building work for school boards, universities, municipalities, hospitals etc. Nor will they be able to bid on other construction projects n Ontario until they have registered with theJobs Protection Office, posted a $10,000 secuirty, provided detailed financial statements, etc.
It is widely believed that the decision to enact the laws is a tit-for-tat strategy in retaliation for Quebec laws that limit Ontario construction firms working in that province.
The rules were originally enacted in 1999 as Bill 17, but after several months of discussion Ontario dropped their intentions to apply them to Quebec.
OICQ is concerned, because even if a Quebec consulting engineering firm has an office in Ontario, it could be prevented from submitting proposals for projects.
AICQ has asked all the professional bodies in Ontario and Quebec to put pressure on the governments of both provinces to exclude professionals from a law that severely restricts inter-provincial mobility. OICQ is also asking consultants to provide evidence of how the new laws will damage their business so they can compile a dossier to submit to the government. E-mail vletourneau@aicq.qc.ca