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ARTICLE · 07 APRIL 2014

"I’ve Been Working On The Subway…" When Can You Lien A Public Transportation Infrastructure Project

McCarthy Tétrault
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As Ontario continues to invest in transportation infrastructure, a question arises: Can public projects be subject to liens by the trades who work on them?

CanadaReal Estate and Construction
Julie Parla
Julie Parla
Daniel Dawalibi
Daniel Dawalibi
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As Ontario governments continue to invest in transportation infrastructure, the question arises: Can these public projects be subject to liens by the trades who work on them? The short answer is "yes, potentially". That was the finding of Master Short in the decision of Advanced Construction Techniques Ltd. v. OHL Construction, Canada, 2013 ONSC 7505.

In this case, a lien was registered against York University by Advanced Construction Techniques ("ACT"), a subcontractor who was working on the extension of Toronto's University/Spadina subway line through York University lands. The general contractor, OHL Construction ("OHL") bonded off the lien, and then moved to have the lien claim dismissed and its bond returned.1

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