Spring 2026 - May 14 - Flipbook - Page 6
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
BUY ONTARIO ACT
The Good, the Bad and the Potentially Problematic!
By GIOVANNI CAUTILLO, OGCA President
W
Canadian made.
Thirdly, all companies - from the
owner to the sub-subcontractors, involved
in Ontario’s $220 billion infrastructure
plan, must anticipate directives that may
affect sourcing, reporting, and compliance
obligations.
This is great news… right? Well, yes and no.
Compliance is going to be enforced through
directives and potential funding penalties,
and will apply broadly to government
ministries, agencies, municipalities,
hospitals, school boards, post-secondary
institutions, and third-party supply
chain managers. The Act empowers the
Management Board of Cabinet to issue
binding directives that set procurement
policies, procedures, and standards for
public sector entities.
But the obligations are clearly indicated,
right?
No, since specific directives and
regulations have not yet been published,
this leaves operational details yet to be
determined.
Therefore, those businesses involved
must monitor forthcoming directives,
since these will de昀椀ne Ontario business
eligibility, preference mechanisms, and
application thresholds.
ITH THE PASSING OF THE Buy Ontario
Act, on December 11, 2025,
all public sector purchasing
entities must prioritise Ontario-made and Canadian-made
goods and services.
Leaving it up to public sector
entities and suppliers to
prepare for compliance
requirements before clear
directives are issued creates a
great deal of uncertainty.
6 the generals • SPRING 2026
I still don’t see the issue. Buy Ontario
and Buy Canadian will simply stimulate
Canadian manufacturing and products, and
we will all live happy ever after…right?
Firstly, the fact that the Minister of
Public and Business Service Delivery and
Procurement has opted to deal with noncompliance by potentially withholding
government funds, mandating reviews, and
issuing corrective action directives, tells me
that they are approaching this good idea
with incorrect implementation.
It seems quite obvious that the government is opting to beat the infrastructure
industry into submission with a “stick”
instead of incentivising the industry with a
“carrot.”
Secondly, Canadian and Ontario-based
manufacturing, especially for those items
that have not been produced in Canada for
decades, or ever, will not miraculously be
created in Canada overnight. Setting up
manufacturing systems, the correct way,
takes time, effort, and capital. Just telling the infrastructure industry that they
must source Canadian does not help if the
product(s) were never made in Canada. And,
a majority of the construction items used
in existing infrastructure projects are not
Way to make a good idea unmanageable!
This announcement is a great photo
opportunity, but terrible for any type
of coordinated initiative that will lead
to meaningful change in the Canadian
procurement landscape. Leaving it up
to public sector entities and suppliers
to prepare for compliance requirements
before clear directives are issued creates a
great deal of uncertainty. Without defined
expectations, organizations cannot
reasonably anticipate what standards they
will ultimately be required to meet.
The entire infrastructure industry
understands that the Buy Ontario Act was
created to directly respond to the roller
coaster of tariffs being levied by the President of the United States. But just demanding that the infrastructure sector comply
and not providing any clarity or time to
implement sounds, and looks, exactly like
what the U.S. President is doing.
Surely Ontario and Canada can do
better than a band-aid!
This Buy Ontario mandate will prove
“problematic” to any contractor’s bidding
infrastructure projects. Let me explain…
Firstly, the Buy Ontario Act is being used
OGCA.CA
