News & Insight

Discussing disputes in Canada

12 February 2025

Dr John Fletcher had an engaging and productive week filled with speaking engagements and a series of stakeholder engagement meeting. He began the week speaking on a panel titled 'Conflict Avoidance Strategies in Construction' discussion at the Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA) conference. He joined a panel of industry leaders to explore proactive strategies for identifying, managing, and mitigating conflicts before they escalate into formal disputes. He took the opportunity to reinforce the importance - and demonstrate the effectiveness - of the RICS Conflict Avoidance Process which has proved successful on major infrastructure projects. The key message was that by prioritising early intervention, clear communication, and collaboration, we can drive better project outcomes.

Later that day, we held a workshop in Toronto on the potential of rolling out conflict avoidance here in Ontario with key government stakeholders and the heads of contractors, consultancies and legal professionals in attendance. The discussions were very positive and we hope to see a Conflict Avoidance Pilot in Ontario very soon.

The next leg of the trip was focused on RICS’ role in the partnership known as ARCANA, currently the only Adjudication Nominating Authority in Alberta. John met with officials from the Construction Sector Advisory Council (comprised of several of the large trade organisations), Service Alberta, Alberta Infrastructure and held a networking event for adjudicators based in Edmonton before traveling to Calgary to meet with ADR Institute of Alberta (ADRIA) officials and host a meet and greet with the RICS Calgary chapter. During the course of the week, the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association (GTSWA) reached out and asked if John could extend his stay to speak at the GTSWCA Municipal Infrastructure Summit addressing representatives of the City of Toronto, Region of Peel, York Region (The Regional Municipality of York), Durham Region (The Regional Municipality of Durham), and Halton Region providing an in-depth overview of the RICS Conflict Avoidance Process. DRS looks forward to continuing these important conversations on conflict avoidance and further raising the profile of adjudication across Canada.

For more information on the RICS Dispute Resolution Service, please contact ynashawati@rics.org.

To build on these discussions, during RICS President Justin Sullivan's visit to Toronto next week, we're collaborating with Infrastructure Lab on a breakfast panel. This panel will discuss the root causes of disputes and their impact on projects and the infrastructure sector in Canada. Register your interest here.