CSC Toronto Chapter's October 20, 2026 Dinner Meeting

Dinner Presentation on "Buy Ontario, Buy Confusion? Navigating The Buy Ontario Act From The Factory Floor To The Courtroom" Title: "Buy Ontario, Buy Confusion? Navigating The Buy Ontario Act From The Factory Floor To The Courtroom" Synopsis: Bill 72 and the Buy Ontario Act, 2025 promise to reshape procurement across the province's construction industry — but what do the new rules mean for the professionals who design, supply, and build Ontario's projects? In this session, construction law partners Neal Altman and Brendan Bowles cut through the legislative language to examine the Act's real-world impact from three critical vantage points: the manufacturer, the design consultant, and the project owner. For manufacturers and material representatives, the presentation tackles pressing questions about what qualifies as "locally manufactured," how partially Canadian-made products are treated, whether raw-material sourcing triggers disclosure obligations, and what the Act means for marketing and technical representation — particularly for firms with international supply chains. For consultants, architects, and engineers, the session explores whether specifiers are now legally or ethically obligated to favour domestic products, how the Act interacts with pre-existing contracts, and what happens when a compliant local product is neither the cheapest nor the most technically suitable option. For project owners, the presenters address whether compliance is a strict legal obligation regardless of cost or schedule consequences, and what remedies arise when a compliant bidder loses out to a non-compliant competitor. Practical, plainspoken, and grounded in the realities of Canadian construction procurement, this presentation equips every link in the project delivery chain with the knowledge to respond confidently to one of Ontario's most significant recent legislative developments.