Built by contractors, for contractors
The General Contractors Association of Ottawa was founded in 1971 and was granted Letters of Patent by the Government of Ontario in 1982. Our principal objectives include:
To foster and advance General Contractors’ business interests.
To promote fair and equitable tendering and contract administration procedures.
To liaise with owners, architects and consulting engineers.
To promote at all levels of government desirable legislation and regulations affecting the membership.
To provide useful information flow to the management of member firms.
Here's how we support our members throughout the year
The GCAO is an association made up of managing members of Ottawa's general contractors. Our goal is to advocate for fair practice and ethical business practices in our industry.
Joint Meetings
We host joint meetings on tendering practices and contract provisions with the City of Ottawa, National Capital Commission (NCC), Defence Construction Canada (DCC), universities, and hospital boards.
Representation
We provide you with representation on the BILDCO-Ottawa joint committee with the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects and the Ottawa chapter of the Consulting Engineers of Ontario, Building Owners and Managers Association, and International Facilities Management Association.
We also make representations on a project basis over infractions of approved tendering practices such as:
• Non-refundable deposits for tendering documents.
• Specified use of obsolete CCDC contract forms.
• Inadequate mark-ups for additional work.
• Excessive Specification of Supplementary General Conditions.
News & Events
We host an Annual Reception at which members can mingle informally with owners, politicians, public officials, architects, and consulting engineers. We also conduct two General Membership Meetings and two social events each year.
We issue four quarterly newsletters to the membership, supplemented by special bulletins as appropriate.
The GCAO sponsors an Integrity and Ethics Award to honour those who have demonstrated high standards in the industry.
The people that play an active role in our success
The GCAO Board of Directors is representative of a cross-section of General Contractors in terms of size and specialties, each Director is responsible for a “portfolio”.
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Those who have supported our mission