Many contractors who recently did work for Nova Scotia Power have not been paid for months, and some have unpaid bills in the hundreds of thousands, CBC has learned.
“We're being told it was a data breach,” said Tim Houtsma, CEO of Marid Industries.
Marid owes between $60,000 and $70,000.
“If we had a lot of work to do with them, it would be a different conversation,” Houtsma said. “But we just haven’t done much for them lately.
“It’s important that they are responsible and pay their contractors on time because we all pay our energy bills on time.”
Other contractors, who did not want to speak publicly, told CBC Nova Scotia Power hasn't paid them since the spring. Some said they were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Utility announced publicly on April 28 that the company was dealing with a cybersecurity incident discovered on April 25. The attack affected about 280,000 customers – about half of the utility company's total customers.
In an email, the company confirmed that the breach also affected payments to companies performing work for them.
“We very much regret the delays in payments to our contractors and suppliers,” said Jacqueline Foster, senior communications advisor for Nova Scotia Power.
“Progress is being made, bills are being paid, but we know it is slow and creates real challenges for our partners.
“We value our relationships with all of our contractors and suppliers and are working to ensure they are paid as quickly as possible while we work to return to normal operations.”
The company said IT and finance teams are “working around the clock” to restore systems following the fallout from the cyber incident. Nova Scotia Power said it expects all bills to be paid by the end of the year and it will be able to resume normal payment terms.
Foster said if a contractor has questions about the status of their bills, they can contact their regular contact at Nova Scotia Power or by email at [email protected].
Houtsma said the money owed to Marid is not a major concern to him. However, he sympathizes with smaller companies that are more indebted.
“They'll get their money, but will they get their money before they have to pay for everything else and everything? This is a potential business situation,” Houtsma said.
Legislation on urgent payments
He points to a slow-moving bill that has not yet taken effect in Nova Scotia but could potentially help in similar situations.
Under the McNeil government in 2019, an amendment to the Builders' Lien Act included the addition of emergency payment. It eventually reached the public engagement phase in 2023.
“The quickest way to explain timely payment is to define the rights and responsibilities of each party to a construction contract, from the owner to the supplier,” said Duncan Williams, president of the Construction Association of Nova Scotia.
“When you issue an invoice, the expectation is that it will start the clock and then you will respond to that invoice.”
Williams said the construction industry can be blamed for delays in passing regulations. He hopes it will be finalized by the Legislature next spring.
He admits it's long overdue.
“We've seen payment terms of 60, 90, 120 days. So if you're a trade contractor or a general contractor, for example, and you have bills that need to be paid on Friday, you have staff that need to be paid… It's quite difficult to do that if you haven't received payments,” he said.
“We typically see an average of 35 companies a year that go out of business, mostly due to nonpayment.”
The goal is to bring Nova Scotia's standards in line with those of other provinces, including Saskatchewan.
Williams was unaware of Nova Scotia Power's payment problems until he was contacted by CBC.
“Whether it’s a government, a private corporation or a public entity, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
“When you buy construction, you approach it with integrity and therefore your contractors will provide you with the best possible service. But you have to pay your bills.”
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