Kickoff meeting: agenda and decisions

The kickoff meeting is the first time the owner, the design team and the contractor sit at one table with a signed contract between them. It is where the owner turns the contract into working rules: who instructs whom, who is the constructor under Ontario law, when the baseline schedule is due, how invoices are built, and how changes get priced and approved. Decisions not made at kickoff tend to get made later, under pressure, and usually not in the owner's favour.

Learning outcomes

• Explain where the kickoff meeting sits between contract execution and mobilization, and why its timing matters.
• Build a kickoff agenda that covers contract, safety, schedule, submittals, payment and change control.
• Identify the decisions an owner must lock in at kickoff, and who is accountable for each.
• Recognize the Ontario start-up obligations (OHSA constructor, Notice of Project, designated substances, prompt payment) that the meeting should confirm.

The lesson

What a kickoff meeting is for

On most design-bid-build projects the kickoff, often called the pre-construction meeting or start-up meeting, happens a week or two after the contract is signed and before the contractor mobilizes. The specifications usually require it in Division 01 (project meetings), and the consultant normally chairs it. The owner should treat it as its own meeting anyway, because the owner carries the risk if the rules of the job are left vague.

A good kickoff does three things. It confirms roles: who can give instructions, sign changes and certify payment. It sets protocols: how documents, RFIs, submittals, invoices and notices move. And it records decisions in minutes every party can correct. On a disputed job, those minutes are often the first document a claims reviewer reads.

The kickoff does not rewrite the contract. A decision that changes a contract term, such as the baseline due date, belongs in the Supplementary Conditions before signing or a Change Order after.

Timing: the window between signature and site

The window is short. After execution the contractor must place insurance, deliver any bonds, staff the project and build its schedule; the owner must confirm permits and set up payment. Too early, and the contractor has no team to discuss. Too late, and it is already on site working to its own assumptions.

A rule of thumb is to hold it within 5 to 10 working days of execution and at least two weeks before mobilization. That leaves time to act on the decisions: file the Notice of Project, issue the first submittal schedule and set up the payment workflow before the first invoice arrives.

The agenda

Most kickoff agendas are long lists that run out of time before the hard topics. A better approach is to budget minutes by risk, and to protect the last block for reading back decisions and actions. Figure 2 shows a two-hour agenda that works on a mid-size building project.

1. Introductions and roles. Names and, more importantly, authority. Who can sign a Change Order for the owner? Who is the contractor's appointed representative under the supervision clause (GC 3.5 of CCDC 2-2020)?
2. Contract and communication. The contract documents in force, order of precedence, the document control platform, and the rule that instructions to the contractor flow through the consultant unless the contract says otherwise.
3. Schedule and milestones. Contract Time, key milestones, schedule software and format, the baseline due date and the update cycle. Under GC 3.4 of CCDC 2-2020 the contractor must submit a construction schedule before its first application for payment and update it monthly or as the Contract Documents require.
4. Safety and the constructor. Who is the constructor under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), who files the Notice of Project, and how the owner's own forces or separate contractors will be controlled on site.
5. Permits and authorities. Building permit status, conditions, inspections, and who calls them. If the permit is still pending, set the tracking routine.
6. Submittals and RFIs. The shop drawing and submittal schedule the contractor and consultant prepare together, review turnaround times, and the RFI log format.
7. Payment and holdback. Proper invoice content, invoicing date, the consultant's certification path, and holdback treatment.
8. Changes and notices. Change Order and Change Directive process, pricing format, approval limits, and the notice provisions each party must watch.
9. Quality and commissioning. Testing and inspection, the commissioning agent if any, and early notice of what Ready-for-Takeover will require (GC 12.1).
10. Decisions and actions. Read back every decision, owner and due date before anyone leaves.

Ontario start-up obligations the meeting should confirm

The constructor. Under the OHSA, every project has one constructor, the party that undertakes the project for the owner and carries the widest health and safety duties. An owner who hires several contractors to work at the same time without assigning the role, or who directs its own workers on site, can be found to be the constructor. CCDC 2-2020 rewrote its health and safety clause (GC 9.4) and no longer names the constructor for you, so the role should be assigned in the Supplementary Conditions and confirmed at kickoff. The province's constructor guideline is clear that control in practice matters, not only what the contract says.

Notice of Project and registration. Under O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects), the constructor must notify the Ministry before work begins on a project expected to cost more than $50,000 in labour and materials, and post a copy at the project. Each constructor and employer must also complete a registration form (Form 1000) and keep it at the project. The kickoff should confirm who files and the target date, well before mobilization.

Designated substances. Section 30 of the OHSA requires the owner to determine, before the project begins, whether designated substances such as asbestos, lead or silica are present, and to include the list in the tender documents. An owner who omits a substance it ought reasonably to have known about can be liable for the losses that follow. Even on a greenfield site the list must exist; confirm at kickoff that bidders received it.

Insurance and workers' compensation. Under GC 11.1 the contractor must give the owner proof of insurance before starting the Work. CCDC 2-2020 also asks for evidence of compliance with workers' compensation legislation with each application for payment (GC 5.2.7). In Ontario that means a current WSIB clearance certificate. Bonds, where the contract requires them, are dealt with in a separate specification section, so check delivery dates against it.

Prompt payment and holdback. Ontario's Construction Act sets the payment clock. Unless the contract says otherwise, the contractor invoices monthly. The owner has 28 days from receiving a proper invoice to pay, and must give any notice of non-payment within 14 days of receipt. Since January 1, 2026, an invoice is also deemed proper unless the owner flags a deficiency in writing within seven days, and holdback must be released annually on multi-year contracts, measured from the contract date. The kickoff is where the owner, consultant and contractor agree the invoice template, the submission date and the review steps that fit inside those windows. For a deeper look, see our guide to Ontario prompt payment rules for owners.

Minutes that hold up

Minutes should list attendees and their authority, each decision in one sentence, each action with an owner and a date, and a correction deadline. Carry the decision log into regular site meetings so a day-one decision can be traced on day 300.

Northgate worked example

Northgate Logistics Inc. (fictional) signed a CCDC 2-2020 stipulated price contract with Halvorsen Builders Ltd. (fictional) on Monday, January 11, 2027, for the 12,000 m² tilt-up Northgate Distribution Centre in Vaughan. The Contract Price is $34,950,000 before HST, inside a $38.0M construction budget that holds a $3,050,000 owner contingency. Ridgeline Architects Inc. (fictional) is the consultant. The kickoff is set for Tuesday, January 19, 2027, at Ridgeline's office, with mobilization planned for Monday, March 1.

The owner's representative circulates the agenda three working days ahead, using the time budget in Figure 2. Five decisions dominate the meeting:

1. Constructor. The Supplementary Conditions name Halvorsen as constructor for the whole project, including the owner's racking installer, who will start after Ready-for-Takeover in January 2028. Halvorsen confirms in the minutes that it will coordinate and control the racking crew's access, and files the Notice of Project by Friday, February 19, 2027, more than a week before mobilization.
2. Baseline schedule. The owner's Supplementary Conditions require a resource-loaded Oracle Primavera P6 baseline within 30 days of execution, which is Wednesday, February 10, 2027. Halvorsen tables a summary schedule showing Substantial Performance and Ready-for-Takeover on Friday, January 14, 2028. The owner's rep confirms that the baseline will be accepted only with logic-driven dates, no constraints beyond the contract milestones, and an XER file with every submission. Monthly updates will use a data date of the last Friday of each month.
3. Payment. Halvorsen will submit one proper invoice on the last working day of each month, to both owner and consultant. The first is expected Wednesday, March 31, 2027. The owner's rep sets internal dates: deficiency review within 7 days (by April 7), consultant certification and any notice of non-payment within 14 days (by April 14), and payment by Wednesday, April 28. The minutes note that the first annual holdback release under the 2026 amendments falls after Tuesday, January 11, 2028, the first anniversary of the contract date.
4. Change approval limits. The owner's PM may approve Change Orders up to $50,000 each; anything above, or any change that adds time, goes to Northgate's executive. The owner's rep reports contingency drawdown monthly against the $3,050,000 contingency.
5. Permit. The building permit is expected from the City of Vaughan by Friday, February 26, 2027. Ridgeline owns the permit file; Halvorsen owns inspection bookings once work starts. The permit becomes a standing item at every site meeting until issued.

The decision log closes with 14 actions, each with a name and date. Halvorsen's first is the submittal schedule, prepared with Ridgeline, with review times for the tilt-up panel shop drawings that drive the June 25, 2027 panel erection milestone.

Owner's move

Demand a written agenda three working days before the meeting, and minutes within three working days after, with a correction period. Bring a decision log template and insist every decision has one accountable party.

Check the contractor's evidence before mobilization: proof of insurance under GC 11.1, bonds if required, a current WSIB clearance certificate, the Notice of Project filing, and the constructor confirmation in writing. Check that the designated substances list was in the tender and acknowledged.

Reject any attempt to settle contract changes informally at the table, such as a later baseline date, a different invoice cycle or extra float allowances. If it changes the contract, it goes through a Change Order. Also reject open-ended actions: "Contractor to advise" without a date is not an action.

Common mistakes

1. Treating the kickoff as introductions. The meeting runs out of time before payment and change control. Budget the minutes.
2. Leaving the constructor role implied. The owner later sends its own trades or a separate contractor to site and finds it has taken on constructor duties under the OHSA.
3. Accepting the GC 3.4 minimum. A schedule "before the first application for payment" can arrive on the same day as the first invoice. Owners who want an early, logic-driven baseline must ask for it in the Supplementary Conditions and confirm the date at kickoff.
4. Not testing the payment clock. The owner learns at the first invoice that its approval chain takes 35 days against a 28-day statutory deadline.
5. Minutes nobody corrects. Drafts go out late, no one replies, and months later the parties disagree on what was decided.

Quick quiz

1. On a typical design-bid-build project, when should the kickoff meeting take place?

   1. Before tender, to brief bidders
   2. Shortly after contract execution and before mobilization
   3. After the first progress payment
   4. At Substantial Performance

2. Under CCDC 2-2020 GC 3.4, the contractor's construction schedule must be submitted:

   1. With the bid
   2. Within 10 days of the kickoff meeting
   3. Before the first application for payment
   4. Only if the owner requests it

3. Under O. Reg. 213/91, who must file the Notice of Project for a $34.95M warehouse?

   1. The owner
   2. The consultant
   3. The constructor
   4. The municipality

4. Under Ontario's Construction Act, once the owner receives a proper invoice it must pay within:

   1. 14 days
   2. 21 days
   3. 28 days
   4. 45 days

5. The contractor proposes at kickoff to submit the baseline 30 days later than the Supplementary Conditions require. What should the owner do?

   1. Agree and record it in the minutes
   2. Refuse at the table, and handle any change through a Change Order if the owner chooses to accept it
   3. Ignore it, since minutes are not binding
   4. Ask the consultant to decide alone

Key terms

Kickoff meeting

The first meeting of owner, consultant and contractor after contract execution, held to confirm roles, protocols and early decisions. Also called the pre-construction or start-up meeting.

Constructor

Under the OHSA, the person who undertakes a project for an owner, or an owner who undertakes it alone or with more than one employer. Every project has one.

Notice of Project

The notice a constructor files with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development before work starts on a qualifying project, and posts at the project.

Designated substances list

The owner's list of designated substances present at the site, required by OHSA s. 30 before the project begins and included in tender documents.

Proper invoice

A contractor invoice that meets the Construction Act's content requirements and starts the 28-day payment clock.

Decision log

A running register of project decisions, each with a date, an accountable party and a reference to the minutes where it was made.

References

1. Canadian Construction Documents Committee, CCDC 2-2020 Stipulated Price Contract, GC 3.4, 3.5, 3.8, 5.2, 9.4, 11.1 and 12.1. Summarized from the Ontario Association of Architects, Practice Tip PT.23.11: CCDC 2-2020 Overview of Changes.
2. BLG, CCDC 2 updates to the stipulated price contract (December 2020).
3. Government of Ontario, Constructor guideline (Occupational Health and Safety Act).
4. Government of Ontario, File a work notice (Notice of Project and Form 1000 under O. Reg. 213/91).
5. Infrastructure Health and Safety Association, My responsibilities: property or facility manager (OHSA s. 30, designated substances).
6. Miller Thomson, The Construction Act, prompt payment and the concept of proper invoice.
7. Osler, Ontario Construction Act amendments now in effect (March 2026).
8. BRC Insights, How to set and lock a construction schedule baseline.

Verified on November 4, 2026.