Information for Suppliers

Certificate of Recognition (COR^TM) is a national accreditation standard that verifies the full implementation of an employer’s health and safety management systems. In October 2016, after a pilot project and consultation with the construction contractor community, York Region formally endorsed and adopted COR^TM into its construction tendering process as a demonstration of its commitment to health and safety.

In Ontario, the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA) is the designated body overseeing and issuing COR^TM certification through a structured audit process. For further details about COR^TM including the certification process and fees, please contact the Centre for Health and Safety Innovation at 1-800-263-5024

Contractors with ISO 45001 certification or out-of-province COR^TM may apply to IHSA for COR_TM Equivalency. York Region will accept bids from contractors who have obtained a Letter of COR^TM Equivalency issued by the IHSA or a valid Letter of Reciprocity (indicating that they are in the process of obtaining COR^TM Equivalency) issued by the IHSA.

Any Bids received from Bidders who are not COR^TM certified, who have not obtained COR^TM Equivalency or who have not submitted a valid Letter of Reciprocity shall be rejected from further consideration.

COR^TM certification is a bidding requirement for all publicly tendered York Region construction tenders issued on or after October 1, 2021. At this time, any construction tender with an estimated value exceeding $150,000.00 is publicly issued. The threshold for the issuance of public tenders may be subject to change in the future. Each specific tender’s Instructions to Bidders and Bid Form will indicate whether COR^TM certification is a mandatory bidding requirement.

Any tender for work that constitutes an improvement under the Ontario Construction Act is considered a “construction tender.” Contracts for the supply of goods and services, including maintenance services (such as grass cutting and snow removal) and consulting services, are not generally considered construction tenders and are therefore typically excluded from the COR^TM certification requirement.

At this time, the COR^TM certification requirement only applies to general contractors bidding on construction tenders. Subcontractors who have direct contracts with general contractors working on Regional construction projects are not required to be COR^TM certified.

York Region has developed a new, standardized process for the submission of proper invoices, which will facilitate prompt payment in accordance with the Act. As required by the Act, the Region will make payment upon your submission of proper invoices.

York Region cannot provide legal advice to external parties. Should you have any questions regarding how the new provisions of the Act may affect you, please contact your legal counsel.

Generally, a proper invoice is a written bill or other request for payment for services which contains both the information prescribed in the Act and the information specified in your contract. Please refer to the Act for a complete definition of the term ‘proper invoice.’

To assist you, York Region has developed a proper invoice template which will be attached to your contract as a schedule.  You are strongly encouraged to use this template in order to ensure compliance with the Act and the Region’s proper invoice requirements.

You will submit your proper invoices to York Region by uploading them via a secure website. The address of the website and log-in instructions will be provided to you at the start of the contract.

Your contract will set out particulars regarding when and how often proper invoices can be submitted to York Region.

During the initial implementation of the prompt payment regime, general procedural questions will be addressed at the bidders’ meeting for your contract.

After the contract has been awarded, you are encouraged to discuss procedural questions with the Regional project manager or contract administrator that has been assigned to your contract.