Construction labour in Quebec works nothing like the rest of Canada. If you hire workers to do construction in Quebec without understanding Act R-20, you are breaking the law. The Act respecting labour relations, vocational training and workforce management in the construction industry (commonly Act R-20) governs every employer-employee relationship on a Quebec construction site, and it is administered by the Commission de la construction du Quebec (CCQ). Wages and conditions are set by sector collective agreements, every worker must hold a CCQ competency card, workers must be affiliated with a recognised union, and the penalties for using uncertified labour run up to $85,000 per infraction. This is in addition to, not instead of, holding an RBQ contractor licence.
What Act R-20 covers
Act R-20 divides Quebec construction into four sectors, each governed by its own collective agreement renegotiated on a four-year cycle (the 2025 to 2029 agreements were concluded through 2025):
- Residential: single-family homes and low-rise multi-unit residential.
- Institutional and commercial: schools, hospitals, offices, retail.
- Industrial: factories, refineries, processing plants.
- Civil engineering and roads: bridges, highways, utilities infrastructure.
Wages, overtime, vacation pay, statutory holidays and travel allowances for workers on a covered site are set by the relevant sector's collective agreement, not by an individual employer's contract. CCQ wage rates are trade-specific and are generally higher than the provincial employment-standards floors that apply elsewhere. You cannot negotiate a lower site wage with a worker; the agreement governs.
The competency card: the gate to the site
Every worker on a CCQ-covered site must hold a CCQ competency certificate. There is no exception for casual labour, a friend or an unlicensed sub. There are three certificate types:
- Apprentice Competency Certificate (ACC): for workers serving their apprenticeship, which runs in 2,000-hour blocks (one to five blocks depending on the trade).
- Journeyman Competency Certificate (JCC): issued after completing the apprenticeship and passing the qualification exam; valid for 12-month periods and renewable.
- Occupation certificate: for labourers and specialised labourers doing non-trade site work.
To obtain any card, the worker must be at least 16, have a Social Insurance Number, pass the CCQ's general health-and-safety course for construction sites, and pay a $100 CCQ registration fee.
Union affiliation is mandatory
Under Act R-20, construction workers must be affiliated with one of the five recognised union associations (for example FTQ-Construction, CSN-Construction, CSD Construction, the SQC, or the CPQMC). The worker chooses their union when they register with the CCQ. This is not optional: the right to work on a covered site depends on both a valid competency card and union affiliation.
What you must do as the employer
An employer working in a CCQ-covered sector must:
- Hold an RBQ (Regie du batiment du Quebec) contractor licence and register as an employer with the CCQ.
- Apply the sector collective agreement's wages and working conditions to every worker on site.
- Submit monthly reports to the CCQ detailing hours worked by trade, by sector and by worker.
- Make source deductions for CCQ levies, union dues, employer dues, and social-benefit contributions (pension, insurance, the training fund).
These obligations sit alongside the rest of the Quebec system. For workers' compensation, Quebec does not have a "WCB"; you register with the CNESST (see WCB Registration for Employers), and for payroll you remit to Revenu Quebec for QPP and QPIP rather than the CPP and EI mechanics used elsewhere (see Payroll: CPP, EI and Source Deductions).
Why you cannot just hire "anyone"
Suppose a Montreal general contractor wants a family friend to frame a new commercial building, and the friend has no JCC. Hiring them is an offence under Act R-20 that can bring fines of up to $85,000 per infraction for the employer. CCQ inspectors conduct site visits, including during labour disputes, and the penalties are enforced. The exemptions to Act R-20 are narrow:
- Work by a homeowner on their own single-family principal residence, not for profit and not on structural or mechanical systems.
- Minor maintenance by the owner-occupant, such as painting, floating floors or decorative trim.
- Electrical work and mechanical systems are never exempt, even in a private home.
If you are an out-of-province contractor eyeing a Quebec job, do not assume your home-province crew can simply cross the border and work. They will need CCQ cards and the company will need RBQ and CCQ registration. Plan for it before you bid.
Common mistakes
- Treating Quebec like any other province. Wages and conditions come from the sector collective agreement, not your contract.
- Putting an uncertified worker on a covered site. Each infraction can cost up to $85,000; CCQ inspectors do attend sites.
- Forgetting the monthly CCQ reporting. Hours by trade and sector must be reported every month, with the associated deductions.
- Confusing the CCQ, the RBQ and the CNESST. The CCQ runs labour and competency, the RBQ licenses contractors, the CNESST handles workers' comp and standards; you deal with all three.
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