Anyone wishing to start a construction company must take the right steps to be able to operate on construction job sites in Québec in full compliance with the regulations in force.

Some of the required steps are:

• Registering your company, as needed, with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec  (REQ), and when doing so, choosing the right legal status based on the kind of work your company does.
• Registering with Revenu Québec for the GST/TVH and QST.
• Registering with the CNESST .
• Obtaining a contractor licence and passing any required exams. This license will be issued by one of the following organizations, as the case may be:
  
  
  • The Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ), except when the license must be issued by the CMEQ or the CMMTQ:
    
    
    • The Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ) for electrical companies.
    • The Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec (CMMTQ) for plumbing-heating companies.
• Registering the company with the CCQ, regardless of whether construction work is to be carried out with or without employees, using the form Registration of a company.
  
  

Companies can have different status, namely employer or independent contractor. The criteria for determining the status of a company are specified in Act R-20.

The Portail entreprise du gouvernement du Québec (Québec government business portal) provides additional information for contractors on the business start-up process.

Registering a construction company with the CCQ requires the following information:

• Québec business number associated with the legal status of the company, where applicable.
• Number of the license issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ), the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ) or the Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec (CMMTQ) and its category number.
• Contact information (name, address, telephone, fax and other) for the company and the directors or partners.
• Contact information of the accountant who does the books and produces the company’s monthly reports, where applicable.
  
  

All that an employer needs to do is to fill out the Registration of a Company form and send it to one of the regional offices  of the CCQ. There is a $350 fee.

Once registration is complete, the new employer can sign up for the CCQ’s online services. The employer can also consult the Employer’s Practical Guide at any time.

By registering with the CCQ, an employer automatically becomes a member of the Association des entrepreneurs en construction du Québec (AECQ). The annual fee payable to the AECQ is $237 and must be paid in one installment at the time of the monthly report for October of the previous year. In the case of a new employer, the fee is payable in full with the first monthly report, regardless of whether or not the employer was active.

The hourly contribution to the AECQ is $0.03 per hour of work, payable with the filing of the monthly reports.

The minimum contribution remains at $5 a month. This is a required contribution payable even when there is no business activity to report for a given month.