RBQ glossary: letter A

Acceptance of the work (réception des travaux)

The act by which the client declares that it accepts the work, with or without reservation, once the work is completed, meaning it has been produced and is ready for its intended use (Civil Code, art. 2110). The client may then withhold enough to cover the apparent defects or poor workmanship it noted (art. 2111), and the contractor remains liable for poor workmanship discovered within one year after acceptance (art. 2120).

See also: Holdback (retenue contractuelle), Warranty against poor workmanship (garantie contre les malfaçons), Liability for loss of the work (perte de l’ouvrage), Guarantee plan (plan de garantie)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, C.C.Q., art. 2110

Accounts payable (comptes fournisseurs)

Amounts the business owes its suppliers and subcontractors for goods and services received on credit. They appear under current liabilities on the balance sheet. The payables period shows the average time taken to pay them, and repeated late payments can hurt the business’s credit.

See also: Accounts receivable (comptes clients), Working capital (fonds de roulement), Notice of contract (dénonciation de contrat)

Administration examSource: RBQ, Administration competency profile, element 3 (French)

Accounts receivable (comptes clients)

Amounts clients owe the business for work invoiced but not yet paid. They appear under current assets on the balance sheet. The collection period, the average number of days it takes to get paid, measures how well credit is managed and directly affects cash.

See also: Accounts payable (comptes fournisseurs), Working capital (fonds de roulement), Balance sheet (bilan)

Administration examSource: RBQ, Administration competency profile, element 3 (French)

Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (LATMP)

Québec statute (A-3.001) that governs compensation for employment injuries: care, rehabilitation, income replacement indemnity, compensation for bodily injury and, where applicable, death benefits (s. 1). Its rights apply regardless of anyone’s fault (s. 25), and an injured worker cannot sue his or her employer in civil liability for the injury (s. 438). It is provided at the safety management exam.

See also: Act respecting occupational health and safety (LSST), Employment injury (lésion professionnelle), Income replacement indemnity (indemnité de remplacement du revenu), CNESST (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail)

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, A-3.001, art. 1

Act respecting labour standards (Loi sur les normes du travail)

The Act (N-1.1) that sets minimum working conditions in Québec, enforced by the CNESST. For construction employees governed by the R-20 Act, only some standards apply, including certain family, parental and health leave and absences and the protection against psychological harassment (s. 3). Their other working conditions come mainly from the R-20 Act and their sector’s collective agreement.

See also: Psychological harassment (harcèlement psychologique), Sector collective agreement (convention collective sectorielle), Charter of human rights and freedoms (Charte des droits et libertés de la personne)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, N-1.1, art. 3

Act respecting occupational health and safety (LSST)

Québec statute (S-2.1) whose purpose is to eliminate, at the source, dangers to the health, safety and physical and mental well-being of workers (s. 2). It sets the rights and duties of workers, employers and the principal contractor, including the right to refuse and the prevention mechanisms specific to construction sites. It is one of the documents provided at the safety management exam.

See also: Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (LATMP), CNESST (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail), Right to refuse (droit de refus), Prevention mechanisms specific to construction sites (mécanismes de prévention)

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, S-2.1, art. 2

Act to modernize the occupational health and safety system (LMRSST)

A 2021 statute (S.Q. 2021, c. 27) that amended, among others, the LSST and the LATMP. Its provisions have come into force in stages since October 2021. Since January 1, 2023, the construction sites concerned must set up the prevention and participation mechanisms: prevention program, health and safety representative, job-site committee and coordinator.

See also: Act respecting occupational health and safety (LSST), Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (LATMP), Prevention mechanisms specific to construction sites (mécanismes de prévention), Job-site committee (comité de chantier)

Safety management examSource: CNESST, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety system in brief

Addendum (addenda)

A document that clarifies or changes the tender documents and is sent to every bidder before the tender closing date. Bidders must take it into account in their price. For a public body’s construction contract, an addendum likely to affect prices must be sent at least 7 days before the closing date; otherwise the closing date is pushed back (C-65.1, r. 5, s. 9).

See also: Call for tenders (appel d’offres), Tender (soumission), Plans and specifications (plans et devis)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, C-65.1, r. 5, art. 9

Administrative Labour Tribunal (Tribunal administratif du travail)

The tribunal established by the Act T-15.1. Its occupational health and safety division hears, among other things, contestations under the LATMP and the LSST (ss. 4 and 6). A CNESST decision made after review can be contested there within 60 days (LATMP, s. 359). Since 2016, it has replaced the Commission des lésions professionnelles and the Commission des relations du travail.

See also: Review of a CNESST decision (révision administrative), CNESST (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail), Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (LATMP)

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, T-15.1, art. 6

Amortization (amortissement)

Spreading the cost of a capital asset, such as a truck or a machine, over the years it is used, as an annual expense. It reflects the asset’s wear and obsolescence. Amortization lowers profit on the income statement without any cash going out, which explains part of the gap between profit and cash. For tangible assets it is often called depreciation.

See also: Income statement (état des résultats), Balance sheet (bilan), Forecast budget (budget prévisionnel)

Administration examSource: RBQ, Administration competency profile, element 1 (French)

Annexe I (general subclasses)

The list of general subclasses in the qualification regulation (B-1.1, r. 9). Each annexe I subclass you request adds one exam on the carrying out of construction work. An owner-builder cannot hold 1.1.1 or 1.1.2.

General contractor licenceSource: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, r. 9

Annexe II (specialized subclasses with an exam)

The list of specialized subclasses that require an exam on the carrying out of construction work, one per subclass requested. For contractors, some go through the CMMTQ (15.1 to 15.5) or the CMEQ (16).

Specialized contractor licenceSource: RBQ, list of subclasses (PDF, French)

Annexe III (specialized subclasses with no exam)

A list of 13 specialized subclasses with no exam on the carrying out of construction work (s. 11.9 of the regulation). The management exams still apply, depending on the licence type. These are the most commonly held subclasses in Québec, according to the RBQ’s open data.

Specialized contractor licenceSource: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, r. 9

Application for review (demande de révision)

A recourse that lets an interested person ask the RBQ to review a ruling on the issue, amendment, suspension or cancellation of a licence (s. 160 of the Building Act). The application must be filed within 30 days of the ruling’s date (s. 161) and costs $407.15 in fees in 2026 (r. 9, s. 53). The ruling can also be contested before the Administrative Labour Tribunal within 30 days of receiving it (ss. 164.1 and 164.2).

See also: Suspension and cancellation of a licence (suspension et annulation de licence), Administrative Labour Tribunal (Tribunal administratif du travail), Contractor’s licence (licence RBQ), Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ)

How to get an RBQ licenceRBQ fees 2026Source: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, art. 160

Apprentice (apprenti)

The holder of an apprentice competency certificate who is learning a trade. The CCQ records their hours and training credits in an apprenticeship booklet, and they must register for the qualification exam no later than one month after completing the apprenticeship. On a construction site, an employer using apprentices must use at least as many journeymen of the same trade, subject to the listed exceptions (s. 20 of R-20, r. 8).

See also: Competency certificate (certificat de compétence), Trade and occupation (métier et occupation), Hiring and mobility of employees (embauche et mobilité)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, R-20, r. 8, art. 20

Architects Act (Loi sur les architectes)

The Act that reserves to architects certain activities for the construction, enlargement or alteration of a building, including preparing, modifying, signing and sealing plans and specifications and supervising the work (s. 16). Section 16.1, however, excludes some buildings, such as a detached single-family home or small buildings of no more than two storeys, depending on occupancy and floor area. It is recommended reading for the project and site management exam.

See also: Plans and specifications (plans et devis), Classification by major occupancy (classement selon l’usage principal), Examination of knowledge in project and site management (examen de gestion de projets et de chantiers)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, A-21, art. 16

ASP Construction (joint sector-based construction association)

The joint sector-based occupational health and safety association for the construction industry. It is established by an agreement between the construction workers’ representative associations and the Association des entrepreneurs en construction du Québec, and its board has the same number of members from each side (LSST, s. 99). It offers prevention training, information and advice, and it receives a copy of the prevention program of the sites concerned (s. 198).

See also: Site prevention program, Act respecting occupational health and safety (LSST), Association of Building Contractors of Québec (AECQ), Representative association (association représentative)

Safety management examSource: LégisQuébec, S-2.1, art. 99

Association of Building Contractors of Québec (AECQ)

The employers’ association under the R-20 Act. Every employer in the industry must join it, and its dues go through the CCQ with the monthly report (s. 40). It bargains for employers on the clauses common to the four collective agreements, while the APCHQ, the ACQ and the ACRGTQ bargain the rest for their sectors.

See also: Sector collective agreement (convention collective sectorielle), Monthly report to the CCQ (rapport mensuel), Representative association (association représentative)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, R-20, art. 40

Definitions written by RBQexam from the statutes and the RBQ’s pages, without reproducing their text. If in doubt, the official source prevails.