These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) form a binding agreement between you and 2570211 Ontario Inc. o/a Permit.ca (“Permit.ca”, “we”, “us”). They govern your access to and use of permit.ca, our applications, and all related services (together, the “Platform”).
By creating an account, posting a Project, submitting a Quote, or otherwise using the Platform, you accept these Terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the Platform.
If you use the Platform on behalf of a business or other organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and “you” means both you and that organization.
Please read Section 4 (What Permit.ca Is and Is Not), Section 6 (Verification — and Its Limits), Section 16 (Limitation of Liability) and Section 21 (Disputes) carefully. They limit our obligations to you and affect your legal rights.
“Approval” — a Client’s acceptance of a Milestone’s Deliverables through the Platform, or deemed acceptance under Section 9.5.
“Client” — a User who posts a Project or engages a Vendor through the Platform.
“Consumer” means an individual acting for personal, family or household purposes and not in the course of carrying on business. Where a Consumer is also a “consumer” as defined in Ontario consumer protection legislation, the additional protections in Section 20 apply.
“Deliverables” — drawings, reports, specifications, calculations, applications, certifications and other work product a Vendor produces under a Project Agreement.
“Dispute Support” — the administrative process described in Section 10.
“Engagement” — a single Client–Vendor contractual relationship for a Project, formed when a Quote is accepted.
“Held Funds” — Client funds held by the Payment Provider under Section 8.
“Milestone” — a defined stage of an Engagement with its own scope, price and Deliverables.
“Payment Provider” — a third-party payment service provider registered with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act (Canada), currently Zum Rails Inc., and any successor we designate.
“Professional Services” — services performed by a Vendor for a Client, including engineering, architectural, design, surveying, planning, code consulting, environmental and permit coordination services.
“Project” — a building, renovation, permitting or development undertaking a Client posts on the Platform.
“Project Agreement” — the Client–Vendor Project Agreement formed under Section 7, to which Permit.ca is not a party.
“Quote” — a Vendor’s written proposal for a Project, including scope, exclusions, price and schedule.
“User” — any person who accesses the Platform, including Clients and Vendors.
“User Content” — anything you submit, post or transmit through the Platform.
“Vendor” — a professional or firm approved to offer Professional Services through the Platform under a Vendor Services Agreement.
3.1 You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract.
3.2 The Platform currently serves projects located in Ontario. We may extend or restrict coverage at any time. Nothing on the Platform is an offer of services in any jurisdiction where we are not permitted to make it.
3.3 You must provide accurate, current and complete registration information and keep it current.
3.4 You are responsible for all activity under your account and for keeping your credentials confidential. Notify us immediately at info@permit.ca of any unauthorized use.
3.5 Identity verification. Before funding or receiving any payment, you must complete identity verification (KYC) directly with the Payment Provider, under its own onboarding process. The Payment Provider collects and holds that documentation as the regulated party; Permit.ca receives confirmation of your verification status only. We may suspend access to funding or payout features until verification is complete.
3.6 One account per person or entity. You may not create an account for anyone else, transfer your account, or create an account after we have suspended or terminated you.
This Section is fundamental to the bargain between us. Read it.
Permit.ca operates a venue where Clients describe Projects and independent, separately licensed professionals compete to be engaged. We provide software: project posting, quote comparison, messaging, document management, milestone tracking, payment facilitation through the Payment Provider, and administrative support.
Permit.ca does not practise, offer to practise, or engage in the business of providing to the public any of the following, and does not hold itself out as doing so:
(a) professional engineering, within the meaning of the Professional Engineers Act (Ontario). Permit.ca does not hold and does not require a Certificate of Authorization, because it neither offers nor provides professional engineering services — Vendors do, each under their own Certificate of Authorization;
(b) architecture or architectural services, within the meaning of the Architects Act (Ontario);
(c) design activities requiring qualification under the Ontario Building Code or registration in the Qualified Power/BCIN registry;
(d) land surveying, within the meaning of the Surveyors Act (Ontario);
(e) legal services or the practice of law; or
(f) construction, contracting, or any trade work.
Every Vendor listed on the Platform offers and provides those services in its own name, under its own licence, certificate, registration or qualification, and on its own professional responsibility. Every Quote is the Vendor’s offer, not ours. Every Deliverable is sealed, signed, stamped or certified by the Vendor, not by us.
Information on the Platform — including service descriptions, category pages, guides, checklists, the Permit Advisor, and anything our team says in messages or on a call — is general administrative and procedural information only. It is provided to help you understand how the Platform and municipal processes generally work and to help you decide what kind of professional to engage.
It is not: an engineering or architectural opinion; a determination of what your specific Project requires; a review of code compliance; a scope of work; a representation that any particular drawing, permit, study or discipline is or is not required for your Project; or advice on which you should rely without a licensed professional’s own assessment.
Only a licensed professional you engage can determine what your Project actually requires. Where our information and a licensed professional’s determination differ, the professional’s determination governs and you must follow it.
When a Quote is accepted, a contract forms between the Client and the Vendor. Permit.ca is not a party to it, is not a contractor, subcontractor, consultant, sub-consultant, agent, employer, joint venturer or partner of either of you, and is not liable under it.
We do not: select Vendors on a Client’s behalf; set, define, approve or review the scope of Professional Services; price Professional Services; supervise, direct, schedule or control how a Vendor performs; or accept responsibility for a Vendor’s work.
Clients and Vendors each hold their own wallet account with the Payment Provider, opened directly with it under its own onboarding and identity verification. Permit.ca does not receive, hold, take custody of, or acquire any beneficial interest in any User’s funds at any point. We hold no account into which those funds are paid, we do not collect or store banking credentials for payouts — the Payment Provider does — and we earn no interest or other return on funds while they are held.
Our role is limited to transmitting instructions to the Payment Provider in accordance with these Terms: that a Milestone has been funded, submitted, approved, rejected or resolved.
A Client’s payment obligation for a Milestone is satisfied when the Client funds that Milestone with the Payment Provider. Release of funded amounts is then governed by Section 8, and a Vendor’s recourse in respect of funded amounts is under the Vendor’s own agreement with the Payment Provider. A Vendor will not pursue a Client for amounts the Client has already funded. Nothing in these Terms appoints Permit.ca as the agent of any User, for the receipt of payment or for any other purpose.
Where we offer introductions to general contractors, builders or trades, we do so as unmanaged referrals that are free to you, and we may receive compensation from the party we introduce (see Section 5.4). Those parties are not Vendors, are not engaged through the Platform’s payment or Dispute Support processes, and are not covered by the Held Funds mechanism or by any verification we perform on Vendors. Ontario does not licence general contractors as such. Any statement that a referred contractor is “licensed” refers only to the specific trade, registration or qualification identified at the time — if any — and not to general contracting. We accept no responsibility whatsoever for referred contractors, and any contract you form with them is entirely between you and them.
5.1 Clients pay no platform fee. Posting a Project, receiving Quotes, messaging, document management, permit tracking and Dispute Support are provided to Clients at no charge. Clients pay only the amounts due to their Vendor under their Project Agreement.
5.2 Vendors pay a platform fee on each Engagement, as set out in their Vendor Services Agreement.
5.3 We may introduce optional paid features. We will not charge a Client a fee on an Engagement, at checkout, or on a Milestone without at least 60 days’ advance notice and the Client’s express agreement to that fee before it applies.
5.4 How else we may be paid. We may also receive compensation from third parties — for example as a marketing, referral or affiliate partner — where a User takes up a product or service we have introduced, such as a contractor, supplier, lender or insurer.
5.5 Promoted placement. If we offer Vendors paid placement, promotion or featured positioning, it will be clearly labelled as promoted wherever it appears. Promoted placement does not affect the verification in Section 6, and it is never a representation that a promoted Vendor is more suitable for your Project.
This Section defines exactly what “verified” means on the Platform. Where any marketing statement, page or communication is inconsistent with this Section, this Section governs.
Before a Vendor may submit a Quote, and again before a Project starts, we check the following against the sources indicated, as at the date of checking:
| We check | Against |
|---|---|
| Individual licence, registration or qualification in the category the Vendor is approved for | The applicable regulator’s public register (e.g. PEO, OAA, AOLS, OPPI) or the applicable Ontario registry (e.g. Qualified Power / BCIN) |
| Firm-level authorization where required (Certificate of Authorization, Certificate of Practice) | The applicable regulator’s public register |
| Evidence of professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance at or above our stated minimum | A certificate of insurance issued by the Vendor’s broker or insurer |
| Business registration or incorporation | The applicable corporate or business-name registry |
| Identity of the individual creating the account | Government-issued identification and, where used, an identity verification service |
Verification is a records check. It is not a quality assessment, an endorsement, a warranty, a guarantee, or a recommendation. Specifically, we do not represent or warrant that a Vendor:
(a) is competent, skilled, or suitable for your Project;
(b) will perform on time, to your satisfaction, or at all;
(c) will produce Deliverables that are accurate, complete, code-compliant, or accepted by any municipality;
(d) carries insurance that will respond to any particular claim, or that its coverage is adequate for your Project;
(e) is solvent, or will remain so;
(f) has no complaint, investigation, discipline or claim history, whether disclosed to us or not;
(g) remains licensed, insured or in good standing at any moment after the date of our last check; or
(h) holds every credential your specific Project may require.
Our checks depend on the accuracy, completeness and currency of third-party registers and documents supplied to us. Registers are updated on the regulator’s schedule, not ours. Insurance can be cancelled without notice to us. A Vendor may misrepresent its status, or its status may change between checks. We do not independently audit regulators’ records and we are not responsible for errors, omissions or delays in them.
You remain responsible for satisfying yourself that any Vendor you engage is appropriate for your Project. We encourage you to confirm the Vendor’s current standing directly with the applicable regulator (all of which maintain free public registers), request a current certificate of insurance naming you, and check references. Verification is a screen we apply so that you are not starting from zero — it is not a substitute for your own judgment.
Vendors must notify us promptly of any change to licence, authorization, insurance or good standing. If we learn a Vendor no longer meets our criteria, we may suspend or remove them and will take reasonable steps to notify affected Clients with active Engagements. We are not liable for a Vendor’s failure to notify us, or for the period before we learn of a change.
7.1 A Client posts a Project describing what it wants. A posted Project is an invitation to Vendors to submit Quotes. It is not an offer and it binds nobody.
7.2 A Quote is a binding offer by the Vendor, open for the period stated in it. Vendors must state scope, exclusions, assumptions, deliverables, price, taxes, milestones and schedule in the required format.
7.3 When a Client accepts a Quote through the Platform, a Project Agreement forms between the Client and that Vendor on the terms of the Quote and the Client–Vendor Project Agreement in effect at that time. Permit.ca is not a party. See Section 4.4.
7.4 A Client may accept Quotes from more than one Vendor for the same Project. Each is a separate Engagement with its own Milestones, fees and Dispute Support.
7.5 We may decline, edit, re-categorize or remove any Project or Quote that is incomplete, unlawful, misleading, abusive, outside our coverage, or otherwise contrary to these Terms.
7.6 Nothing obliges us to obtain any number of Quotes, to obtain Quotes within any period, or to obtain a Quote at all.
Clients and Vendors each hold their own wallet account with the Payment Provider, opened directly with it under its own onboarding and identity verification. Funds are held by the Payment Provider in dedicated safeguarding accounts, separate from the Payment Provider’s own funds.
Permit.ca does not receive, hold, take custody of, or have beneficial ownership of any User’s funds at any time. We hold no account into which those funds are paid, funds never pass through Permit.ca’s accounts, and we earn no interest, rebate or other return on funds while they are held.
Held Funds protect you against one specific risk: paying a Vendor before you have approved the work. They do not protect you against every risk. In particular, Held Funds are not insurance, are not a deposit guarantee, are not protected by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, and do not protect against the Payment Provider’s own insolvency, fraud or failure, against losses exceeding the amount then held, or against consequential losses of any kind such as delay, lost rent, carrying costs or lost profit.
(a) A Client funds one Milestone at a time, with the Payment Provider.
(b) A Vendor must submit the Milestone’s Deliverables through the Platform before the Milestone may be approved.
(c) On Approval, we instruct the Payment Provider to allocate the funded amount to the Vendor, less the Vendor’s platform fee and any Reserve.
(d) The Payment Provider releases the Vendor’s share for payout 7 days after Approval, or after such other period as we may set on notice.
(e) We may instruct the Payment Provider to withhold a Reserve of up to 20% of a Milestone pending delivery of final Deliverables or resolution of an open Dispute Support matter. A Reserve under these Terms is a contractual mechanism between Permit.ca and the Vendor. It is not a statutory holdback under section 22 of the Construction Act (Ontario), and nothing in these Terms creates, satisfies, substitutes for or affects any statutory holdback obligation of any person.
If a payment is reversed, charged back, recalled or fails after funds have been released, we may recover the amount from the Vendor’s future payouts, from any Reserve, or directly.
Prices quoted by Vendors are exclusive of GST/HST unless the Quote states otherwise. Each Vendor is solely responsible for charging, collecting, reporting and remitting its own taxes. Permit.ca does not do so on a Vendor’s behalf, and does not provide tax advice to any User.
Project funding is by Interac e-Transfer through the Payment Provider. We do not accept pre-authorized debit or card payments for project funding. You should expect that: Interac settlement can take from moments up to approximately 96 hours; per-transfer and daily sending limits set by the Payment Provider and by your own bank apply, so a large Milestone may need to be funded in more than one transfer; and once a payout has been sent by Interac it cannot be recalled or reversed. Approving a Milestone is not blocked while settlement is still in progress.
Use of the payment function is subject to the Payment Provider’s own terms, which you may be required to accept. We are not responsible for the Payment Provider’s acts, omissions, outages, delays or insolvency, except to the extent of our own negligence in selecting or instructing it.
9.1 A Client should review submitted Deliverables promptly and either approve the Milestone or reject it with specific written reasons identifying what is missing or deficient by reference to the agreed scope.
9.2 A rejection that does not identify specific deficiencies by reference to scope is not an effective rejection.
9.3 A Client may not withhold Approval because of: matters outside the agreed scope; a municipality’s decision, comments or timeline; a change in the Client’s own plans, financing or intentions; or a dissatisfaction unrelated to the Deliverables.
9.4 On rejection, the Vendor has the period stated in the Project Agreement to remedy. Funds remain held.
9.5 Deemed Approval. If a Client neither approves nor delivers an effective rejection within [10] days of Deliverables being submitted, and we have sent the Client at least two reminders, the Milestone is deemed approved and funds release under Section 8.3. We will make deemed Approval clear in the Platform before it occurs. This Section does not apply to a Consumer unless the Consumer has separately and expressly agreed to it at the time of funding.
9.6 Statutory payment rights. Nothing in this Section limits, waives or replaces any right or obligation under the Construction Act (Ontario), and nothing here is intended to have that effect. Where the Platform’s workflow and that Act differ, the Act governs.
If a Client rejects a Milestone and the parties cannot resolve it, either may ask us for Dispute Support. We will review the Project record — the Quote and its scope and exclusions, messages, Deliverables, change orders and approvals — and make an administrative determination about how the Held Funds for that Milestone should be allocated.
Dispute Support is an administrative allocation of funds we facilitate. It is not arbitration, mediation, adjudication, a legal determination of any party’s rights, or a decision on liability, negligence, professional standard of care, or damages. We are not a tribunal and we do not act as one. Our determination:
(a) binds the parties only as to the release of the specific Held Funds in question;
(b) does not determine, prejudice, extinguish or limit any party’s legal rights or remedies against the other, all of which survive in full;
(c) may be pursued afterward by either party in court, in adjudication under the Construction Act, or in any other forum with jurisdiction; and
(d) is made on the Project record alone, without discovery, evidence under oath, hearing, or the procedural protections of a legal proceeding.
Where a dispute turns on a technical question — whether a Deliverable meets a professional standard, whether it satisfies an agreed scope — that is not a question we are qualified to decide, and we will not decide it. We may, at our discretion and where practical, arrange for an independent licensed professional in the relevant discipline to review and give an opinion.
That reviewer is independent of Permit.ca. The reviewer’s opinion is the reviewer’s own professional opinion, given to the parties, and Permit.ca does not adopt it, endorse it, warrant it, or become responsible for it. We use it as an input to the administrative allocation in Section 10.1, nothing more. We do not guarantee that a reviewer will be available, that a review will be conducted in any timeframe, or that a review will occur at all. We may allocate the reasonable cost of a review between the parties or to the party whose position the review does not support.
We may decline Dispute Support where the dispute is outside the Platform record, involves parties other than the Client and Vendor, concerns construction work rather than Professional Services, has been commenced in another forum, or is otherwise unsuitable. Where funds are subject to a competing legal claim, court order, or statutory process, we may hold them until the matter is resolved or interplead them.
Our total liability arising from Dispute Support, any determination we make, any technical review we arrange, or any failure to provide any of them, is limited as set out in Section 16 and in no event exceeds the amount of the Held Funds in dispute.
Messages and calls between Clients and Vendors are routed through Platform-managed channels, including proxy phone numbers and email addresses. This keeps your direct contact details private and creates a complete Project record.
Calls placed or received through the Platform are recorded and automatically transcribed. Messages, documents and call transcripts are stored as part of the Project record.
We do this to: create an accurate record for Dispute Support; verify scope and change orders; detect fraud, abuse and attempts to transact off-Platform; support quality and training; and improve the Platform.
By placing or accepting a call through the Platform, you consent to that call being recorded, transcribed, stored and processed as described here and in our Privacy Policy. An audible notice is given at the start of each call. If you do not consent, do not use the Platform’s calling feature — you may communicate by written message instead.
You must not record a Platform call separately without the other party’s knowledge and consent, and you must not use any recording or transcript for any purpose other than the Project.
We use automated systems, including machine learning, to route Projects, match categories, summarize communications, flag risk, and support Dispute Support review. No decision that has a legal or similarly significant effect on you is made solely by automated means without human review. See our Privacy Policy.
You may not use the Platform to solicit a User to communicate or transact outside it, or attempt to obtain a User’s direct contact details to do so, except as permitted in Section 14.
12.1 Only Clients who have engaged and paid a Vendor through the Platform may review that Vendor. Reviews are labelled accordingly.
12.2 Reviews must be your own honest first-hand experience. You may not offer, request, give or receive anything of value in exchange for a review; post a review of yourself, a competitor, a related party, or a party you have not engaged; or post content that is false, defamatory, harassing, discriminatory, obscene, or that discloses another person’s personal information.
12.3 We will not ask you to waive, withdraw, refrain from or condition a review as a term of any settlement, refund, release or continued access, and nothing in these Terms restricts your right to publish a truthful review of Permit.ca or of any Vendor. Any provision purporting to do so is void.
12.4 We may remove content that breaches Section 12.2 or these Terms, or where we are required to. We do not pre-screen User Content and, except where we edit or adopt it, we are not the author or publisher of it. Views in User Content are the author’s, not ours.
12.5 Licence. You keep ownership of your User Content. You grant Permit.ca a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable licence to host, store, reproduce, adapt, publish, display and distribute it for the purposes of operating, improving, securing and promoting the Platform. For reviews and testimonials, this licence survives termination. For Project documents and Deliverables, the licence is limited to operating the Platform and to the retention and legal purposes in our Privacy Policy, and does not permit publication.
12.6 You represent that you have all rights necessary to grant that licence and that your User Content does not infringe any third party’s rights.
12.7 Deliverables. Intellectual property in Deliverables is governed by the Client–Vendor Project Agreement, not by this Section.
You must not:
(a) use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in breach of any professional, regulatory or licensing obligation;
(b) misrepresent your identity, credentials, licence, insurance, qualifications, affiliation, or the nature or location of a Project;
(c) hold yourself out as licensed, qualified or authorized when you are not, or use a restricted title (including “professional engineer”, “P.Eng.”, “architect”, or “consulting engineer”) without entitlement;
(d) post a Project you have no genuine intention to proceed with, or submit a Quote you have no genuine intention or capacity to perform;
(e) scrape, crawl, harvest, index or extract Platform data by automated means, or use Platform data to build a competing product or database;
(f) reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to derive the source code of the Platform;
(g) interfere with the Platform’s operation or security, introduce malicious code, or attempt unauthorized access;
(h) circumvent the Platform’s payment, communication or verification mechanisms;
(i) harass, threaten, defame or discriminate against any User or our staff;
(j) use the Platform to send unsolicited commercial messages in breach of Canada’s anti-spam legislation;
(k) use another User’s personal information for any purpose other than the Project it was provided for; or
(l) initiate a chargeback, payment reversal or recall in bad faith, raise a dispute you know to be unfounded, withhold Approval for a reason outside Section 9.3, or otherwise abuse Dispute Support.
14.1 Why this matters. The Platform’s protections — verification, Held Funds, the documented record, Dispute Support — exist only on-Platform. Transacting off-Platform removes all of them, and we invest in acquiring Clients on the basis that Engagements flow through the Platform.
14.2 Vendors. A Vendor’s obligations in respect of off-Platform transactions, including the non-circumvention covenant, its duration, its carve-outs and the consequences of breach, are set out in the Vendor Services Agreement.
14.3 Clients — business. A Client that is not a Consumer agrees that, for 24 months after being introduced to a Vendor through the Platform, it will not engage that Vendor for services of a kind offered on the Platform outside the Platform, except where the Client had a documented pre-existing relationship with that Vendor before the introduction.
14.4 Clients — Consumers. Section 14.3 does not apply to Consumers. A Consumer is free to engage any professional on any terms at any time. We ask only that Consumers not use the Platform solely to obtain contact details with no intention of transacting through it, and we may close accounts that do so.
14.5 Nothing in this Section prevents any person from engaging any professional they have found independently, restrains a Vendor’s practice of its profession, or prevents any person from ending a relationship with us.
15.1 The Platform is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all representations, warranties and conditions, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, quality, accuracy and non-infringement.
15.2 We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free or secure; that defects will be corrected; that Quotes will be received, competitive or accurate; that any Vendor will perform; that any Deliverable will be accurate, complete, code-compliant or accepted; that any permit will be issued, issued within any time, or issued at all; or that permit status information is current, complete or accurate.
15.3 Municipal outcomes are outside everyone’s control. Approval times, comments, revisions, refusals, fees and requirements are determined by municipalities and other authorities. Neither Permit.ca nor any Vendor controls them, and neither can commit to any date.
15.4 Illustrative figures. Scenarios, cost figures and timelines shown anywhere on the Platform are illustrative, are not case studies, and are not predictions or representations about your Project.
15.5 Third-party content. Regulator register data, municipal data, mapping, and other third-party content is provided as received. We do not warrant it.
15.6 Nothing in this Section excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or death or personal injury caused by negligence.
16.1 Excluded losses. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Permit.ca is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill, data, rent, carrying costs, financing costs, or costs of delay, project abandonment, re-work, demolition, or replacement professionals — however caused, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, and whether or not we were advised such loss was possible.
16.2 Cap — Clients. Our aggregate liability to a Client in respect of any Engagement is limited to the amount of the Held Funds for the specific Milestone in dispute.
16.3 Cap — Vendors. Our aggregate liability to a Vendor in respect of any Engagement is limited to the platform fees we have received from that Vendor on that Engagement.
16.4 Cap — all other claims. For any claim not covered by 16.2 or 16.3, our aggregate liability is limited to the greater of CAD $500 and the amounts you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose.
16.5 No liability for other Users. We are not liable for the acts, omissions, negligence, professional negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation, insolvency, disappearance, fraud or misconduct of any Client, Vendor, referred contractor, municipality, or other third party, or for any dispute between them, or for any Deliverable, its adequacy, or its consequences. Your remedy in respect of a Vendor is against the Vendor.
16.6 Basis of the bargain. These limits reflect a deliberate allocation of risk that makes the Platform economically possible, including because it is free to Clients. They apply even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
16.7 What is never limited. Nothing in Section 15 or 16 limits or excludes Permit.ca’s liability for its own gross negligence, wilful misconduct, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
16.8 Consumers. If you are a Consumer, nothing in Section 15 or 16 limits or excludes any right, remedy, condition or warranty that applicable consumer protection legislation does not permit to be limited or excluded, and no monetary limit applies to any claim for breach of a condition or warranty deemed or implied by that legislation. Where a limit in this Section is prohibited, it does not apply to you; the rest continues to apply.
You will indemnify and hold harmless Permit.ca and its directors, officers, employees and agents from any claim, demand, proceeding, loss, liability, damage, fine, penalty and reasonable legal expense arising from:
(a) your breach of these Terms or of any applicable law, professional obligation or regulatory requirement;
(b) your User Content;
(c) any Project Agreement to which you are a party, or any Professional Services you provide or receive;
(d) any misrepresentation you make, including as to credentials, insurance or the nature of a Project; or
(e) your negligence or wilful misconduct.
This Section does not apply to a Consumer except in respect of paragraph (d) where the misrepresentation was fraudulent, or paragraph (a) where the breach was wilful. We will notify you of any claim, and you may not settle in a way that imposes an obligation on us without our consent.
18.1 You may close your account at any time. Closure does not affect any Engagement already under way, any Held Funds, or any accrued obligation.
18.2 We may suspend or terminate your access, immediately and without notice where necessary, if we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms, misrepresented anything material, put another User or the Platform at risk, become insolvent, or engaged in unlawful conduct; or if we are required to by law or a regulator.
18.3 On termination we will, where practical and lawful, allow an orderly conclusion of active Engagements, release or return Held Funds according to their entitlements, and give you a reasonable opportunity to export your Project documents.
18.4 Sections 4, 8.4, 11.2, 12.5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21 and 22 survive termination.
19.1 We may change these Terms. We will post the updated version with a new effective date and, for material changes, give at least 30 days’ notice by email and in-Platform.
19.2 Changes apply prospectively. The Terms in effect when an Engagement was formed continue to govern that Engagement, except for changes required by law.
19.3 If you do not accept a change, your remedy is to stop using the Platform and close your account before the change takes effect.
20.1 If you are a Consumer in Ontario, the Consumer Protection Act applies to your agreement with us and with any Vendor, and gives you rights these Terms cannot take away.
20.2 Without limiting that: you may bring an action in the Superior Court of Justice; you may commence or join a class proceeding; nothing here requires you to arbitrate; no monetary limit applies to a claim for breach of a statutory or deemed condition or warranty; and nothing here restricts your right to publish a review. Any term of these Terms inconsistent with this Section does not apply to you.
20.3 If any provision of these Terms is void or unenforceable against you under consumer protection legislation, it is severed as to you and the remainder continues to apply.
21.1 Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in it.
21.2 First step — talk to us. Before commencing any proceeding, contact us at info@permit.ca with a description of the dispute and the resolution you seek. We will respond within 30 days. Most disputes resolve here.
21.3 Consumers. If you are a Consumer, you may bring a proceeding in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario or, where applicable, the Small Claims Court, and you may commence or participate in a class proceeding. Section 21.4 does not apply to you.
21.4 Business Users — arbitration. If you are not a Consumer, any dispute that is not resolved under 21.2 will be finally resolved by arbitration before a single arbitrator under the Arbitration Act, 1991 (Ontario), seated in Toronto, in English, under the ADR Institute of Canada Arbitration Rules. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims or preside over any class or representative proceeding. Either party may seek injunctive relief from a court, and either party may bring a claim within Small Claims Court jurisdiction in that court.
21.5 Time limit. Except where a longer period is required by law, any claim must be commenced within two years of when it arose.
21.6 Construction Act. Nothing in this Section limits any party’s right to adjudication, lien or trust remedies under the Construction Act (Ontario).
22.1 Entire agreement. These Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Refund and Cancellation Policy, and any agreement you sign with us form the entire agreement between us on their subject matter.
22.2 Order of precedence. If there is a conflict: (1) a signed Vendor Services Agreement; (2) these Terms; (3) the Privacy Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy; (4) anything else on the Platform. Marketing material does not form part of this agreement, and where it conflicts with these Terms, these Terms govern.
22.3 No reliance. Except for fraudulent misrepresentation, you agree you have not relied on any statement outside these Terms.
22.4 Severability. If a provision is unenforceable, it is severed or read down to the minimum extent necessary, and the rest continues.
22.5 No waiver. A failure to enforce is not a waiver.
22.6 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign them to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, financing, reorganization or sale of assets, on notice.
22.7 Notices. We may give notice by email to your registered address, by in-Platform message, or by posting. Notice to us: info@permit.ca and by registered mail to the address above.
22.8 Force majeure. Neither party is liable for failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
22.9 Third-party rights. Our directors, officers, employees and agents may enforce Sections 15, 16 and 17. Otherwise no third party has rights under these Terms, except as expressly stated in the Client–Vendor Project Agreement.
22.10 Survival of accrued rights. Termination does not affect rights accrued before it.
22.11 Language. These Terms are drawn in English. Les parties ont exigé que la présente convention soit rédigée en anglais. Where we provide a French version, the English version governs except where applicable law provides otherwise.
22.12 Accessibility. We aim to make the Platform accessible. To request an accessible format or to give feedback, contact info@permit.ca.
Questions: info@permit.ca
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