Author: Russell Hixson

Key Takeaways:

• The Bradford Bypass is a new four-lane freeway that will connect Highway 400 and Highway 404 in Simcoe County and York Region.
• During the construction period, the Bradford Bypass is expected to contribute $274 million in annual real GDP and support 2,640 jobs per year on average in the transportation, engineering, construction and supply-chain industries.
• Motorists and commercial truck drivers are expected to up to 35 minutes per trip compared to other routes.

The Whole Story:

Ontario announced construction has begun on a bridge crossing over the future Bradford Bypass.

Ontario officials called it a milestone in the province’s plan to relieve gridlock, create jobs and connect communities in the rapidly-growing Greater Golden Horseshoe.

“Our government will be relentless in delivering on our ambitious plan to build the much needed infrastructure that our growing province needs,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Building the Bradford Bypass is a key part of our plan to fight gridlock in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, helping commuters spend less time in traffic while creating good paying jobs for the people of this region.”

Earlier this year, Brennan Paving & Construction Ltd. was awarded the contract to design and construct the new bridge which will allow County of Simcoe Road 4 (Yonge Street) between 8th Line and 9th Line to cross over the future Bradford Bypass. The project will also include widening County Road 4 from two to four lanes.

“Gridlock makes life harder for Ontario businesses and farmers who rely on a strong highway network to get their goods to market quickly,” said Caroline Mulroney, minister of transportation. “This important milestone brings us another step closer to getting the Bradford Bypass built, improving economic productivity and eliminating the gridlock that hurts us all.”

To promote efficiencies between the Bradford Bypass project and the County of Simcoe’s planned expansion work on County Road 4, an agreement is in place to better coordinate the construction approach, which the province says will save taxpayer dollars and optimize the work required to improve gridlock and reduce the risk of construction delays.

The Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) said it was very pleased by the news.  

“This bypass is needed and welcomed by the road building industry as more than $785 million of goods per day move on Ontario’s highways, making the transportation system the backbone of our export-driven economy,” said Kevin Machej, ORBA president.

Machej added that the Bradford Bypass will relieve congestion on existing east-west roads in Bradford and provide a northern connection between Highway 400 and Highway 404, saving time and reducing greenhouse gasses.

“The Bypass will significantly contribute to Ontario’s growing economy by creating jobs during construction, connecting people to major employment areas and attracting more businesses to the region,” he said. 

A project specific assessment of environmental impacts in accordance with Ontario Regulation 697/21 for the project is currently underway and is expected to be completed in 2023.

In 2022-23, Ontario is investing $3 billion to expand and repair provincial highways, roads and bridges, including over $761 million to expand the province’s highways and bridges, and more than $1.5 billion for rehabilitation projects.

Key Takeaways:

• Many major construction and engineering companies were included in the agreements.
• CNL stated that the agreements allow it to more confidently plan the billions in work it intends to carry out in the coming years.
• The agreements also include components of environmental sustainability, Indigenous relations and local sourcing.

The Whole Story:

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), announced a series of partnership agreements to enhance and build the necessary capabilities and capacity to ensure the delivery its corporate strategy. 

The partners included AECOM Canada Nuclear Services, Aecon Nuclear, Bird Construction, Bird – Chandos CDP Joint Venture, ECC, ES Fox Limited and Tetra Tech Canada Joint Venture, Hatch Limited, Johnson Controls Canada, M. Sullivan & Son, Stantec Consulting, and WSP Canada. 

Boosting confidence to get work done

CNL stated that the agreements will enable it to more confidently plan and deliver its program of work, but also achieve broader organizational objectives including company-wide sustainability targets, improved engagement with Indigenous Peoples, and economic development through the use of local suppliers in the delivery of its projects.

“With a significant program of work on the horizon at the Chalk River Laboratories campus, it is critical that we have a reliable supply chain in place to safely deliver this work on time, on schedule, and according to the high expectations of CNL, AECL and the Government of Canada,” said Joe McBrearty, CNL president and CEO. “These agreements will facilitate improved engagement and relationships with our supply chain at a business-to-business level, which will strengthen our performance and the execution of the work. We can also leverage these agreements to prioritize the use of local suppliers and Indigenous businesses as part of our commitment to more sustainable operations.”

Fred Dermarkar, president of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), stated in the announcement that that the quality of the supply chain is essential to the success of both CNL and AECL, which owns the Chalk River Laboratories. 

“Reliable partners who can enable the site’s renewal and advance Indigenous reconciliation are key to CNL’s success in achieving its corporate strategy,” said Dermarkar. “I welcome these partnership agreements and look forward to the progress that we shall achieve together.” 

Agreements to address environmental and social concerns

CNL officials explained that while most of the work that will be carried out under these agreements will be construction-oriented, the partnerships were established to encompass a much broader program of work, from large-scale environmental impact assessments to energy efficiency improvements. 

The agreements aim to prioritize the use of local resources in the delivery of the work, which includes the hiring of local vendors that live and work in the Ottawa Valley, and the use of Indigenous contractors. 

As part of its commitment to sustainable operations, CNL has also made it a requirement that environmental stewardship and sustainability are integrated into all areas of the work, including the use of environmentally-friendly materials, practices and organizations, in order to limit the impact of this work on future generations. 

CNL also hopes that the agreements could lead to more commercial opportunities for CNL, which plans to leverage these relationships to pursue collaborations on outside projects as a potential delivery partner. 

Billions in work on the horizon

In addition to CNL’s existing 10-year capital program, which is funded through a $1.2 billion investment from AECL on behalf of the Government of Canada, and includes the construction of a series of new buildings, such as the Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre (ANMRC), CNL is poised to commence a multi-billion dollar program of work. This includes site-wide infrastructure upgrades to improve energy performance; a new facility to advance research related to nuclear medicine, radiopharmaceuticals, and low-dose radiation; ongoing environmental remediation and restoration activities as part of the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI); and, the construction of at least six major facilities representing over $2 billion in support of restoring and protecting Canada’s environment. 

CLN noted that proceeding with all of these projects requires the collaboration and support of many different companies and contractors, all of which are now in place.

“CNL not only has a series of major projects poised to begin, but many of them are also concurrent, which means that we have to carefully plan and resource these projects if we want them to proceed efficiently,” said Brian Savage, CNL’s vice-president of capital projects, and one of many senior CNL executives who will be involved in managing relations with the new partners. “These strategic delivery partnership agreements gives us long-term clarity on these projects, and cultivate stronger relationships with our supply chain, so we can ensure that they are being effectively managed. Overall, I think these agreements represent a more sophisticated and reliable supply chain strategy, and you will see that reflected in the delivery of the work.”

Whether it’s to gain some knowledge or escape into another world, books can offer new ways to look at things. From sci-fi novels to gritty autobiographies, check out what page-turners construction leaders have tucked away on their bookshelves. 

1. Yasir Ali, Self Perform Operations at Turner Construction Company

The Hard Things About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz

“A really good read from a business standpoint on when you need survival war time strategic leadership, and when a more long-term sustainable leadership and decision making is needed. Sometimes you need to pivot from one to the other depending on where your business is at, and having the self-awareness and cognizance on having those key folk in your team will help you ride those waves.”

– Ali

2. Shane McKernan, director of construction at Chard Development

Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

“I read this book in high school and it has stuck with me since. My interest in construction was inspired by Follett’s descriptions of gothic architecture in the cathedral they built.”

– McKernan

3. Mary Van Buren, Canadian Construction Association president

Born a Crime – Trevor Noah

“An educational true story. Moving with a touch of humour.”

– Van Buren

4. Michael Scott, Vice President of Impact Recruitment’s building division 

Shoe Dog – Phil Knight 

“Incredible to hear about what creates belief in people and how dreams evolve and become realities and the grit it takes to be successful in business or in general life.”

– Scott

5. Sebastien de Ghellinck, SkillSignal founder and owner

The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien 

“I’m reading Tolkien’s LOTR trilogy at night for my kids. It took us a full year to finish The Hobbit, so these ones will probably last for more.”

– de Ghellinck

6. Rory Kulmala, CEO, Vancouver Island Construction Association 

Start With Why,  How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action – Simon Sinek

“Of all the leadership-type books I’ve read, this one really reminded me to focus on the real reason I do something.”

– Kulmala

7. Nicholas Tountas – Sheet metal worker at Orzech Heating and Cooling

Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins

“This autobiography covers the journey of Goggins (whose childhood was riddled with abuse, poverty, harassment, and racism) who believed he was worthless. He overcame all odds by pushing the limits of his body and mind. It resonates with me because I’ve utilized many of his anecdotes to carve my own path through areas of my life I felt could not be overcome.” 

– Tountas

8. Erik Backstrom, Senior Planner for City of Edmonton

Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World – Rana Foroohar 

“It’s a brand-new book about economic localization from one of today’s most eminent business writers.”

– Backstrom

9. Thomas Bamber – Air + Light Technical Lead for Integral Group

Carbon Democracy – Timothy Mitchell 

“This book is an extraordinary sweeping overview of the relationship between fossil fuels and political institutions and it was hugely epiphanic. It made me understand so much about the history of Britain, the U.S., the current status quo in the Middle East and just how horrifically unable we are to wean ourselves off fossil fuels.” 

– Bamber

10. Brett Rutledge, SiteNews Co-Founder

Shop Class as Soulcraft – Matthew B. Crawford

“An interesting meditation on the value of the working with your hands. While my tool of choice may now be a keyboard, I look back so fondly on all those summers doing physical labour as a student in Halifax. The author examines the long term trend of parents urging their children to become informational workers, and why a career in the trades deserves much more consideration than it gets. The book might be 12 years old – but with massive tech layoffs happening every day and a continuous shortage of labour in construction, many of his points are more relevant now than ever.”

– Rutledge

*Editors Note – Check out the first part of this series, which highlighted songs recommended by construction leaders .

It all started with joists. 

About a year and a half ago Josh Gaglardi, president of Orion Construction, saw that the lead time for ordering joists had jumped from an average of 8-12 weeks to as much as 24. 

“That was the first canary in the coal mine,” said Gaglardi. “Now a lot of other items are hard to get: breakers, distribution equipment for electrical work, packaged HVAC units. The list is getting longer and longer.”

Shifting schedules around 

Timelines for some parts are as long as six months. Roughly a year ago, Orion began strategizing ways to get ahead of these setbacks and lead times. They asked clients to hedge on inflation and costs to secure product for their project. Procurement, engineering and detailed design were pushed ahead of schedule so materials could be ordered earlier. Orion then stored these materials on site or in a warehouse. 

“That was our major mitigating strategy to hedge against inflationary pricing increases and long lead times and we had a lot of success with that on projects,” said Gaglardi. “It definitely impacted our corporate strategy and has caused us to be more creative in our approach.”

The B.C.-based construction company has now found itself regularly warning clients that there may be supply chain issues in schedules. 

“At the beginning it was tough because nobody understood what was happening,” said Gaglardi. “It was a new problem for a lot of people and it took a lot to explain. But the media publicized it so it got easier and easier. People knew before I even had to tell them.”

Gaglardi has been in construction for roughly 20 years and has never seen supply chain issues like today. The only other issue of note was six years ago when a steel tariff dispute with the U.S. caused prices to spike. 

“That affected us and it is comparable but not the same magnitude,” said Gaglardi. “You look around now and it’s a new thing every day.” 

Despite these challenges, Gaglardi remains optimistic. 

“I think there won’t be as much general opportunity because the economy is slowing, you can definitely feel that and read that too,” he said. “But I think we are forced to be optimistic in the business. There will be opportunities in 2023. The building industry will still exist. 

Stockpiling materials

In Alberta, the Calgary Construction Association (CCA) attempted to create a living document of specific supply chain issues in the region to assist builders, but the problem became too difficult to keep up with. 

“Frankly things got so volatile, so unpredictable, so multifaceted,” said Bill Black, CCA president. “Every 48 hours something else was going on. It was too much of a moving target. At the same time the industry in its own form had already started to adapt and work around things.”

Black said companies who had the capacity to do so began stockpiling key items.

“Rather than ordering by the project, they were carrying inventory at their own cost – the kind of stuff you would use on every job,” said Black. 

These included common kinds of wiring and commonly used rooftop HVAC units. These units even recently have seen lead times as high as 52 weeks. 

“The benefit is they have an inventory that allows them to create predictable schedules and charge whatever the market rate is which probably covers carrying costs,” said Black. “However, you have to have the cash flows that support that and potentially a bank that understands that you have had to shift to this static inventory model.”

However Black noted that this has likely hampered smaller companies’ ability to hold the price as they aren’t able to place orders and stock products for extended periods of time. But he believes the larger problem has been higher up the chain. 

Unreasonable owners not helping

“Not all owners have been willing to accept the reality of this and are not willing to pay for products or materials ordered early, or not willing to pay for stuff that hasn’t been installed,” said Black. “They were already doing that before supply chain issues.” 

He noted that public owners have been worse than private ones. 

“They just seem to think they are allowed to demand the untenable and they seem to believe the industry is so desperate that there is an endless supply of companies willing to bend to them,” said Black. “The challenge is that some people might be willing to take the risk and it might backfire.” 

He believes it’s likely that private owners often have people internally who understand the construction industry and have more respect for what’s going on and how they can contribute to the solution. 

“When it comes to public owners we see less and less people at municipalities and with the province that actually know the industry to any level of detail and have bureaucratic rules that have created an arms-length relationship between them and industry,” said Black. 

Black said the result is more and more companies pulling back from working with these entities who he says have an unrealistic attitude around the level of risk that should be borne by Alberta builders. 

“Not all owners are willing to accept the reality of this.”

Bill Black – Calgary Construction Association

Black expects the supply chain issues to persist for several more years. 

“I think they will settle down, and by settling down I think lead times will become more predictable and reliable, but I don’t think they will ever be as fast as they used to be. I think prices will stabilize but I don’t think they will be back to where they were.”

He noted that one way to stabilize the chain is to bring the source of products closer in areas that are more politically stable. But overseas products are often much cheaper.

“I think you will see a number of companies near-shoring and moving manufacturing,” he said, noting that this cuts down on risk and also one’s carbon footprint.

Canada working on national supply chain strategy

Supply chain issues have become such a national issue that they caught the eye of Ottawa. 

This fall the National Supply Chain Task Force, which was formed by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, released its final report. The task force wrote that a common theme they found was the struggle of both government and industry to cope with uncertainties arising due to critical factors such as rapidly changing trade patterns, human- and climate-caused disruptions, shifting geopolitical risk, and increased consolidation in major transportation modes. 

“As a medium-sized player in the global market, Canada is finding it difficult to overcome these challenges, which have exposed and exacerbated longstanding weaknesses in the Canadian transportation supply chain,” the report said. 

Highlights of recommended actions in the report include:

• Easing port congestion.
• Addressing labour shortages and employee retention.
• Establishing a federal Supply Chain Office to unify relevant federal government activities.
• Protecting corridors, border crossings, and gateways from disruption.
• Developing a national transportation Supply Chain Strategy. 
• Engaging the U.S. and the provinces and territories to achieve mutual recognition of regulations, policies and processes.

The Government of Canada stated that it plans to develop a national supply chain strategy informed by report’s recommendations

What exactly is a supply chain?

Gregory Paradis is a forest industry expert who uses mathematics and computers to model interactions between forest ecosystems, industrial supply chains, governments and society.

He described the supply chain as a network where you need uninterrupted flows – from wherever they are coming from to wherever they are going. 

“Think of it as an electrical grid, or network of connected machines, or a network of pipes that form a water system. All those networks are basically made up of arcs and nodes,” said Paradis. “Nodes are where things converge and flow. Arcs are where you travel. It’s things flowing from one place to another.”

He explained that when you have a large commodity market that’s driven by the lowest price, which characterizes construction, you end up with large suppliers that have a lion’s share of a very specific product.

Global commodity markets often trend towards hyper specialization and efficiency, which can leave little breathing room for when something catastrophic happens. 

“With commodities you have these globalized markets and people from anywhere can push their product onto the market. If everyone is competing on price, what happens is people are outbidding each other to the point where they can’t bid any lower because price bumps into cost,” said Paradis. “When people start to play that game where the commodity hits the lowest price – where it’s cost plus a dangerously small margin – if they can get it a penny or two less per unit than anyone else, they become the biggest supplier and get the volume.” 

This happened to Canada’s lumber industry in the 1980s. Competition for generic dimensional lumber went global. This forced out smaller, flexible sawmills for large, specialized ones that could produce a very limited kind of product in massive quantities for cheap. 

 “Manufacturers that produce smaller volumes of higher diversity products cannot possibly match the unit price of someone that does one product in huge quantities,” said Paradis. “It’s the laws of economics. Economies of scale apply when you have fixed costs.” 

How the chain gets broken

But to maintain their competitive advantage, these facilities have to operate at or near full capacity or they will lose their economic advantage and shut down or go bankrupt. 

“Like a drag racer, it’s good at drag racing, but bad at everything else,” he said. “But if any of these places go offline or get disrupted, then you have an interruption in the flow. People look for alternative suppliers who either don’t exist or can’t absorb the demand.” 

This is exactly what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Large facilities struggled to remain open due people being sick or in lockdown. The supply was squeezed, demand went up and so did prices. And nobody had stock saved up somewhere because storing large amounts of materials is expensive. 

“If we had built a larger number of medium mills designed for flexibility and agility to run at 40 or 50 per cent instead of 80 per cent, then we would have fewer disruptions but higher prices,” he said. “What you saw during COVID was not altogether surprising.”

Even beginning to approach the issue of supply chains is immensely complex. Paradis said that just the wood product supply chain is made up of governments, resource extractors, product manufacturers, wholesalers, retail sellers, customers, builders, customers and more.

“All the different actors in the system are not working under a single emperor dictating how we feel and what our goals are. It is a highly decentralized and distributed system with distributed decision making,” he said. “Nobody got up one day and decided to build a supply chain. They just kind of happened for the most part.” 

And even if one could get all these stakeholders into a room, coming up with solutions to supply chain disruptions gets even more complicated as the number of impacted stakeholders expands and unintended consequences can pile up. 

Using computer modeling to improve the chain

Despite these challenges, there can be some success. Paradis has done extensive work with FORAC, a research consortium of forest products industry stakeholders.

“Everything they do is basically taking the forest industry’s supply chain and using math to try and find efficiency, resilience and flexibility,” said Paradis. 

In more than 90 per cent of FORAC’s research projects, collaboration is identified as a way to improve supply chains. 

FORAC found this to be true in work they did with the Swedish logging industry. Crews would harvest logs and then truck them to mills to turn into lumber. The companies coexisted in the same region where sometimes fully loaded rival company trucks would pass each other.

“That’s guaranteed inefficient nonsense. You are moving the same product in opposite directions. That whole chunk of road is a wasted trip,” said Paradis.

FORAC did complex modeling to figure out that if they could capture where the mill supply zones intersect, they could swap loads at the board instead of passing, decreasing everyone’s transportation costs. However, some would benefit more than others, which made for lots of negotiations. But eventually a deal was struck.

How chaos theory could help change it all 

But Paradis wants to think bigger. A lot bigger. He’s begun to think about what a future, sustainable supply chain could look like and the effort that would take to get there. 

It starts by understanding a bit about chaos theory.

“Chaos is not pure randomness. Chaotic systems are systems where 100 per cent of their behaviour can be explained with a set of rules, but chaotic systems are usually very complex. They seem to be mysterious, random black boxes,” he said.

An example of this is an ecosystem. Scientists don’t know how they entire system works but they seem to self-replicate and persist on their own. 

“Supply chains and other systems like the forestry sector are systems so complex that they behave in ways we cannot fully explain or understand,” said Paradis. 

But chaotic systems have an attribute called “strange attractor” where the system is orbiting around a current state and it is attracted back into itself. 

“A strange attractor will keep being that thing until something nudges the system,” said Paradis. “Supply chains will keep doing what they do until nudged hard enough to skip over into the next puddle over. But once you get there, some of these systems are self replicating. It’s just getting there that is hard.”

Paradis believes that the apocalyptic threat of climate change could be a motivating force strong enough to nudge these systems into something better. He is currently working with the mining sector where many of the massive companies are self-declaring goals of reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050. But this will be impossible without buying billions in carbon offsets. 

“What I am trying to do is get them on board for collaborative projects to design these transformative changes that bump us from one puddle to the next,” said Paradis. 

He hopes that this could lead to collaborating on a more sustainable solution and provide a way to fund the shift. 

“You have to have this grassroots groundswell where shareholders who control companies say we need this and this is why mining companies are declaring net zero goals. It’s what their shareholders want. The climate emergency may provide some of the catalyst necessary to achieve more sustainable supply chains.” 

Key Takeaways:

• Enbridge announced a major southern pipeline expansion following high demand.
• The firm said it would spend up to $3.6 billion on the expansion.
• Pending approvals, Enbridge is targeting an in-service date in 2028.

The Whole Story:

Enbridge Inc. plans to spend up to $3.6 billion expanding its pipeline system in B.C. 

The Canadian energy infrastructure firm announced this month it intends to increase the southern segment of its B.C. gas pipeline system due to strong demand. The T-South natural gas pipeline system begins near Chetwynd, B.C. and extends south to the Canada-U.S. border at Huntingdon-Sumas.

The firm announced it recently completed an open season for transportation bids which was was oversubscribed. Enbridge has sanctioned and is proceeding with a 300 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) expansion at a capital cost of up to $3.6 billion. 

“This expansion illustrates the immense strategic importance of our B.C. natural gas system in supplying regional and global energy demand with low-emission natural gas,” said Cynthia Hansen, executive vice president and president of gas transmission and midstream at Enbridge. “And it also demonstrates how we’re able to leverage our conventional energy transportation assets to extend our growth and generate value for our shareholders.”

The T-South expansion will involve adding pipeline loops and additional compression under a cost-of-service framework, backed by long-term contracts with a weighted average term of 65 years. 

Enbridge noted that the exact location of the loops and accompanying compression will be determined in the coming months after detailed consultation with Indigenous communities and stakeholders and after environmental and routing assessment have been completed. Once complete, the capital cost estimate will be updated prior to filing the regulatory application, anticipated in 2024.

“Enbridge’s assets in the ground continue to be in high-demand and will continue to be critical in supporting growing energy demand while providing the world with a safe and secure source of energy,” added Hansen. 

Pending regulatory approvals, the target in-service date for the T-South expansion is sometime in 2028.

Key Takeaways:

• Carbon Engineering has started design work on a carbon capture project in Texas.
• The project is expected to be a model for other facilities in the region.
• The company also said it is on the verge of a breakthrough that could improve capture efficiency by 20 per cent.

The Whole Story:

Carbon Engineering (CE), a B.C.-based carbon capture technology company, is booming in the South. 

The company announced it has started front-end planning and engineering for direct Air capture (DAC) facilities at a second site in the U.S., in Kleberg County, Texas. 

Company officials stated that the site is expected to provide access for the potential construction of multiple DAC facilities that would be capable of collectively removing up to 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually for dedicated sequestration.

Additional facilities on the horizon

The company has been contracted by its U.S. development partner, 1PointFive, for the front-end planning and engineering of a one-megatonne DAC facility that is intended to be replicated into multi-million tonne deployments. 

The design is being adapted from the first large-scale, commercial facility to use Carbon Engineering’s DAC technology, which is already under construction in the Texas Permian Basin, and is anticipated to form the basis of accelerated large-scale deployments in the U.S.

The company explained that these additional DAC facilities will be located in the Gulf Coast region, which they say provides another site with ideal pore space for dedicated sequestration. At this location, the DAC facilities will be paired with standalone geologic sequestration to deliver secure and verifiable CO2 removal. 

Project timelines accelerating

The company noted that this allows for a cost-effective solution that hard-to-decarbonize industries can combine with emissions reduction programs to achieve true net zero.

Using its recently-announced deployment approach to enable global build-out of plants, CE says that it is performing this work at an accelerated pace. CE expects to complete this work roughly 50 per cent faster than earlier projects. Once complete, CE will have produced the required materials to be ready to replicate megatonne DAC trains within multi-megatonne facilities.

“This work brings together all our progress from the past months to get us ready for major deployment in the U.S.,” said Daniel Friedmann, CE’s CEO. “Working hand in hand with our partners at Occidental and 1PointFive, we’ve been focused on building an accelerated deployment approach, while simultaneously beginning construction of the first, large-scale commercial facility in Texas. Now, with this ‘copy and paste’ megatonne DAC facility, we’re working towards widespread, multi-million tonne deployments across the U.S.”

More research underway

The company continues to research carbon capture, utilization and story at its technology development and Innovation Centre in Squamish, B.C. CE is also continuously improving its DAC technology. CE officials said they are currently testing an improved capture material at the centre and expects to validate this development for commercial rollout by the end of the year. Initial tests indicate this new material could produce an approximately 20 percent improvement in capture efficiency, which could result in further energy and cost savings for commercial facilities.

“The Innovation Centre has been instrumental in validating technology improvements at scale,” said Scott Willis, CE’s VP of technology and engineering. “The centre is designed to provide our scientists, engineers and technicians with an environment where they can continuously test and prove technology advancements which can be placed into commercial plant designs. It operates on a ‘run-replace-run’ philosophy, validating commercial operation over extended periods and continuously improving our future plants.”

CE officials added that the U.S. carbon capture industry could see a major boom following the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act into law, which includes increased incentives for U.S. DAC projects. 

Key Takeaways:

• B.C.-based Strategic Natural Resource Consultants is a majority Indigenous-owned company and employee-owned company.
• Ehattesaht Chinehkint Nation has been a long-term client of the firm.
• Strategic officials say the move will greatly help the firm’s ability to navigate relations with Indigenous communities.

The Whole Story:

The Ehattesaht Chinehkint Nation has purchased a majority interest in Strategic Natural Resource Consultants. 

The Ehattesaht Chinehkint Nation is a northern Nuu-chah-nulth Tribe whose traditional territory covers 750 square kilometres in Esperanza Inlet between Nootka Island and Kyuquot Channel in B.C. The main community, Ehatis in Zeballos where they have owned and operated forest licenses since the 1970s, has equity investments in hydro power production, fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.

Strategic is one of the largest resource management consulting firms in B.C. with 190 employees in offices in Fort St. John, Prince George, Port McNeill, Nanaimo, and Campbell River.

“Our staff here at Strategic are pleased that our long-term client has become a partner in our business,” said the company in its announcement. “We know our new partners will bring a lot of new energy to the firm that will help us strengthen how we do business and our relationship with our clients.”

The firm explained that they are now uniquely structured as a majority Indigenous-owned and employee-owned natural resource service provider.

“Our relationship with the Ehattesaht Chinehkint Nation has grown over the years and when they approached us, we were both honoured and excited,” said Niels Jorgensen, founder and managing partner at Strategic. “With one of the partners wanting to move on, the timing worked out well and our staff across B.C. are excited. I think everyone is viewing the Nation’s move as a validation of how our company has operated over the years. Having new directors will let us navigate the changing landscape of relations with BC’s Indigenous communities.”

Chief Simon John of the Ehattesaht Chinehkint Nation stated that he believes the partnership will help both parties. 

“Our membership has asked us to find investments and opportunities that will help our Nation grow and we saw a perfect fit,” said John. “We think the strengths they have as a company are really aligned with what we need as a Nation, but we are more excited about having a company that is successful across the province, works for a lot of industries and has great leadership and a team who want to embrace new technologies.”

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), a Crown corporation and national development bank, announced its new $400 million Climate Tech Fund II which has the goal of creating world-class Canadian cleantech champions. The new envelope brings the fund’s committed investments in the innovative cleantech and climate tech sector to $1 billion.

BDC launched its Cleantech Practice’s $600 million Fund I in 2018 to address the lack of risk capital for the commercialization and scale up of Canada’s cleantech and climate tech industry. BDC stated that the fund was innovative in that it was flexible, multistage, and patient, which better suited the entrepreneurs in the space.

“BDC will play a leading role in helping Canadian climate tech firms dream bigger and become global technology champions,” said Isabelle Hudon, BDC’s president and CEO. “Here at home, BDC will enable the scale up and deployment of low carbon technologies which are so fundamental to Canada’s ability to meet its GHG emissions reduction targets. This new Climate Tech Fund reflects BDC’s ambition to help build a clean, low carbon, circular economy.”

BDC’s Cleantech Practice partners with leading global institutional investors and government funding programs to support dozens of high potential cleantech and climate tech firms. Now that Fund I is fully committed, BDC’s new Climate Tech Fund II will help preserve and extend Canada’s position in the strategic sector by continuing to build and grow the ecosystem for climate tech firms.

“BDC’s Cleantech Practice is one of the largest, most active investors of its kind in Canada. Our investment strategy is not about market trends but GHG emissions reduction,” said Jérôme Nycz, executive vice president, BDC Capital. “BDC’s Climate Tech Fund II will reinforce the importance of low carbon supply chains, help the commercialization, scaling and adoption of Canadian technologies in Canada and abroad and create opportunities for climate tech firms.”

The bank noted that Canada currently ranks second on the Global Cleantech Innovation Index compared to seventh in 2014 but believes more progress can be made. Bank officials explained that the global cleantech market is expected to double in value, reaching more than $400 billion US by 2026. BDC says it will continue to support longer development timeframes and larger capital needs typical of many climate tech ventures. The nank expects Fund II to be fully committed over the next five years.

“With Climate Tech Fund II, we will continue to invest along the full lifecycle of leading-edge, disruptive Canadian firms to support their growth and the deployment of technologies critical for our country to reach net zero,” says Susan Rohac, managing partner, climate tech fund, BDC Capital. “Canada is fortunate to have an increasingly robust and well-coordinated network of Crown Corporations, agencies, departments, and private sector partners supporting climate tech entrepreneurs. Our team will continue to do its part to reinforce this ecosystem to accelerate Canada’s innovation outcomes in climate technologies.”

The Cleantech Practice currently has a portfolio of 50 companies, including firms that have been recognized as Global Cleantech 100 Companies. 

The British Columbia Construction Roundtable (BCCR) has launched a new initiative to support the next generation of western construction leaders.

Earlier this year, the BCCR announced the formation of the Emerging Leaders Group (ELG). The ELG is intended to serve those at the intermediate stage in their careers.

“The BC Construction Roundtable recently launched their Emerging Leaders Group, supporting members with ~8 to 20 years of experience in the construction industry,” said Jeannine Martin, BCCR president. “The importance of succession within industry, and BCCR itself, highlighted the need to create opportunities for emerging leaders in the construction industry to undertake professional development, be mentored and enlarge their networks.” 

Martin added that the ELG Committee is planning events for the coming year, starting with their Kick Off Event on Nov. 17, where they will be asking emerging leaders how the group can best serve industry.

The main objectives of the ELG are to:

• Create opportunities for emerging leaders to undertake professional development, create mentoring opportunities, and establish personal connections with other emerging leaders.
• Promote and provide opportunities for succession planning both within the BCCR and industry.
• Understand, promote, and grow the relationships between all sectors of emerging leaders in the BC construction industry.

The ELG will be supported by a new BCCR committee.

Key Takeaways:

• Canada plans to raise its immigration levels to 500,000 per year by 2025.
• Officials say it is part of their strategy to fill roles in key sectors, including the skilled trades.
• Construction leaders believe the plan could help put a dent in the industry’s labour crisis

The Whole Story:

Canada has announced a major shift in its immigration strategy to address the country’s worker shortage. 

Government officials stated that the 2023–2025 Immigration Levels Plan embraces immigration as a strategy to help businesses find workers and to attract the skills required in key sectors—including health care, skilled trades, manufacturing and technology.

Last year Canada welcomed over 405,000 newcomers – the most ever in a single year. But officials are bumping targets up in the new plan. They are looking to add 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025. Officials added that the plan also brings an increased focus on attracting newcomers to different regions of the country, including small towns and rural communities.

Bill Ferreira, executive director of BuildForce Canada, said he believes the changes are a good step towards addressing the construction industry’s shortage or skilled workers. 

“It’s a positive announcement that recognizes immigration as an important supplement to the development of Canada’s future labour force,” said Ferreira. “The rise in economic immigration levels should help Canada replenish its workforce as retirements grow throughout the decade.”

Ferreira explained that with nearly 20 percent of Canada’s current population between the ages of 50 and 64 and only 16 per cent under the age of 15, it’s clear that over the next 15 years, the country will see more people leaving the workforce than available to backfill for retirees. 

“Clearly, increased immigration will be important to avoid turning the current acute labour shortages facing the country into a chronic challenge for employers,” he said. “The introduction of new features to the Express Entry system that prioritizes the selection of individuals with skills in high demand, including construction trades, health care, manufacturing and STEM workers, is extremely positive and a welcome complement to the industry’s ongoing efforts to increase recruitment in the face of growing retirements.”  

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA), which has been advocating for the federal government to modernize its immigration policy, stated it is optimistic the changes could beneficial.

CCA President Mary Van Buren explained that she hopes the impact will be twofold: prioritization of skilled workers interested in construction, and partnerships with the provinces to better match needs and accelerate approvals.

“We are supportive of ideas that will help Canada become a preferred destination, and that we can accept those who are interested and qualified to entry with minimal delay,” she said. “Canada is just one of many countries wanting to attract these same people.”

However, she noted that the work is far from over. The CCA and its members will be in Ottawa Nov. 15 for Hill Day to speak with Canada’s political leaders and advocate for the construction sector.

“The announcements are a positive step in the right direction; we need to see real movement and urgency,” said Van Buren. “Our message for Hill Day will not change – we expect the labour shortage to be a problem for the foreseeable future.  There are other barriers that need to be addressed like Security Clearances, which can make it difficult for New Canadians to get approved on a timely basis.  A one stop security passport is one way the Federal government could maintain the integrity of the security evaluations, while reducing red tape.”

The plan also received support from Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU).

“Canada’s Building Trades Unions are pleased with today’s announcement to increase immigration levels in Canada,” said Sean Strickland, CBTU executive director, in the government announcement. “Historically it has been through immigration that we have been able to grow our workforce, fill our union halls and build Canada’s infrastructure. Increased economic immigration is an important step to addressing labour availability across the country and we look forward to continuing to work closely with Minister Fraser and the federal government to find the solutions we need going forward.”

Highlights of the plan include:

• a long-term focus on economic growth, with just over 60 per cent of admissions in the economic class by 2025.
• using new features in the Express Entry system to welcome newcomers with the required skills and qualifications in sectors facing acute labour shortages such as, health care, manufacturing, building trades and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
• increases in regional programs to address targeted local labour market needs, through the Provincial Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot.
• support for global crises by providing a safe haven to those facing persecution, including by expanding the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot.

Ottawa explained that regional economic immigration programs, like the Provincial Nominee Program, are increasingly important to the sustainable growth of the country. 

“That’s why this year’s plan outlines year-over-year growth so that we can continue to support provinces and territories in attracting the skilled newcomers they need to address the labour shortage and demographic challenges in their regions,” they said.

They noted that the government has made improvements to address key challenges faced by those using the immigration system, including streamlining and digitalizing the immigration system to further expedite processing. 

Lisa Tobber is on a mission to transform Canada’s built environment to withstand catastrophic earthquakes. But it’s going to require the construction sector to transform as well. 

Tobber is a civil engineering professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan’s School of Engineering (UBC) where she leads a research group that is investigating how to design and construct disaster-resilient buildings. 

“One thing that always struck me is that the construction industry is very slow to do any research and development compared to other sectors,” said Tobber. “We are in a situation where we are having to build more sustainably, meet targets and mitigate disaster damage. We also have to build more quickly due to the housing crisis. Our old, traditional way of building will not work anymore.” 

Tobber is particularly interested in concrete – a material of choice in high-rise buildings for its durability and versatility.

Tobber was recently awarded the BC Housing Professorship in Resilient Reinforced Concrete Buildings. The two-year professorship will focus on the following topics: 

• Seismic and wind performance of typical reinforced concrete buildings in B.C.
• Solutions for maintaining functionality of reinforced concrete structures after strong earthquakes.
• Seismic design methods for precast concrete construction for mid-rise and high-rise buildings.
• Structural performance of new concrete materials (i.e. green concretes, recycled concrete, ultra-high strength) in B.C. building construction.
• Practical design of connections for hybrid systems (using different materials for lateral-force resisting systems and gravity force-resisting systems) in BC building construction.
• Identifying specific challenges faced by reinforced concrete buildings in terms of climate adaptation.
• Identifying other possible research areas and create interdisciplinary collaboration (i.e., air quality, equitability, energy efficiency).

The research is expected to result in multiple reports, best practices and webinars.

Tobber explained that while concrete is long-lasting, it is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and concrete construction is time consuming and requires specialized labour.

The research will look at ways to reduce the environmental impact of concrete construction while creating more resilient structures through the seismic design of precast buildings, using hybrid systems, integrating new and more sustainable kinds of concrete materials and adopting earthquake-resilient structural systems and technologies. One solution she’s investigating is the use of innovative coupling beams and damped outrigger systems that dissipate energy and reduce damage to core walls.

These and other technologies are being co-developed through a three-year, $6.6-million research partnership with the TEBO Group, an international engineering procurement and construction provider, with the aim of raising best practices in sustainable, resilient building construction.

Tobbert is able to conduct tests at a high bay lab with a crane and thick concrete floor. This allows for large-scale tests which can show how well materials and methods hold up. Then researchers use that data in computer models to see how a whole building would behave. 

Tobber explained that shifting the built environment now will pay dividends in the future, not only saving lives but preventing damage that could cripple a region. 

“The current way we design buildings absorbs the earthquake through damage,” she said. “People can escape but the building may not be able to be occupied for years.”

Research by the Insurance Bureau of Canada suggests that B.C. could face $75 billion in earthquake damage and Tobber noted that recent floods in B.C. show how a disaster can bring a region’s infrastructure to a halt. But it goes far beyond B.C. 

“We don’t just have to design for earthquakes in Vancouver,” she said. “We have to do it across Canada. On the West Coast it’s talked about the most but we have seismic hazards across Canada we have to design for.” 

Tobber noted that other countries with seismic risks have already implemented high-tech systems. 

“A great example is base isolation where buildings sit on bearings,” she said. “This decouples the building from the earthquake and it can make your building basically damage free. This technology has been around for decades and has been implemented a lot in places like Japan.” 

Tobber said she often wonders why the construction industry isn’t innovating or adopting technologies like this. She encouraged the sector to be more proactive.

“What we often do in construction is we wait for the policy to change and then we react to it but research gives us the opportunity to be proactive,” she said. “Let’s drive those changes and let’s push the solutions.” 

Key Takeaways:

• Many workers are dealing with mental health challenges, personally or related to a loved one.
• This can be particularly challenging in a remote camp environment.
• The program aims to get people help and keep them in the workforce by training employers, owners and co-workers to provide support.

The Whole Story:

The Building Trades of Alberta (BTA) is looking to support workers and employers with a new mental health and recovery program.

The BTA will use a $650,000 grant from Alberta Health to create the Building Resiliency program which will promote and raise awareness about the importance of mental health, wellness, resiliency and recovery.

Ian Robb, chairman of the board for the BTA, explained that workers in Alberta – especially those doing remote work in camps – face many pressures and are often kicked aside if they reach out for help. 

“You got a guy or a gal that’s thousands of kilometres away from home, their family, their friends and they are in a camp in Northern Canada,” said Robb. “They are working and then staying in a little room, worried about their family and friends. They may not be having an issue. It might be their kid or spouse having an issue. It makes them crazy and takes their eye off the game.”

He added that if they come out and say they have a problem it is often frowned upon and they are told to “suck it up” or “tough it out.”

“They should be ready to deal with this person. Instead, everybody hides it until they break,” he said.

The Building Resiliency initiative will promote and raise awareness about the importance of mental health, wellness, resiliency, and recovery-informed workplaces for its membership through customized learning modules.

The BTA aims to work with owners and contractors to establish a peer support program to champion recovery and resiliency. Participants will receive training and certification on mental health, wellness, and recovery coaching for identified peer supports on major worksites. The program will also provide specialized training to contractors and owners on recovery-informed workplaces.

The initiative includes an anonymous, self-guided and interactive digital service called Breaking Free, to reduce drug and alcohol use, reduce substance dependence and improve mental health, quality of life and social functioning. The digital services are also available for members reaching out for assistance for the first time.

“It’s an all encompassing new way of doing business,” said Robb. “They know there is a job for them to go back to, the company knows when they are coming back and how to handle it. The win there is the worker keeps their dignity and livelihood, the contractor keeps their contract with the owner and the owners get some real productive folks that just need a hand so they aren’t constantly in that retraining and searching-for-labour hamster wheel we are all going through.”

Robb noted that hundreds and hundreds of people in the oil sands and remote site world are site banned because of mental health issues. 

“They are working somewhere else and hiding it and the same owners are coming to us asking why we can’t supply people,” he said.  

November will be spent training for owners and sites. Next the group will focus on peer support training. They then plan to launch the Breaking Free app in early 2023. By early march the BTA expects to have recovery coaches trained up.

“You get a healthier workforce that performs better, is more productive and is more respected. The owner makes more money and gets more product to market,” said Robb. “The contractor can get more contracts. Everybody can win here.”

Key Takeaways:

• Jason Idler has been promoted to chief operating officer of heavy industrial at PCL.
• He is taking over for Roger Keglowitsch, who is retiring after 30 years at the company.
• Idler has been working as PCL’s president of U.S. heavy industrial operations.

The Whole Story:

PCL Construction announced that Jason Idler has been promoted to chief operating officer and will lead the organization’s heavy industrial sector as part of the organization’s overall succession planning strategy. Jason succeeds Roger Keglowitsch who is retiring after 30 years with PCL.

“Jason possesses a wealth of knowledge in the Heavy Industrial world,” said Dave Filipchuk, PCL’s president and CEO. “His deep experience and substantial knowledge of our operations across North America will be essential as he works to extend our reputation as industry leaders. We are proud to welcome him to the PCL office of the CEO leadership team.”

Jason brings a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and more than 30 years of experience to his role. He joined PCL in 2008 as vice president of PCL Intracon Power. He was appointed regional vice president in 2013. The next year he joined the board of directors and assumed executive sponsorship for large-scale industrial projects, some of the largest PCL has executed among them. 

In 2017, Jason was named executive vice president for Canada and then president of U.S. heavy industrial operations, based in Houston.

Jason is responsible for PCL’s portfolio of work in the oil and gas, power, renewables, chemical and petrochemical markets. He works with a team of regional executives to oversee all aspects of project planning and delivery including oversight of engineering, project controls, quality, procurement, construction execution, risk management, and health, safety, and environment (HSE).

“Jason is deeply involved not just in the work of construction, but also in how PCL partners with clients and stakeholders to build a sustainable energy and resource future,” said the company in a press release. “For him that means attention to people, to community and to PCL’s role in the energy transition. From planning to fabrication to execution and ongoing maintenance, Jason, along with the entire heavy industrial group, promises clients a fully tailorable project solution.”

Key Takeaways:

• The community is the first in North America to adopt the standard into its bylaws.
• The standard includes designs that can be easily adapted to different resident needs, especially those related to aging and mobility.
• Officials believe the adaptability will also save money in the long run with fewer renovation and healthcare costs.

The Whole Story:

Officials in B.C. are looking to rebuild the village of Lytton in a way that is accessible and healthy for all stages of life. 

The village passed bylaws that make it the the first community in North America to require SAFERhome Universal Design Standards. 

The village was almost completely wiped out by a wildfire in 2021. Two people were killed in the blaze.

Officials stated that the new bylaws will ensure all new homes are built to the universal standard of design and build homes that easily support a much broader range of people with different abilities to fully use and fully enjoy their homes.

SAFERhome Standards provides the only building standard and certification program in Canada that features the application of universal design where anyone can age-in-place and live healthier lives in an ergonomically safer and electronically pre-prepared home. SAFERhome’s 15-point building standard ensures homes include simple and practical design features like:

• Wider doorframes with little to no thresholds that improve ease of use and lessen tripping hazards.
• Wider hallways and stairs, with wall reinforcement improve flow and ease of use, and the addition of stairlifts in future if needed. 
• Easy to reach bath and shower controls.
• Accessible electrical outlets.
• Sinks with adjustable height.
• Technology-ready to connect automation and control systems such as automated door openers. 

Officials believe the adoption of the SAFERhome Standards as compared to current housing units presents significant potential cost savings to the village and its residents in the following areas:

• Fewer future renovation costs.
• Less costs for direct home support services. 
• Fewer home accidents. 
• Less personal occupant costs and opportunities associated with negative social labeling.
• reduction in the number of ambulance call-outs related to falls and other mobility-related in-home accidents.
• Healthcare cost savings related to shortening patient hospital stays as SAFERhomes are ready to accept walkers, scooters and other mobility devices and easily adapt to changing needs such as adding safety bars, safety gates or stair lifts.
• Cost reduction for developers to provide units for social-based housing within their main market developments as issues around accessibility are automatically eliminated as a by-product of good design. 
• Negative social labelling is also eliminated as a by-product of good design.

The initiative is sponsored by the not-for-profit SAFERhome Standards Society, which since 2004 has spearheaded the adoption of Universal Design principles.

“With over 1,800 homes built to the SAFERhome Standards, our partners like BC Housing are building more universally designed housing than any other housing developer in the world, influencing the residential construction industry and future-proofing all BC Housing-funded projects by including the SAFERhome Standards in their 2019 Design Guidelines and Construction Standards,” said the society.

Key Takeaways:

• Mr. Service Ltd., Granby Bobcat Service Ltd. and Hexcel Construction Ltd. all won awards.
• This was because of their excellent safety records and efforts to promote safe excavation.
• It is the awards’ first time returning since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Whole Story:

FortisBC is honouring the best in the excavation business with its excavation safety awards. This year’s winners – Mr. Service Ltd., Granby Bobcat Service Ltd. and excel Construction Ltd. – received high praise for their exemplary safety records. 

Every year, FortisBC crews repair approximately 1,000 third-party damages to natural gas lines. To date in 2022, these damages have cost over two million dollars in repairs, with each incident endangering the public. 

FortisBC’s excavation safety awards recognize companies who have assembled stellar safe digging track records over the past year, and have also taken steps to promote safe excavation practices and education.

FortisBC is awarding Mr. Service Ltd., Granby Bobcat Service Ltd. and Hexcel Construction Ltd. with the 2022 Excavation Safety Awards for their safe digging practices over the past year. It is the first time FortisBC’s damage prevention team is bringing back the awards since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These organizations have established themselves as leaders in safe digging and excavation, and are role models for other construction companies,” said Tanya Kowalenko, public safety manager with FortisBC. “I’d like to thank Mr. Service, Granby Bobcat Service and Hexcel Construction for their commitment to digging safely, and encourage everyone hearing of these awards to reflect on what they themselves can do to dig safer.”

ForistBC officials explained that Kamloops-based Mr. Service Ltd., holds a mission to guide their customers through renovations with education, in order to reduce any stress and help them understand the process. 

“After damaging a natural gas line once, Mr. Service Ltd. has always reached out to BC 1 Call before doing any digging to gather location information on buried natural gas lines and other utilities,” said FortisBC. “Adhering to the information BC 1 Call provides, Mr. Service has not damaged any natural gas lines ever since.”

Granby Bobcat Service Ltd. is a family owned and operated business serving the Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Chemainus areas. Since 2002, Granby Bobcat Service Ltd. has provided services in excavating, landscaping, hauling and much more. Operating for around 20 years, Granby Bobcat Service has also never damaged a natural gas line.

Hexcel Construction Ltd. was first established in 1985, and is a full service civil construction company specializing in general contracting and construction management. They currently operate in the Lower Mainland, with most of their projects located in Richmond, Delta and Burnaby. ForistBC noted that Hexcel Construction Ltd. is committed to continuously educating and training their employees on safe excavation practices. The organization has often invited FortisBC to educate staff on safe digging practices as part of ongoing training.

“While these awards are for construction companies, we ask all homeowners to dig safely to help avoid the safety hazards and costly repairs associated with damaging buried natural gas lines or other utility lines,” stressed Kowalenko. “Anytime you’re planning to work in your yard—such as building a deck or even just planting a few perennials—you must reach out to BC 1 Call in advance to request the location of underground gas and other utility lines on your property.”

FortisBC’s public safety team presented these awards at the Canadian Common Ground Alliance’s 2022 Damage Prevention Symposium on October 27. For more information on safe digging practices, go here.

It’s that time of year again in Vancouver. The Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) hosted its annual Awards of Excellence, which saw a total of 140 nominations from 84 separate projects. The projects exceeded $2.8 billion in construction value. See all the big winners below:

Gold Award winners

General Contractors – Tenant Improvement – Up to $15 Million
Scott Special Projects Ltd. – Heritage Hall Roof Replacement and Partial Seismic Upgrade

General Contractors – Tenant Improvement – Over $15 Million
EllisDon Corporation – Penticton Regional Hospital – Phase 2

General Contractors – Up to $20 Million
Jacob Bros. Construction Inc. – Centerm Container Operations Facility (COF) Building

General Contractors – $20 Million to $50 Million
NAC Constructors Ltd – Sapperton Pump Station Replacement

General Contractors – Over $50 Million
Graham Infrastructure LP in Joint Venture with Aecon Water Infrastructure Inc. – Annacis Island WWTP Stage V, Phase 1 Expansion Project

Trade Contractors – Up to $1 Million
Donald Flooring Contract Sales Ltd. – Northeastern University

Trade Contractors – $1 Million to $2 Million
Grist Slate & Tile Roofing Inc. – Heritage Hall Roof Replacement and Partial Seismic Upgrade

Trade Contractors – $2 Million to $4 Million
Flynn Canada Ltd. – 825 Nicola (1502 Robson)

Trade Contractors – $4 Million to $10 Million
Solid Rock Steel Fabrication Co. Ltd. – King George Phase B & C (The Hub)

Trade Contractors – Over $10 Million
Whitemud Ironworks Limited – The Post

Mechanical Contractors – Up to $3 Million
Canstar Mechanical LTD. – Sortation Centre Buildout – YVR7 Rover

Mechanical Contractors – $3 Million to $9 Million
All-Pro Services Ltd. – Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility 12 MW Hot Water Expansion

Mechanical Contractors – Over $9 Million
Pitt Meadows Plumbing & Mechanical Systems 2001 Ltd. – Royal Inland Hospital Patient Care Tower – Phase 1

Electrical Contractors – Up to $2 Million
Mott Electric General Partnership – Westland Towers

Electrical Contractors – $2 Million to $8 Million
Bridge Electric Corp. – FC2021

Electrical Contractors – Over $8 Million
Western Pacific Enterprises Ltd. – Edmonton Valley Line LRT

Manufacturers and Suppliers
View Inc. – Pyrrha Headquarters

Environmental and Sustainability Award
Evergreen Demolition Ltd. – Sortation Centre Buildout – YVR7 Rover
Graham Construction and Engineering LP – Sortation Centre Buildout – YVR7 Rover
Ledcor Construction Limited – 825 Pacific Passive House

Heritage Award
Grist Slate & Tile Roofing Inc. – Heritage Hall Roof Replacement and Partial Seismic Upgrade
Jacob Bros. Construction Inc. – Centerm Container Operations Facility (COF) Building
Ledcor Construction Limited – 155 Water Street
Scorpio Masonry BC Inc. – 155 Water Street
Scott Special Projects Ltd. – Heritage Hall Roof Replacement and Partial Seismic Upgrade
Unitech Construction Management Ltd. – Schou Administrative Building
Vintage Woodworks Inc. – 155 Water Street

Special award winners

In addition to the Gold Awards for project specific excellence, awards were also presented to member companies and individuals for outstanding accomplishments and to recognize innovation and commitment to safety.

Life Member inductees
Bob Proctor & Jim Bromley

Lifetime Achievement
Peter Hrdlitschka

Construction Workplace Health & Safety Innovation
Ledcor Construction Limited – Excavation Extraction Rescue System (EERS)

Safety: Superior Safety Record
• Canadian Turner Construction Company Ltd. (General Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Cape Construction (2001) Ltd. (General Contractor 100,000 – 199,999 person hours)
• EllisDon Corporation (General Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Gisborne Industrial Construction Ltd. (Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Modern Niagara Vancouver Inc. (Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (General Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Western Pacific Enterprises Ltd. (Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)

Safety: Zero Frequency Injury Rate
• Graham Construction and Engineering Inc. (General Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Mott Electric General Partnership (Trade Contractor 200,000 or more person hours)
• Scott Construction Group (General Contractor 100,000 – 199,999 person hours)

Education Leadership
Ritu Ahuja – Kinetic Construction Ltd. 

Outstanding Woman in Construction
Kristine Szeto – EllisDon Corporation

YCL Excellence in Construction
Zack Ross – Cape Construction (2001) Ltd. 

Zero Emissions Building Leadership Award
Christian Cianfrone – EllisDon Corporation

Member of the Year Award
Smith Bros. & Wilson – General Contractor Division
Bridge Electric Corp – Trade Contractor Division
Victaulic – Manufacturer & Supplier Division
MNP – Professional Services Division

Key Takeaways:

• The Stack, a 37-storey office tower, is officially a Zero Carbon Building.
• Oxford achieved this through low carbon building systems, triple-pane glazing on all windows, rainwater management and enhanced air tightness and other methods.
• Oxford says it wants to share its lessons from the project and encourage others in the industry to set high sustainability goals.

The Whole Story:

The Stack, a downtown Vancouver office tower, is making history. 

The project’s developer, Oxford Properties Group, announced that The Stack, has achieved the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building – Design standard certification. The 37-storey, 550,000 sq. ft. commercial office tower is Canada’s first commercial high-rise office tower to achieve this certification.

As well as being the first high-rise commercial office tower to achieve the certification, it is also the largest project in Canada to achieve it to date. Upon completion later this year, The Stack is set to become the tallest office building in Vancouver.

The project team includes Ledcor and it was designed by James K.M. Cheng Architects.

Size created bigger challenges

Oxford noted that the project’s size added to the technical complexities required to achieve the Zero Carbon Standard. The project team stated that they incorporated many innovative features that minimize carbon emissions, energy and water usage as well as landfill waste. These include low carbon building systems, triple-pane glazing on all windows, rainwater management and enhanced air tightness. On-site renewable energy will be achieved through the use of a rooftop photovoltaic solar panel array.

“Oxford’s purpose is to create economic and social value through real estate and The Stack embodies Oxford’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and decarbonization,” said Andrew O’Neil, vice president of development for Oxford. “The CaGBC certification is the culmination of over five years of planning to pioneer a new zero carbon framework in a high-rise and architecturally-significant office tower, all while juggling the demands of realizing an economically-viable commercial project for our stakeholders.”

O’Neil added that the lessons learned from the project can now be applied to future projects, and shared with industry peers.

Oxford isn’t stopping there. The team is also targeting LEED v4 Platinum Core and Shell certification. Oxford plans to deploy smart building technology to provide insights on energy management, optimize building performance and enable preventative maintenance. The Stack will feature 250 bike parking stalls and club-quality fitness and change facilities for an exceptional customer experience. Oxford says this is meant to encourage wellness and promote sustainability. 

Reducing total carbon footprint 

The Stack is one part of a larger direction the company has been moving in. In 2015, Oxford set out to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2025. Last year Oxford announced it had exceeded their goal, reducing its portfolio carbon intensity by 37 percent, four years ahead of schedule. Company officials explained that this was made possible by pioneering groundbreaking new developments that raise the bar on sustainability, investing in data and analytics to set hourly carbon targets for its properties and human solutions that encourage sustainable active transportation.

“Oxford continues to demonstrate leadership in lowering carbon emissions across their portfolio. The Stack is the first new high-rise office building to achieve CAGBC’s Zero Carbon Building – Design certification. With this stand out project, Oxford is setting a new benchmark for Canada’s top real estate owners,” said Thomas Mueller, president and CEO, Canada Green Building Council. “Shifting investor and market interests in carbon solutions, along with advances in technology and know-how, make it more feasible for Canada’s major real estate projects to follow suit. 

Sustainability is good for business 

The company noted that The Stack is set to become the latest in a line of landmark developments. These include Vancouver’s MNP Tower, 402 Dunsmuir and Riverbend Business Park, Manhattan’s St. John’s Terminal which was recently acquired by Google, The Leadenhall Building in London and Toronto’s Park Hyatt. The Stack is currently 70 per cent pre-leased.

“Oxford has strong conviction that best-in-class offices that are smart, wellness-focused and sustainable will continue to be highly desirable to occupiers and continue to outperform,” said Ted Mildon, senior director at Oxford. “There is a real need among businesses to ensure they are located in buildings that not only inspire and engage their workforce, but also actively contribute to their own ESG goals. As a result of our Zero Carbon certification, The Stack is uniquely positioned to do so in the Vancouver market.”

Key Takeaways:

• Inflation continues to be an issue domestically and abroad.
• Global growth is expected to slow in 2023 but perk up in 2024.
• The bank expects that the policy interest rate will need to rise further.

The Whole Story:

Interest rates in Canada have once again gone up. 

The Bank of Canada announced it has increased its target for the overnight rate to 3.75 per cent, with the bank rate at 4 per cent and the deposit rate at 3.75 per cent. 

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank chopped the lending rate to almost nothing but has hiked its benchmark rate six times since March.

Bank officials noted that they also intend to continue their policy of quantitative tightening.

Inflation outside Canada is still high

“Inflation around the world remains high and broadly based,” stated bank officials in their rate hike announcement. “This reflects the strength of the global recovery from the pandemic, a series of global supply disruptions, and elevated commodity prices, particularly for energy, which have been pushed up by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The strength of the US dollar is adding to inflationary pressures in many countries. Tighter monetary policies aimed at controlling inflation are weighing on economic activity around the world. As economies slow and supply disruptions ease, global inflation is expected to come down.”

Bank officials noted that labour markets in the U.S. remain very tight even as restrictive financial conditions are slowing economic activity. The bank projected no growth in the U.S. economy through most of next year. 

“In the euro area, the economy is forecast to contract in the quarters ahead, largely due to acute energy shortages,” said the bank. “China’s economy appears to have picked up after the recent round of pandemic lockdowns, although ongoing challenges related to its property market will continue to weigh on growth.”

Growth is expected to slow

Overall, the bank projects that global growth will slow from 3 per cent in 2022 to about 1.50 per cent in 2023, and then pick back up to roughly 2.50 per cent in 2024. This is a slower pace of growth than was projected in the Bank’s July Monetary Policy Report (MPR).

“In Canada, the economy continues to operate in excess demand and labour markets remain tight,” noted the bank. “The demand for goods and services is still running ahead of the economy’s ability to supply them, putting upward pressure on domestic inflation. Businesses continue to report widespread labour shortages and, with the full reopening of the economy, strong demand has led to a sharp rise in the price of services.”

Bank officials explained that the effects of recent policy rate increases are becoming evident in interest-sensitive areas of the economy: housing activity has retreated sharply, and spending by households and businesses is softening. Also, the slowdown in international demand is beginning to weigh on exports. Economic growth is expected to stall through the end of this year and the first half of next year as the effects of higher interest rates spread through the economy. The Bank projects GDP growth will slow from 3.25 per cent this year to just under 1 per cent next year and 2 per cent in 2024. 

Higher rates could help rebalance economy

In the last three months, CPI inflation has declined from 8.1 per cent to 6.9 per cent, primarily due to a fall in gasoline prices. However, price pressures remain broadly based, with two-thirds of CPI components increasing more than 5 per cent over the past year. The bank noted that its preferred measures of core inflation are not yet showing meaningful evidence that underlying price pressures are easing. 

“Near-term inflation expectations remain high, increasing the risk that elevated inflation becomes entrenched,” officials said.

The bank expects CPI inflation to ease as higher interest rates help rebalance demand and supply, price pressures from global supply disruptions fade, and the past effects of higher commodity prices dissipate. CPI inflation is projected to move down to about 3 per cent by the end of 2023, and then return to the 2 per cent target by the end of 2024.

“Given elevated inflation and inflation expectations, as well as ongoing demand pressures in the economy, the governing council expects that the policy interest rate will need to rise further,” officials said. “Future rate increases will be influenced by our assessments of how tighter monetary policy is working to slow demand, how supply challenges are resolving, and how inflation and inflation expectations are responding. Quantitative tightening is complementing increases in the policy rate. We are resolute in our commitment to restore price stability for Canadians and will continue to take action as required to achieve the 2 per cent inflation target.”

Inflation to worsen before improving

Experts at Avison Young, a global real estate firm, believe inflation is likely to get worse before it gets better and believe more modest rate increases could be on the way.

“The Bank of Canada is leading the charge by global central banks in raising interest rates to tackle inflation and had already aggressively raised rates by 300 bps this year prior to their latest announcement,” said Nick Axford, principal and chief economist at the firm. “The housing market is slowing sharply and growth across the economy as a whole has effectively come to a halt, with a recession now looking likely in the early part of 2023.

Axford explained that despite this, consumer spending remains robust and the labour market is still tight.

“Headline inflation has stabilised for now, but at around 7 per cent this is uncomfortably high – and is likely to rise again before it declines,” he said. “As a result, the Bank continues to focus on preventing a wage-price spiral and remains concerned about the high level of core inflation.” 

Rate hike to restrict credit flow

Axford noted that the rate increase was well above the bank’s estimate of the “neutral” rate of 2-3 per cent.

“This was below consensus expectations of a 75bps rise, given the strength of the latest consumer and retail sales data,” he said. “Looking ahead, we expect rates to be pushed up further, but in more modest increments with one or two 25bps hikes over the coming months. Markets are pricing a peak for rates at just below 4.5 per cent, sensing that the Bank will be reluctant to push beyond this level until they have seen the impact of previous rises.

According to Axford, these impacts likely won’t be broadly felt through the economy for 12 to 18 months. He believes interest rates should stabilise early in 2023 – provided that inflation starts to move sustainably downwards from the early part of next year.

“In the meantime, the latest increase coupled with the quantitative tightening that is also underway represents a significant tightening of financial conditions, which will restrict the flow of credit in the economy,” said Axford. “This will act as a further constraint on the commercial real estate sector and housing market, impacting both pricing and transaction volumes.”

Key Takeaways:

• The changes are expected to make it easier, faster and cheaper to build housing.
• Officials also want to encourage more rental and affordable housing construction.
• Ontario is also looking to crack down on unethical builders, land speculators, empty homes and foreign buyers.

The Whole Story:

Ontario is looking to turbocharge home construction with new legislation.

This month the province unveiled legislation that, if passed, would support Ontario’s newest Housing Supply Action Plan, More Homes Built Faster. 

Officials explained that the plan is part of a long-term strategy to increase housing supply and address housing affordability.

“For too many Ontarians, including young people, newcomers, and seniors, finding the right home is still too challenging. This is not just a big-city crisis: the housing supply shortage affects all Ontarians, including rural, urban and suburban, north and south, young and old,” said Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing. “Our Housing Supply Action Plan is creating a strong foundation on which 1.5 million homes can be built over the next 10 years. Our government is following through on our commitment to Ontarians by cutting delays and red tape to get more homes built faster.”

Addressing the missing middle

Ontario is proposing changes to the Planning Act to create a new provincewide standard threshold for what’s allowed to be built by strengthening the additional residential unit framework. If passed, up to three residential units would be permitted “as of right” on most land zoned for one home in residential areas without needing a municipal by-law amendment. Depending on the property in question, these three units could all be within the existing residential structure or could take the form of a residence with an in-law or basement suite and a laneway or garden home. Officials noted that these new units must be compliant with the building code and municipal bylaws. These units would also be exempt from development charges and parkland dedication fees.

Building more homes near transit

Proposed changes to the Planning Act would help move towards “as-of-right” zoning to meet planned minimum density targets near major transit stations, reducing approval timelines and getting work started faster. Once the key development policies for major transit stations are approved, municipalities would be required to update their zoning by-laws within one year to meet minimum density targets.

Supporting affordable and rental housing

The province is proposing regulatory changes to provide certainty regarding inclusionary zoning rules, with a maximum 25-year affordability period, a five per cent cap on the number of inclusionary zoning units, and a standardized approach to determining the price or rent of an affordable unit under an inclusionary zoning program.

Officials also want to help streamline the construction and revitalization of aging rental housing stock. As it stands, under the Municipal Act and City of Toronto Act, municipalities may enact bylaws to prohibit and regulate the demolition or conversion of multi-unit residential rental properties of six units or more. These by-laws vary among municipalities and can include requirements that may limit access to housing or pose as barriers to creating housing supply. Ontario plans to begin consultations on potential regulations to enable greater standardization of these municipal by-laws, while ensuring that renter protections and landlord accountabilities remain in place.

Building attainable, affordable and non-profit housing

Officials stated that government charges and fees significantly impact the cost of housing – adding up to nearly $200,000 to the overall cost of building a home. Changes to the Planning Act, the Development Charges Act and the Conservation Authorities Act would freeze, reduce and exempt fees to spur the supply of new home construction. This includes ensuring affordable, and inclusionary zoning units, select attainable housing units, as well as non-profit housing developments, are exempt from municipal development charges, parkland dedication levies, and community benefits charges. Rental construction would also have reduced development charges and conservation authority fees for development permits and proposals would be temporarily frozen. Ontario is also undertaking a review of all other fees levied by provincial ministries, boards, agencies and commissions to determine what impact they may have on the cost of housing with the intent of further reducing, if not eliminating these fees altogether.

Streamlining processes

Proposed changes to the Planning Act would remove site plan control requirements for most projects with fewer than 10 residential units with some limited exceptions. Officials expect this to reduce the number of required approvals for small housing projects, speeding things up for all housing proposals, while building permits and robust building and fire code requirements would continue to protect public safety. Proposed streamlining changes also include focusing responsibility for land use policies and approvals in certain lower-tier municipalities to eliminate the time and costs associated with planning processes by upper-tier municipalities. The province explained that this would give the local community more influence over decisions that impact them directly, clarifying responsibilities and improving the efficiency of government services for citizens.

Improving the Ontario land tribunal 

Proposed legislative changes to the Ontario Land Tribunal Act are expected to speed up proceedings, resolve cases more efficiently and streamline processes. This includes allowing for regulations to prioritize cases that meet certain criteria , as well as to establish service standards. Proposed changes would also clarify the Tribunal’s powers to dismiss appeals due to unreasonable party delay or party failure to comply with a Tribunal order, as well as clarify the Tribunal’s powers to order an unsuccessful party to pay the successful party’s costs. Ontario would also invest $2.5 million in other resources to support faster dispute resolution and to help reduce the overall caseload at the Tribunal.

Creating an attainable housing program

Ontario plans to create a new program to support home ownership. The new program will leverage provincial authorities, surplus or underutilized lands, and commercial innovation and partnerships to rapidly build attainable homes in mixed-income communities that are accessible to all and will help families to build portable equity.

Protecting homebuyers

Ontario intends to double maximum fines for unethical builders and vendors of new homes who unfairly cancel projects or terminate purchase agreements. These proposed changes under the New Home Construction Licensing Act, would, if passed, increase existing maximum financial penalties from $25,000 to $50,000 per infraction, with no limit to additional monetary benefit penalties, and be retroactively imposed for contraventions that occurred on or after April 14, 2022. These changes would also enable the Home Construction Regulatory Authority to use funds from these penalties to provide money back to affected consumers, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to provide such funds to consumers. If passed, the amendments would come into force in early 2023.

Combatting land speculation

In January, during the Ontario-Municipal Housing Summit, Ontario’s mayors expressed concerns that lands planned for residential development are sitting empty because home builders are taking too long to complete their planning applications, delaying the creation of new homes. Ontario plans to work with industry partners to investigate the issue of land speculation and determine whether potential regulatory changes under the New Home Construction Licensing Act are needed.

Improving heritage and growth planning

Proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act would renew and update Ontario’s heritage policies and strengthen the criteria for heritage designation and update guidelines. Officials believe this would promote sustainable development that conserves and commemorates key places with heritage significance and provide municipalities with the clarity and flexibility needed to move forward with priority projects, including housing. Ontario will be consulting on how it manages natural heritage, including improving the management of wetlands, while supporting sustainable growth and development. Ontario will be seeking input on integrating A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the Provincial Policy Statement into a single, provincewide planning policy document. This review will also include consultation on how to address overlapping planning policies that could negatively impact precision in mapping and municipal planning.

Reducing taxes on affordable rental housing

The province is asking the federal government to partner with them on potential GST/HST incentives, including rebates, exemptions and deferrals, to support new ownership and rental housing development. 

Changing property tax for affordable and rental housing

Currently, property tax assessments for affordable rental housing are established using the same basis as regular market rental properties. Ontario plans to explore potential refinements to the assessment methodology used to assess affordable rental housing so that it better reflects the reduced rents that are received by these housing providers.

In addition, Ontario will consult with municipalities on potential approaches to reduce the current property tax burden on multi-residential apartment buildings in the province.

Addressing vacant homes

This winter, the province plans to conduct consultation on a policy framework setting out the key elements of local vacant home taxes. Officials noted that currently only a handful of municipalities have the authority to charge this tax on unoccupied residential units to incentivize owners to sell or rent them out. A provincial-municipal working group will be established to consult on this framework, and to facilitate sharing information and best practices.

Strengthening the Non-Resident Speculation Tax

At 25 per provincewide, Ontario noted that it now has the highest and most comprehensive Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) in the country. This initiative is meant to further discourage foreign speculation in Ontario’s housing market.