Category: People

Every May, Canadians celebrate the strength and dedication of moms for Mothers Day.

This year, SiteNews wanted learn more about working mothers who put on steel-toed boots and head off to the job site.

We spoke with Elvira Lovas, an Ontario tradesperson who holds multiple electrical licenses, a refrigeration mechanic license and a gas fitter license. She’s worked in construction, commercial service, facilities operations, passenger rail and academia. She also is single mother to a 10-year-old son.

SiteNews: How did you get into the construction sector and what sort of work do you do?

Elvira Lovas: Started in concrete and framing to try it, found it quickly boring. Moved to technical service in HVACR and gasfitting (some construction there too), then into industrial electrical work. I really like the technical subject matter. Trades were cheaper than Uni for engineering after already being in debt for a diploma I didn’t want to use in an industry I wasn’t interested in (which is what i was encouraged to be in by everyone). Lesson is figure yourself out and try different things to get some experience before taking decisions that require long term commitments. So simply put, I kind of settled for close to what I wanted that I believed I could afford. It worked out well.

What has been experience going through a pregnancy/raising a child while working in the industry?

No difference in work other than being too fat to fit in to places I did previously and yes I did all the heavy work just fine. Women are power-cleaning (heavy overhead presses) eight months pregnant at the gym nowadays so yeah, it’s doable if you have a healthy pregnancy and you’re fit. Not having weekends off due to work schedules worked out just great because his father was able to spend time with him on weekends and I had weekdays off to do whatever I wanted with my son. Not much for a social life but I was happy “momming” on my non-job time.

How did your life change after becoming a mother?

I’ve never stopped being tired haha. It gets a little better after a while (kiddo is 10 now) but there are some words I’ll never remember for lack of sleep (and now I’m getting older so there’s that). It’s busy. You better want it if you’re going to do it. I’m also super happy I did. Wouldn’t change a thing. It isn’t for everyone, but it’s for me.

Did you have any concerns about how you might be treated in the industry if you had a child?

No. Didnt tell anyone until I was really big and I couldn’t just say I was fat anymore. It was winter when I grew so I was able to hide it for a good while under the clothing. Since they saw me working while pretty large and pregnant already they didnt try to deter me because obviously, I was fine. Though I did have someone, not a tradesperson, a woman actually, freak out at me for working the way I was. She later apologized.

What was the response from your employer and coworkers when they found out you were going to be a parent?

One guy dropped his coffee when I told him I was pregnant. My boss wanted me to hurry up and come back but was very supportive. Think I timed it well due to us being slow after the recession (very much planned it as such). They were all pretty good about it. I did later get comments from one co-worker asked me who was feeding my son when I was working overtime. I’m sure others think like that. Their insecurities are not my problem. People who want to find something wrong with you always will, or they’ll make something up, so do whatever you want.

What are some misconceptions you think people have about working mothers in construction?

The same misconceptions they have about women and mothers in general. 

What are some of the challenges of being a mother in construction?

Unpredictable schedule which is why I’m in an industrial environment with shift work and a full time job.

What are some of the advantages of being a mother in construction?

Money. I can take care of my aging father and son and still have a disposable income. If you do what feels right, it doesn’t feel like work when you have to work.

Has being a mother taught you any lessons that have contributed to your work life?

I feel like I understand people in general more watching my son develop and knowing him as his own person. Changed my perspective on alot of things.

Has being in construction taught you any lessons that have contributed to your parenting?

What to correct while he is young. What happens when you don’t. I think blue collar environments are full of people who didn’t do what they were told. That isn’t inherently bad, but there is usually a lot of mental baggage that comes with being that way that can lead to unhappiness. I want him to be who he is (a free thinker) while being emotionally well adjusted and happy as an adult.

What are some things that the employers, government and coworkers could do to be more supportive of working mothers?

Employers need to be supportive of parents in general, meaning that men shouldn’t be punished for being parents, socially or otherwise either. This means men also need to have time with their families. Maternity leave has always been 15 weeks and parental leave 35 which can be taken by either parent. Men are afraid to take it, putting the burden on mothers, and denying men the opportunity to parent the way they could. Mothers absolutely need time to nurse their children, but men need time to bond and to be fathers. Children need their fathers too. PEOPLE shouldn’t be afraid to lose their jobs if they chose to have a life other than their career. The benefits extend to better mental health for everyone and better adjusted children and adults.

What would be your advice to other women in the industry who want to have a family and a career?

People are going to judge you anyway. Do whatever you want.

Key Takeaways:

• B.C. is in the process of implementing certification requirements for seven electrical and mechanical trades.
• The province is asking for submissions from businesses, labour organizations, industry associations, Indigenous organizations and communities on what the next trades should be that will require certification.
• The province will announces these trades in spring 2024.

The Whole Story:

B.C. is accepting applications for the next trades that will designated for skilled trades certification.

Following input from industry stakeholders and partners, SkilledTradesBC is accepting applications for more trades to be certified. B.C. businesses, labour organizations, industry associations, Indigenous organizations and communities that work or have an interest in the trades may apply to SkilledTradesBC for their trade to be designated.

SkilledTradesBC stated that it will evaluate applications based on “specific criteria that will align with existing regulatory frameworks and similarities to existing certified trades.”

SkilledTradesBC will then make recommendations to the province for trades to be considered for skilled trades certification.

Applications are open until June 30, 2023. Trades identified through the new process for skilled trades certification are expected to be announced in spring 2024.  

Skilled trade certification is underway for seven electrical and mechanical trades. Workers in those trades have until Dec. 1, 2023, to either register as an apprentice or to have applied for, written or passed a certification exam. Support is available through SkilledTradesBC apprenticeship advisers and financial aid from the province and the federal government.

Skilled trade certification for three additional automotive trades will begin in 2024, and workers will have one year to register as an apprentice or become certified.

According to the province, skilled trades certification formally recognizes the skills of current and future workers, raises the profile of the trades and attracts more people to careers in the trades.

However, the move has faced criticism from groups like the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA). The group believes it will only create more unnecessary barriers to people looking to enter the industry.

“The return of compulsory trades is the result of government looking in the rear-view mirror and hoping that policies of yesterday will address the challenges of today and tomorrow,” wrote Chris Gardner, ICBA president, in a column. “And, let’s be clear, this is not about improving the quality of work – no British Columbian should be worried about the work performed by B.C.’s nearly 250,000 construction workers. It’s designed by the best in the world, it’s highly regulated, permitted, and thoroughly inspected.”

For information about skilled trade certification and to submit a trade for consideration, visit: https://www.skilledtradesbc.ca/stc-trades-designation-process

Learn about skilled trades certification here: https://skilledtradesbc.ca/skilledtradescertification

The most precious thing any company has isn’t equipment, investments or project leads.

It’s people.

For this year’s construction safety week, SiteNews is highlighting companies that are going beyond what’s required for safety and finding innovative ways to protect workers.

Organizer’s of Construction Week chose the theme of Strong Voices, Safe Choices to showcases the industry’s dedication to creating a culture and environment where everyone is empowered to step in, speak up, and take action to keep their team and job site safe.

Norland Limited

Norland, a Canadian Construction Association’s National Safety Award winner, developed an online safety training portal and created custom safety courses for its hundreds of employees. Courses include hazard awareness, due diligence for supervisors and more. Since launching in 2019, more than 7,500 courses have been completed

Bird Construction

Construction Safety Nova Scotia (CSNS) recently honoured Bird Construction for its efforts to care for its workers’ mental health. The company’s eaders share knowledge and resources, and foster an environment where it is safe to raise concerns about mental health. The company offers virtual courses on mental health and Mental Health First Aid for managers. It delivered several toolbox talks tailored to mental health issues, and Wellness Champions throughout the company are passionate about mental health and raising awareness.

Western Pacific Enterprises

As a commercial and industrial electrical contractor, Western Pacific Enterprises leverages collaboration software to record safety stats throughout its work sites and uses the data to mitigate re-occurrence, enabling employees to work across the organization to make safety a top priority.

Scott Construction

For years, Scott Construction has been a leader in destigmatizing mental health issues. Its Mental Health Committee is led by members from across the organization to support mental health topics. The committee focuses on communication, education and external resources support on topics ranging from substance abuse education, family mental wellness to physical wellbeing challenges. The effort supports workers on sites in B.C., Alberta and Ontario. 

PCL / EllisDon / Ontario General Contractors Association

After falling construction materials injured two pedestrians in Ontario, builders in the province teamed up to attack the issue head on. The Ontario General Contractors Association has partnered  with PCL Constructors Canada Inc. and EllisDon for a Safety Week campaign it’s calling “Stop the Drop” The campaign includes.a shared Toolbox Safety Talk that provides prevention methods to avoid these types of incidents. 

Lincor

Industrial painting contractor Lincor’s efforts to prevent worker injury earned it the Gord Stewart Safety Award from the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association. The company collaborated with injury experts to create the Industrial Athlete program where crews regularly do preventative exercises and check in with health experts to treat emerging issues. 

Borger Group

Borger believes every voice is equal. Any worker has the ability to stop any site, any time, with complete immunity if they feel it’s unsafe. The site remains at a standstill until the risk is assessed by at least two safety officers. The Calgary company stated that it has spent the past year implementing Vizzn safety software. The tool identifies missing safety paperwork and compares active equipment and actual events to safety paperwork. 

IRL Construction

IRL Construction worked with U.K.-based FHOSS to develop an intelligent illumination safety system. The system can create a lit-up box that keeps people clear of moving equipment,  graphics on the outside of working equipment and lighting on hard hats to make workers more visible. Officials at IRL said the tools have been useful for reminding evening its most seasoned workers of where hazardous areas are located when working around heavy equipment. 

Ledcor

Ledcor Group was awarded the Construction Workplace Health and Safety Innovation award by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association for its excavation extraction rescue system (EERS). The system can be used to safely and expediently extract a worker from an excavation site in the event of an emergency. EERS can be implemented and used at any stage of excavation.

EllisDon

Earlier this year EllisDon has launched the Fit Your Frame campaign, aimed at providing construction safety vests to women and gender-nonconforming persons whose frame and body type are not best served by traditional vest offerings. The company partnered with Md Bespoke, a Black-owned Canadian custom clothing manufacturer, to produce vests that will uphold the quality and function of traditional vests, with better fitting and size options.

It all started in an Ottawa basement with Jeffrey Clarke Sr. in 1994.

“My father was a serial entrepreneur from Nova Scotia,” said Jeff W. Clarke, his son. “We moved to Ottawa so he could have a government job but that wasn’t working out for him. He couldn’t shake the entrepreneurial spirit.” 

Clarke Sr. decided from his travels and conversations that environmental services was a good space to be in. He eventually connected with an environmental contractor named David Walsh. They partnered up to form Inflector Environmental Services in a basement and it began to grow.

Like father, like son

With Clarke Sr.’s son, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 

“I always had an entrepreneurial spirit as well,” said Clarke.  

Growing up, he was an avid skateboarder. Not content to just ride, he opened up a skateboard shop in his father’s shed. 

“Anything that I loved I wanted to turn into a business,” he said. “I grew up watching my father and I was fascinated with seeing him open and close companies, the struggle, the turmoil.”

At 16 he started working for his father and quickly learned the ins and outs of Inflector’s hazardous materials remediation and demolition services.

“I was in the field right away with the tools so I got some great experience,” he said. “I loved it – the camaraderie, being on site, being one of the only kids in school that could afford to buy lunch was awesome. I worked weekends, holidays and even sometimes after school.” 

By his third summer he was running his own projects as a superintendent. Eventually he decided to move back to Nova Scotia to study. He graduated with a general commerce degree. During his last semester as he was gearing up to continue his schooling, his father told him he had lung cancer and there wasn’t much time. 

“He said he would appreciate it if I stepped into the business if something were to happen,” said Clarke.

Four months later, his father passed away and Clarke followed his wishes to keep the business going. 

Taking the reins

“It was a baptism by fire. The first year was a wild ride. I would look in the mirror and say ‘you are not going bankrupt today’. I had no crazy goals. I just took it one day at a time to keep the lights on and keep employees comfortable and confident about the business and its future. It was definitely a shocker,” said Clarke. 

His strategy for growth and success was simple: money and people

“For the first year, you have to make sure you run a business that is profitable and reinvest in the business in an intelligent manner,” he said. “You need to use that money to attract and create a culture where the best people in the industry want to work. It’s not much of a secret sauce.” 

Clarke went after some of the most innovative and competent people he could find and attributed much of the company’s success to his team.

“I really believe a lot of the success has nothing really to do with myself but the people that came here and our ability to motivate and support people to do what they are good at, to innovate stuff and leave their mark,” he said. 

The company has since started taking on larger and larger projects, getting out of its comfort zone and bringing on people that could execute. 

“It sounds boring, but the people built Inflector and I am lucky enough to be part of it,” he said.  

Major expansion

One of the first major projects was a multi-million dollar project working on a government conference centre in Ottawa.

“It was our first time working in an extreme heritage environment,” said Clarke. “We moved out a crazy tonnage of asbestos. It was insane the amount of concrete that was coming out. It was a wild job.” 

Today Inflector is the largest environmental services contractor in all of Atlantic Canada with offices in Halifax, N.S. and Moncton, N.B. Recently they have been making moves to grow through acquisitions. Atlantic-Canada-based EnviroBate was the company’s first acquisition in July of 2022. Ontario-based Donalco Inc. was the company’s second in February this year. 

“Inflector grew organically for my first eight years in the business, but it’s a lot to go around the country opening offices organically and self funding for so long,” said Clarke. 

Not only was the travel becoming unfeasible for the team, but the company needed to expand its services. 

“It was time for us to look at other ways for geographic growth as well as service line diversification,” said Clarke. “You can’t do the same services forever because eventually markets go through cycles. If there is a slowdown in one cycle, we need to pickup something else.” 

In the case of Donalco, the acquisition helped the company branch out into fireproofing/firestopping space.

“They have been an industry leader for a long time. They have a great reputation, a strong business model and amazing people,” said Clarke. “One thing we look at when we are considering an acquisition is you have to have amazing people. In construction, we aren’t making a widget that is the same thing every day. A lot of the stuff is contract to contract. And you need people who can execute.”

Clarke is also looking at getting into other speciality contracting services that have a high barrier to entry. 

“The market size may be small, but those that do it well can survive,” he said. 

One major trend Inflector has identified in the sector is the revitalization of historical contaminated sites, including buildings, ships and others.  Clarke explained that these structures are being brought into a new generation of environmental impact. 

“From the logistics team to the field teams and others, there is an enormous sense of pride to be on historical projects,” said Clarke. “Lots of buildings come and go, but these ones will be around forever. It’s a legacy building moment for a lot of the team here and we are proud to have them on our resume. Morale is extremely high and everybody really wants to do their best.”

Spring has sprung and construction work is in full swing all across the country. Shots that caught our staff’s eye this month included safety training, trash pickups, traffic control, rainbows, ospreys and more.

Andrew Pariser / RESCON

Fans enjoy a Blue Jays game after PCL completed major upgrades to the 33-year-old Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Coastal GasLink

Crews working at the Coastal GasLink’s Kitimat Meter Station enjoy a rainbow.

Construction Foundation of BC

The Construction Foundation of B.C. welcomed rebar worker Oleh Marchyshyn and his family to Victoria. The family recently moved to B.C. from Ukraine and Oleh was quickly able to find work in the construction industry.

Ansan Group

Traffic control workers with Ansan Group work on a site in Vancouver.

Salina Kassam / Moriyama Teshima Architects

Crews lift bridge pieces for the Limberlost Place project in downtown Toronto.

Beedie Development

An aerial shot shows progress on Beedie Development’s RISE at Point Trotter project in Calgary.

Lafarge Canada

Lafarge workers clean up trash near the company’s Innovation Hub in Edmonton.

Peak Construction Group

Elder Dennis Joseph shares a song and prayer with Peak Construction Group’s teams at the Sen̓áḵw site for National Day of Mourning.

Glenbow Museum

Workers watch as new exterior panels are placed on the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. The panels are made from Cloudcrete, a fibreglass concrete mix that allows for unique shapes while maintaining their strength.

ETRO Construction

ETRO Construction’s team gives a crane-high view of work on the Brightside Community Homes Foundation’s Passive House project.

Metrolinx

The first passenger trails roll over the new Davenport Diamond Guideway, an elevated track that allows GO Trains to travel above traffic and freight trains in the Greater Toronto Area.

Chandos Construction

Chandos shows off work its team completed for the Ed Howell Emergency Services Training Tower in Red Deer, Alta.

Tomlinson Group

Spring crushing is in full swing at Tomlinson’s Rideau Quarry in Ontario.

The Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association

The Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association visits Pacesetter Homes to demonstrate proper safety for the head, eyes and working at heights.

Con-Force Structures

Con-Force Structures shows off its direct large load capability in Western Canada.

BC Ministry of Transportation

An osprey tends to its nest at Kelowna’s William R. Bennett Bridge. The BC Ministry of Transportation assisted the birds after their nest toppled during a wind storm. 

Lafarge Canada is acquiring Westridge Quarries’ operations. 

In its announcement, Lafarge explained that Westridge is a well-established supplier of construction aggregates and contract crushing services for the Okanagan Valley. The acquisition is in alignment with Lafarge’s Strategy 2025 to expand its aggregates business through critical acquisitions of pits, quarries, docks, and depots in strategic high growth markets.

“This is an exciting step forward in our 2025 growth strategy,” said Brad Kohl, president and CEO, Lafarge, Western Canada. “This acquisition will allow us to expand our operating footprint and product offerings for our customers in the Okanagan. We will leverage significant synergies with our existing footprint that will strengthen the combined business.”

The deal includes the addition of two quarries and one sand and gravel reserve in the Okanagan, which will provide long-term reserves in an established market as well as other real estate. 

“We are thrilled to make acquisitions that anticipate our customers’ needs, and look forward to welcoming our 70 new colleagues into the Lafarge family,” added Lincoln Kyne, senior vice president, B.C. and Pacific Northwest U.S., Lafarge.

“We are excited to watch our organization joining forces with the Lafarge family, a company with strong values and a clear vision for the future,” said Trevor Isaac, general manager and co-owner of Westridge Quarries. “This acquisition represents a tremendous opportunity for our staff and partners and will ensure that Westridge Quarries remains an industry leader in service, quality, and sustainability. We look forward to watching them continue building from the foundation that has been established.”

Key Takeaways:

• Industry groups in Alberta are calling on NDP leader Rachel Notley to be specific about the party’s stance on community benefits agreements and “double breasting”.
• The next Provincial General Election is scheduled to be held on May 29 unless an election is called earlier.
• The groups include the Progressive Contractors Association, the Alberta Construction Association and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of Alberta.

The Whole Story:

Alberta construction groups are calling on NDP leader Rachel Notley to clarify the party’s position on labour issues as a general election for the province looms on the horizon.

In a letter signed by the Progressive Contractors Association, the Alberta Construction Association and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of Alberta, the groups asked Notley to explain two potential policy changes that they predict could harm the industry and taxpayers.  

“We are reaching out to you on behalf of several Alberta construction associations, who would like clarification on two policy changes that you promise, should you be elected in the upcoming Alberta general election,” wrote the groups. “We are concerned that if implemented, these changes could increase taxpayer costs and limit the access of thousands of Alberta companies and construction workers to public and private projects, during a critical time when demand for their skills is at an all-time high.”

The letter focused on two main issues: Community benefits agreements and “double breasting”.

Community benefits agreements

The groups noted that on multiple occasions the NDP has signaled its intention to implement a community benefits agreement” regime in Alberta to maximize the participation of underemployed worker groups. 

“We believe CBAs, when designed to be fair, open and transparent, can achieve meaningful social procurement objectives,” wrote the groups. “However, these reports note that a new NDP government may look to B.C. as a template for a broader CBA program. We sincerely hope this is a misprint.”

The groups explained that they believe the B.C. program, designed by former Premier John Horgan’s NDP government, is in reality a “grossly coercive program aimed at giving select B.C. Building Trades Unions a monopoly over large parts of the province’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects.”

They explained that companies wishing to do work on these projects must do so using exclusively Building Trades Union (BTU) labour and terms, regardless of which labour model they are affiliated with. 

“Given that B.C.’s BTU workers constitute no more than 15% of the province’s skilled construction workforce, this means that the other 85% are excluded from public work that is paid for by their own tax dollars,” they wrote. “We trust you will agree that this arrangement is grossly unfair, anti-competitive and punishes companies and their workers for choices they have freely made.”

The groups called on Notley to clarify the NDP’s stance on CBAs and if it will differ from B.C.’s approach.

“Our industry associations are ready and willing to constructively work with parties across the political spectrum, to pursue social procurement objectives that are fair, meaningful, and productive,” they said.

Double Breasting

The groups stated that the NDP has also pledged to do away with “double breasting” in the construction and maintenance sectors.

They explained that the term arises out of Labour Relations Board decisions across Canada. 

“It is not – and lawfully cannot be – a creation of employers. It arises only when employees, within a group of businesses, decide to be represented by a union that is different from another union representing the employees of another company within that corporate group,” they wrote. “When there are different unions representing separate employees within separate companies – or there is a non-union business in the group – the ‘label’ that is applied from the labour relations perspective, is that the overall business is “double” or ‘triple breasted.’”

The groups explained that no single source of workers has been sufficient to meet the workforce required to construct all of Alberta’s capital and infrastructure projects, whether those workers are craft or progressive, union, non- union, from employee associations, or from outside the province. 

“Healthy competition has resulted in union and non-union employers offering high pay, comprehensive benefit packages, training and learning and development including outstanding workplace health and safety, family counselling services, and other employee supports,” they argued. “Indeed, construction is among the highest paying professions in Alberta, well above the average for all industries and occupations.”

The groups called tinkering with the corporate structure of construction and maintenance firms a misguided attempt to address perceived issues with double breasting .

“At minimum, we would want to see industry-wide consultations before such drastic policy changes are enacted,” they said. 

The groups concluded by highlighting the province’s “Alberta is Calling” campaign aimed at attracting workers from other provinces, including skilled trades workers from under-utilized groups such as youth, women, immigrants, and Indigenous Peoples. 

“The policy changes under consideration could send a very different message: that Alberta is really only calling upon a select few, at a time when the province’s construction industry faces a dire and growing shortage of skilled labour,” they wrote.

Kieran Hawe will take over as CEO of EllisDon the end of June. The company announced that Geoff Smith will be stepping down as president and CEO. The company stated that Smith will continue to play a pivotal role as chair of the board and will retain responsibility for the company’s digital and data strategy and execution.

Joseph Mancinelli will take over as Canadian Director of LiUNA Canada in addition to his role of LiUNA international vice president. LiUNA represents construction workers, waste management workers, show service workers and healthcare workers.

Dave Reynolds announced that he will retire as CEO of NorLand, where he has worked for nearly 40 years. The company stated that his contributions to NorLand have been immeasurable, and his leadership has helped shape the company into the success it is today. The company is currently conducting a search for the next CEO.

Michael Tymko has been promoted to vice president, business development and Indigenous relations at Inline Group Inc. In his announcement, Tymko said the growth of Inline’s business across five provinces and three territories in the last two years has been the most rewarding experience of his career.

Patrick Laurin has been appointed managing director for Avison Young Canada‘s Montréal team. Mark Fieder, the company’s president, called Laurin “a natural leader with a track record of working collaboratively to drive business across all service lines to produce positive outcomes.”

Dom Costantini has announced the formation of his own consulting practice BLDR Consulting Corporation. Its core services are fractional construction, executive leadership and construction project consulting. Previously, Costantini served as Bird Construction‘s vice president of operations.

Ruffy Ruan has joined Focal Engineering as a senior energy analyst. Ruan stated that she will be working with the firm’s team of experts to revitalize the role of energy modelling and continue to improve building performance in the construction industry. Ruan added that the goal of her work is to minimize the gap between actual and modelled building performance.

Jason Kenney, a former Alberta premier, has been nominated to ATCO’s board, which is to be voted on during the company’s upcoming annual general meeting on May 10 at the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary. Nominees are identified by the board and its chairman.

Michael Ferreira, founder of Urban Analytics, has joined Anthem Properties as senior vice resident of the finance and corporate affairs team

Nicholas Wong has been promoted from site superintendent to field manager at Wales McLelland. Wong has been with the company since 1995. During that time, he’s completed over 28 projects.

Steve Chaplin, EllisDon’s vice president of health, safety and environment, has been named chair of the Prevention Council of Ontario. Chaplin said the council has an opportunity to help bring forward and advise on standards and practices that are practical, meaningful and make a difference to worker health and safety.

Navid Jalali has been promoted to manager of quality and inspections services for the B.C. region at RAM Consulting. Jalali stated that it a challenge he is excited to take on is to continue to grow RAM’s services to new clients and maintain delivery excellence.

Scott Adkins is now the Vancouver Regional Construction Association’s board director and vice chair of the general contractors division. Adkins is a professional engineer and has been in the industry for over 27 years working in Western Canada and the Northwest US within the heavy civil, commercial and institutional sectors. He has been with PCL Construction since 2005.

Jessica Toppazzini has been named the managing director of Avison Young‘s Vancouver office. She is the first female to hold the position at the company at the market level in Canada. Toppazzini is taking over the position from Michael Keenan, who is retiring.

Olivia Poulsom is starting a new position as Marketing Manager at Stack Modular. Before that, Poulsom, did marketing work for Professional Custom Homes and CIR Realty.

Kieran Ryder has been hired as project coordinator at Graham. Previously, Ryder worked as a recruiter at Graham.

Jack Priestley has joined Astria Properties this month as its head of development. Priestley oversees all of Astria’s development pipeline and is involved in strategically managing new projects. Priestly previously worked at Orion, a sister company of Astria.

Byron Lambert is Nomodic‘s new chief financial officer. Lambert is a Chartered Accountant with over 12 years of progressive experience in the construction industry. Nomodic says he brings extensive experience in corporate strategy, financial and risk management, reporting, ESG, contracts, and insurance.

Key Takeaways:

• More than 1,300 responded to the survey.
• More than 60% of small contractors have thought about leaving the industry.
• The BCCA strongly recommended prompt payment legislation, public procurement reform and faster permitting to give the province’s builders some relief.

The Whole Story:

B.C. builders are feeling concerned and stressed. 

The BC Construction Association (BCCA) released its annual Industry Survey which saw more than 1,300 respondents give their thoughts on the sector.  

The association stated that the results show demand for construction services is high, but labour supply, costs, and faltering public sector standards and systems around permits, contracts, procurement, and payments are undermining development and putting B.C.’s builders in a tough spot.

“It’s true that labour shortages and the cost of materials are constant challenges,” said Chris Atchison, president of the BCCA. “But industry can manage these pressures – it’s what we do. The biggest hindrances to building housing and other infrastructure today are the associated operations of the authorities having jurisdiction, from Crowns to Ministries and Municipalities.”

The survey found that over 80% of contractors, regardless of size, were paid late for their substantially completed work at least once this past year.  Nearly half of large contractors (100 employees plus) report being paid late at least 25% of the time, and 30% of small contractors (20 employees or less) report the same.  With the cost of borrowing skyrocketing, financing projects for owners is a burden most businesses cannot afford.

The association noted that contract disputes related to costs are a common occurrence, with 44% of small contractors saying they’ve filed a fixed price contract dispute in the last 12 months, compared to 31% of medium contractors and 28% of large.

Interest in public sector projects has waned, with only 45% of large contractors saying they’re “very likely” to bid, vs. less than 20% of small contractors.  Reasons given for lack of interest include “don’t need the work”, “contracts favour the owner”, “process favours larger companies” and “same companies win every time”.

According to the association, these and other pressures are squeezing the small contractors, 61% of whom report thinking about leaving the industry. The average company size has decreased 11% over the last three years to an average of 6.24 workers.  Approximately 92% of companies in the industry employ 10 workers or fewer.

On the workforce side, labourers and skilled workers are reaping the benefits of short supply.  The job market remains highly competitive, driving annual earnings up 22% in the last five years to an average of $70,088. Most workers are working full time and earning overtime, and roughly 45% of respondents reported changing employers within the last year, with the number one reason being higher pay.

The association stated that the skills shortage has improved significantly over the last five years, and although the industry is still short 6,000 skilled workers, that is a substantial improvement from the 49,800-person gap estimated for 2023 ten years ago. 

Most respondents report pursuing another career path prior to construction, with 55% of apprentices holding some university credits.  All levels of talent, from labourers to Journeypersons, are equally likely to hold an academic degree (7%), and 48% of apprentices owe more than $10,000 in academic student loan debt.

The group noted that one of the most disappointing trends it found is the 21% decrease in tradeswomen, a sharp reversal after several years of solid gains. Women comprise only 4.5% of the 163,900 skilled tradespeople in BC’s construction industry today, down from 6% in 2020, despite continuing improvements in construction culture and more employers actively pursuing diverse hiring practices.

“There are many retirements and we’re fighting hard to find new talent” says Atchison. “But the labour shortage is acutely felt beyond the crew, and that impacts costs and timelines too. The whole ecosystem is pressed for experienced staff, from the design team to the authorities having jurisdiction and the owners themselves.  Contractors are deciding not to take on projects due to risk in the process as well as crew shortages.”

The number of employees in the industry has grown 17% year-over-year, and 6% over pre-pandemic levels, although the skilled trades workforce has decreased 4% year-over-year and 9% over pre-pandemic levels. 

The association stated that this de-skilling of the overall workforce reflects that it takes four years to complete an apprenticeship and believes this may be fueling and increasing concern about safety on the worksite from survey respondents.   

The construction industry’s contribution to BC’s GDP is up 4% over last year, and it remains the top employer in BC’s goods sector, with 251,100 British Columbians relying directly on construction for a paycheque.

BCCA is advocating for three changes that it says will address the challenges facing the province’s builders as well as the owners who need the work to be done on budget and on time. They are:

• Introduce prompt payment legislation to normalize standard, reasonable payment terms of 30 days, ensure proper invoices are paid, and give clear rights to lien holdback monies. 
• Make public sector projects more attractive to industry by having fair, open and transparent procurement processes and reasonable contract conditions. 
• Speed up the permit process with the authorities having jurisdiction, including municipalities and BC Hydro. 

“Until BC catches up to the rest of Canada, the USA and Britain, and introduces Prompt Payment Legislation, policy-makers need to be tuned into the fact that the financial risks for BC’s contractors are nearing a breaking point,” said Atchison. “There are actions that industry and government can take together and separately that will alleviate the challenges contractors are facing.”

B.C. is breaking ground on its 6^th Annual Construction and Skilled Trades Month by recognizing excellence across the industry in three areas: public sector procurement, culture change, and leadership.

“The construction industry is going full steam in an extremely challenging economic environment,” said Chris Atchison, president of the BC Construction Association (BCCA). “Every day they build the housing, schools, and hospitals that British Columbians rely on. They’re dedicated, but they’re not invincible. Construction Month is how we showcase the industry and recognize its contribution to our economy and society.”

Awards for construction industry culture

The Builders Code is honouring five employers with Builders Code Champion Awards for leading the way in advancing the culture of B.C.’s industrial, commercial, and institutional construction sector. According to the BCCA, the province’s industry is 95.50% male. The association stated that since COVID-19, gender diversity has taken a backwards step, with tradeswomen dropping from 6.3% to 4.50% of the skilled workforce.  The group stated that it’s crucial that employers lead the way to a contemporary culture that will attract new talent and alleviate the workforce shortage.

The 2023 Builders Code Champions are:

• Island Red Cedar Construction (Nanaimo) – Small Contractor of the Year
• Lacey Construction (Deroche) – Community Champion
• Houle Electric (Burnaby) – Contractor of the Year – and Workplace Culture Champion – (Large Company Category)
• Kinetic Construction (Victoria) – Recruiting and Hiring Champion
• RAM Consulting (Vancouver) – Workplace Culture Champion – (Medium Company Category)

Awards for public sector procurement

The association explained that procuring construction services is a highly specialized practice that requires unique experience, knowledge, and skill. It added that as the pressure to build housing and other infrastructures collide with skyrocketing costs, labour shortages, and lack of timely payment, procurement best practises are more important than ever for project success. That’s why the BC Construction Association (BCCA) has chosen to honour public owners who consistently show leadership in the procurement of construction services:

• Fraser Health, Provincial Health Services Authority, and Vancouver Coastal Health – Facilities Management Procurement Team
• City of Victoria – Supply Management Services  
• BC Ministry of Citizen Services – Procurement Services

The Public Sector Procurement and Builders Code Champion Awards will be presented throughout the month of April, at events hosted by the BCCA and regional construction associations.

Awards for leadership 

In Victoria on April 19, the BC Construction Association will present awards for leadership in apprenticeship and community-building at an invitation-only gala dinner. The Leadership Awards are an annual opportunity for the construction industry to acknowledge its outstanding people and the companies they represent. The 2023 Leadership Award winners are:

• Wayne Farey, Campbell Construction (Victoria)
• Ryan Thran, Knappett Projects (Comox)
• Julia Murrell, Kindred Construction (Vancouver)
• Tyler Cameron, Acadia Mechanical (Terrace)

The Leadership Awards are sponsored by the BCCA and LNG Canada as the Platinum sponsors of Construction Month 2023. For more information about the Construction Month award winners visit www.constructionmonth.ca.

B.C. has unveiled its new plan to speed up home construction, increase the supply of middle-income housing and fight speculation.

“If you’ve scrolled through rental listings or seen the prices of homes in your community, you know how tough it is to find an affordable, decent place to live,” said Premier David Eby. “Even though our province is currently building more housing than ever before, it’s just not enough to meet the need. This plan will take us to the next level with unprecedented actions to tackle the challenges head on, delivering even more homes for people, faster.”

Ebay explained that the plan will focus on four priorities – unlocking more homes faster; delivering better, more affordable homes; helping those with the greatest housing need; and creating a housing market for people, not speculators.

The actions in Eby’s Homes for People plan include:

• delivering more middle-income small-scale, multi-unit housing that people can afford, including town homes, duplexes and triplexes through zoning changes and proactive partnerships.
• offering forgivable loans for homeowners to build and rent secondary suites below market rates to increase affordable rental supply quickly.
• building thousands more affordable homes for renters, Indigenous Peoples on and off reserve, women and children leaving violence, and building thousands more on-campus student housing units.
• delivering thousands of new homes near public transit, and launching BC Builds to use public land to deliver affordable homes for people.
• introducing a flipping tax to discourage short-term speculation.
• providing an annual income-tested tax credit of up to $400 per year for renters.
• providing more homes and supports for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
• streamlining and modernizing permitting to reduce costs and speed up approvals to get homes built faster.
• strengthening enforcement of short-term rentals.

“We are in urgent need of more housing throughout British Columbia, which is why we are taking strong steps through our Homes for People strategy to close the gap between supply and demand,” said Ravi Kahlon, minister of housing. “We are working with our partners to unlock more homes across the spectrum of housing faster than ever, so everyone in our province can have a safe, secure and stable place to call home.” 

The plan found support from Langley, Victoria, and New Westminster officials. Luke Mari, principal, Aryze Developments noted that they believe the plan could provide some relief from systemic issues.

Low supply, speculation, and restrictive zoning policies have resulted in fierce competition and limited housing choice, which impacts the social, environmental and economic prosperity of our province,” said Mari. “Safe, affordable and diverse housing options in all neighbourhoods are foundational to the health of our communities and the planet. Building just for the sake of building isn’t good enough; the name says it all, we need Homes for People.”

SiteViews is a monthly feature where we highlight the coolest construction images posted on social media. What caught our eyes in March? Aurora borealis, muddy boots, major breakthroughs, marching elk and more. Check out the images below and follow the links to see where they came from.

Raymond McDonald / ATCO Electricity

ATCO Electricity’s team was treated to a colourful view of aurora borealis while in Yellowknife, N.W.T.

Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker / Waterfront Toronto

The is just one of many images captured by photographers Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker. The pair have been covering work at the Port Lands for Waterfront Toronto since 2019.

Metrolinx

Drones give a bird’s-eye view of work happening on Scarlett Road in Toronto for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project. The orange tarp is to keep soil protected before it’s paved.

Sheet metal worker and YouTuber Nick Tountas

It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Ontario sheet metal worker Nick Tountas snaps a shot of his muddy boots. He regularly gives followers a front row seat to what a trades career is like.

Chandos Construction

Chandos’ civil team works to complete a suspended slab pour Taza Park Water Reservoir. It took eight hours to pour 6,600 sq. ft. of concrete was poured using 52m and 57m pumps.

Gordie Howe International Bridge

Cameras captured the start of stay cable installation for the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

ACCIONA Canada

The Broadway Subway project team in Vancouver celebrate the second tunnel boring machine breakthrough at the future Mount Pleasant station.

PCL Construction

Ironworkers celebrate topping off a unique skyscraper in Toronto. Cadillac Fairview’s commercial office tower features a curved beam structure.

Building Trades Alberta

Industry officials visit UA Local 488 and LiUNA Local 92 in Alberta for a hands-on tour of the multi-use training facility.

BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure

An excavator moves material for Phase 4 of the Kicking Horse Canyon project near Golden, B.C.

Ward Bros. Construction

Ward Bros. Construction works on a major pour at the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre In Lethbridge, Alta .

Kiewit

This cab is empty. A worker operates an excavator using remote control technology.

Monte McNaughton, Ontario labour minister

Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s labour minister, visits carpentry students at the Tomorrow’s Trades program.

VanMar Constructors

Crews take advantage of the good weather to make progress on the Options project in Surrey. VanMar stated that Siding and paint is progressing and the team is preparing to mobilize landscapers for the courtyard area.

It’s official.

Scott Construction announced this month that it has achieved B Corp Certification, an international designation that shows a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. 

“We have always operated with a people-first mindset, a company driven by more than just a balance sheet,” said the company in a release. “Striving to be known for the people behind our hammers, we know our impact in building physical communities. We have built our business around purpose and people.”

According to B Corp’s directory, there are only a few other companies in Canada related to the contracting and building sector that have achieved certification: Chandos Construction, Trico Homes, B Collective Homes and EcoAmmo Sustainable Consulting.

The company explained that it underwent a rigorous evaluation to ensure it met the B Corp global standards for our people, the planet and the communities in which it works.

Scott Construction stated that these were some keys to its certification: 

Cultivating Community: Paid volunteer days off, group community initiatives with over 240 hours of employee volunteer service.

Putting People First: Scott focuses on career development programs coupled with well-rounded rewards programs, resulting in high engagement (86% to 94% in the last three years) and high retention rates.

Taking Care of the Planet: Beyond building to sustainability standards like LEED, WELL, and Passive House, among others, Scott says it aims for over 75% waste diversion on its sites. They are also a Climate Smart Certified business, working to minimize its own environmental impact.

Values in Action: The company has an employee-led environmental, social, and governance (ESG) committee, as well as mental health and volunteer committees that influence its policies and internal initiatives.

“We are proud to join the B Corp community. We look forward to continuing to share with you the ways we’re using business as a force for good,” said the company. 

Scott’s B Corp profile can be found here.

B Corp Certification is an intense process to verify a company’s practices meet high standards in five categories: workers, environment, governance, community and customers

The B Corp community consists of 6,466 Companies, 89 Countries, 161 Industries and 554,355 Workers.

Adam Drake has left his role as estimator at Orion Construction after more than four years. Drake announced that after over 20 years in the Lower Mainland construction industry the time has come for him to leave and start down a new path. 

Morgan McDonald has started a new role at Ledcor as director, corporate sustainability, covering all of Ledcor’s many lines of business. Morgan has over 20 years of experience with a background in renewable energy, carbon finance, and sustainability education. Morgan was a past B.C. chapter chair and national director with the Canada Green Building Council. He is also a Juno award-winning musician.

Tia Kjartanson, Tracey Hill, Tony Rodgers and Guy Bellis are new members on the board of directors for The Alberta Construction Safety Association. The association is an independent not-for-profit association governed by the board. The board is composed of members from Alberta’s construction industry. As the largest safety association in the province, it serves more than 55,500 members.

Jeff Provost has left his position as indigenous business relations manager at Bird Construction. Provost stated the he enjoyed the wise counsel and teachings of the many Elders he got to meet met, overseeing Indigenous Cultural Awareness training for 5,000 team members, developing the Bird Walk for Reconciliation that united 19 offices across Canada with one purpose, Truth and Reconciliation day, and managing the erection of a totem pole carved from a 1,000 year old tree that was gifted to Treaty 1.

“For these and many other memories, I say ‘meegwetch’ to everyone,” wrote Provost. “Stay tuned for my next adventure!”

Dani Ferenc has joined Essence Properties as the vice president of construction. Ferenc has over 20 years of industry experience, having managed projects throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. She is an Instructor and sits on the program advisory committee at BCIT School of Construction and the Environment, as well as president and co-founder of NEST Projects Foundation – Canadian Charity, a charity that aims to reduce barriers to education for children.

Brendan Nobes is returning for a second year as chair of the Canadian Construction Association’s board of directors. Nobes has spent more than 35 years in the industry. He is the director of major projects for rcs Construction, a general contracting firm building landmark projects throughout Atlantic Canada. In the coming year the CCA plans to continue its focus on building workforce capacity, advancing fair procurement and a long-term infrastructure plan, including trade-enabling infrastructure, while strengthening the bonds between CCA and partner associations.

David Redfern, CEO of Lafarge Canada (Eastern Canada operations), will serve as the chair of our board of directors for the Cement Association of Canada.

Redfern joined the association’s board in 2019 and will serve as chair for a two-year term. He has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the construction materials industry, both in Canada and globally. The association noted that Redfern will take over the role at a critical time in the cement and concrete industry’s history, as it seeks to accelerate implementation of its Net-Zero Action plan.

“I look forward to working together with our members and allies as we continue to promote and advance cement and concrete as key building materials to create thriving, sustainable, climate-resilient communities across Canada,” said Redfern in his announcement.  

Andy Baines, a real estate developer and investor, has joined Matthews West, the group partnered with the Squamish Nation to develop the Oceanfront Squamish and Cheekeye River projects. Collectively, these projects account for 3,725 new housing units and roughly 400 acres of commercial land.

Victoria Mancinelli has been awarded the 2023 Women of Distinction Award by Hamilton YWCA for tirelessly advocating for women and racialized people in the skilled trades. Through her work as the director public relations, marketing, and strategic partnerships at the Labourers International Union of North America (LiUNA), she has helped to ensure that women have the support they need as they navigate a male-dominated industry.

Mingyuk Chen is Intelligent City’s new associate director of projects. The group noted that  with her extensive experience in mass timber construction, at Intelligent City, Mingyuk leads projects through all phases of design and execution.

Tim Loch has been appointed by Avison Young as their new principal and senior vice president and practice leader of  investment valuation and advisory services in Canada. The firm noted that for more than a decade, Loch has been delivering exceptional service to clients, creating value for some of the largest institutions in the country. Loch will be responsible for helping clients reach their goals with their real estate portfolio. 

Marnie Williams has been promoted to director of project services (Alberta) at RAM. Williams is a certified manager of quality/organizational excellence (CMQ/OE) from the American Society for Quality and has extensive construction experience specifically relating to quality management. Williams formerly held the role of senior manager, quality & inspections, overseeing RAM’s growing team in B.C.

Mia Papasotiriou has been hired as an estimator at Bird Construction. Papasotiriou has worked on jobs within the residential, commercial, healthcare, light industrial, and institutional sectors – experiencing projects through both trade and general contracting perspectives. Papasotiriou explained that she has gained a plethora of skills in her prior positions that have pushed her forward into this role.

Whitney White has started a new role as assistant marketing manager at Turner Construction Company. Prior to this, she was a marketing specialist at the company. Some of her specialties include writing, editing, creating unique marketing materials and photojournalism.

*Editors note: do you have a hiring, promotion or retirement announcement you want to make? Let us know at hello@readsitenews.com. Be the first to get People Moves by subscribing to our newsletter below.

If you could own part of your employer, would you work harder, dig deeper and pay more attention to the details? These companies believe that employee ownership can be a significant motivator for success.

The benefits of employee ownership for employees can be staggering. A study of employee-owned companies in the U.S. found that median household net wealth is 92 percent higher for employee owners when compared to employees at other firms. Another suggests that low- and moderate- income workers at employee-owned companies built significantly more wealth than their peers and that the wealth benefits were even more pronounced for women and people of colour. 

It should also be noted that that these aren’t small, local organizations. Employee-owned construction companies make up the largest construction companies in the country. See for yourself below.

9. Strike Group

Strike Group is one of Western Canada’s leading infrastructure construction and maintenance service providers for energy, mining, and agriculture. Based in Calgary, Strike has more than 1100 employees in 24 locations throughout Western Canada. Strike has been named one of “Canada’s Best Managed Companies” since 2007 and was also an Alberta “Contractor of the Year” recipient.

8. Chandos

Chandos is 100 percent employee owned. It’s also the first and largest B Corp-certified national technical builder in North America. The company states that everyone who works for Chandos can become an owner and every owner has a voice because there’s only one class of voting shares. According to Chandos, over 200 of its employees are owners. Their website put it this way: “We’re driven to do better because we own a stake in the business success.”

7. Clark Builders

Clark Builders was founded by Andy Clark in Yellowknife in 1974 and soon expanded to offices in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. As one of Canada’s largest general contractors, Clark Builders specializes in projects for the commercial, institutional and energy sectors. Currently employing a workforce of approximately 850, Clark Builders says it has a “team-centred” ownership structure with 25 percent of the company owned by its employee shareholders. One of its major current projects is the Red Deer Justice Centre. 

6. Flynn Group

What started out as a Winnipeg roofing contractor has since grown into an international building envelope provider that employs roughly 6,000 people. Originally owned by the Flynn family, the Flynn Group now has dozens of employee owners. CEO Doug Flynn told the Globe and Mail back in 2012 that he doesn’t believe the company could have grown like it did without its equity program. 

5. Ledcor

The roots of Ledcor go back to Alberta in the 1940s.  Today the diversified construction company employs over 7,000 people across 20 offices. The employee-owned company has over 800 shareholders. The company recently celebrated its 75th anniversary with a $3 million donation over four years to support pediatric healthcare initiatives in Canada and the US.

4. Kiewit

Kiewit is 100% employee owned and any employee has the potential to become a stockholder through its employee–ownership plan. Company officials state that they cherish its reputation as a true meritocracy, so employees who stand out as the best of the best are individually reviewed and approved by Kiewit’s CEO and senior leadership for employee ownership opportunities. The company says that they believe this is a great way to drive the future of the company.

3. Graham 

Graham is 100% employee-owned by employee-owners from all levels of the company, not just the executive or senior-management. The company states that they believe this employee-ownership model fosters an entrepreneurial spirit and environment: “A workplace where people are accountable to both themselves and their colleagues and have a genuine vested interest in the success of every project.” 

2. EllisDon

In March 2020, it was announced that 100% of EllisDon’s equity would be transferred to the company’s employees. Family shareholders, who previously held 50% ownership, signed-off on an agreement which assures that over time, EllisDon will become entirely employee-owned. 

“I don’t think I can overstate how momentous this agreement is in the life of EllisDon; it is one of the most important days in our history,” said Geoff Smith, president and CEO, during the announcement. “EllisDon’s share structure and independent governance will ensure that we continue to strive together for complete fairness in equity of ownership across all employees, both present and future.”

1. PCL

With an annual construction volume of more than $8 billion, PCL is regularly cited as the largest construction company in Canada. All of PCL’s shares are held by employees and ownership is open to all salaried workers. More than 90% of eligible staff choose to become shareholders. Profits are shared with employees through dividends on owned shares. The company says that the high participation rate reflects its employees’ confidence in PCL’s leadership and ability to help employees, clients and partners create lasting and shared success.

Key Takeaways:

• Officials are proposing that there be access to at least one women’s-only washroom on jobsites.
• They are wanting to ensure properly fitting equipment such as uniforms, boots and safety harnesses are provided.
• The province also intends to require jobsite bathrooms be private and completely enclosed, have adequate lighting and hand sanitizer.

The Whole Story

Ontario is on a mission to clean up bathroom conditions for construction workers and accommodate women on jobsites. 

Officials are proposing a series of changes that, if approved, would ensure there is access to at least one women’s-only washroom on jobsites and properly fitting equipment such as uniforms, boots and safety harnesses.

“Access to a washroom is a basic human dignity and something every worker should have the right to,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “Careers in construction offer six-figure salaries with pensions and benefits, and it is an injustice only 10 per cent of them are filled by women. Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government will continue to stand with these heroes. Everyone has the right to a safe and welcoming workplace.”

I launched a social campaign to hear your experiences on bathrooms at your construction sites… Let's just say, the responses were messy. 🚽 pic.twitter.com/EGki6qqBEh

— Monte McNaughton (@MonteMcNaughton) March 10, 2023

The government is further improving portable washrooms by requiring them to be private and completely enclosed, have adequate lighting and hand sanitizer (where running water is not reasonably possible). Additionally, the government is doubling the number of toilets on most jobsites.

“Workplaces that are safer and more equitable help increase women’s participation in the workforce,” said Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. “Our government is taking action to remove barriers and empower women to excel in sectors where they are underrepresented – because when women succeed, Ontario succeeds.”

Officials noted that there are nearly 600,000 construction workers in Ontario, but only one in 10 are women. 

These changes are part of a larger package that expands on actions introduced in the Working for Workers Acts, 2021 and 2022.

The announcement also comes after the Ministry of Labour conducted a major bathroom inspection push last month at over 1,800 construction sites. Inspectors reported 244 violations, the most common being no toilets provided, a lack of privacy, or a lack of cleaning. Minister McNaughton also embarked on a social media campaign that asked workers to share their experiences with jobsite bathrooms.

Workers responded, saying employers had made no effort to provide sanitary options for women changing their menstrual products while at work and that typically bathrooms are cleaned only once a week.

New data released by Statistics Canada is showing the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on journeyperson careers. 

The agency noted that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had a negative impact on the economy as a whole, and on newly certified journeypersons in particular. This was seen in the take-up rates of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit among skilled tradespeople (38.4%) and the general working population (35.2%). Among the restrictions that provinces and territories implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19 was the closure of many worksites. Without the capacity to perform their jobs virtually, newly certified journeypersons were more affected than others in the labour force.

Journeyperson income dropped in 2020

Journeypersons who newly certified in 2020 earned a median employment income of $50,080 that year, which marked a 5.2% drop compared with what those who certified in 2019 earned. This also represented one of the lowest median employment incomes of newly certified journeypersons since the series started in 2008.

The median employment income of newly certified journeypersons continued to be highest in the territories (-13.5% to $66,540) and Alberta (-7.0% to $57,230). While both jurisdictions experienced significant drops, it was Newfoundland and Labrador (-16.3%) that recorded the largest decline from 2019.

Only 3 of the 31 trades saw growth in the median earnings of newly certified journeypersons from 2019 to 2020, namely agricultural equipment technicians (+9.8%), industrial instrumentation and control technicians (+4.4%) and powerline technicians (+1.1%). The remaining trades experienced decreases from 0.4% to 31.2%. 

Trades that rely heavily on interactions with the public, such as hairstylists (-31.2%), cooks (-21.5%) and estheticians (-21.3%), decreased the most. The agency noted that because these three trades have some of the highest concentrations of female journeypersons and were most at risk of job disruption because of COVID-19 restrictions, their decreases contributed to a larger decline in female journeypersons’ income (-$3,780; -13.1%) than in male journeypersons’ income (-$3,190; -5.7%).

Across many trades, the median employment income of male and female journeypersons decreased by similar amounts, with a few exceptions. In the automotive service technician and welder trades, compared with 2019, the median employment income of newly certified female automotive service technicians (-$7,320; -18.1%) and welders (-$11,330; -19.8%) decreased more than that of male automotive service technicians (-$3,130; -6.8%) and welders (-$6,840; -11.9%). In contrast, although the median income of newly certified cooks (-21.5%) posted a large decrease compared with the previous cohort, the median income of male cooks (-$8,910; -24.4%) decreased more than that of female cooks (-$5,190; -16.8%).

Low mobility also recorded

In 2020, one year after certification, 5.2% of journeypersons either lived or worked in a province or territory other than their place of certification. This marked the lowest national mobility rate of journeypersons since the data series started in 2008, and a continued downward trend for a third year.

In 2020, against the backdrop of COVID-19 restrictions, weak oil prices, and declines in construction activity and support activities for oil and gas extraction (-41.3%), Alberta’s gross domestic product dropped 8.2%, the largest decline among the provinces and territories. Amidst these economic uncertainties, Alberta had difficulties retaining and attracting migrant journeypersons. In 2020, under one-fifth (18.2%) of mobile journeypersons (i.e., those who lived or worked in a province or territory other than their place of certification) who certified in 2019 moved to Alberta. This marked a 3.7 percentage point decline from the previous year and the sixth consecutive year of in-migration declines. In 2014, Alberta’s resource boom made it an attractive destination, and in-migration of newly certified journeypersons to Alberta peaked, with nearly one-half (48.9%) of mobile journeypersons moving there. In 2020, just over one-third (33.7%) of mobile journeypersons had left the province.

British Columbia slowly replaced Alberta as the most common destination for newly certified migrant journeypersons. In 2020, one year after certification, British Columbia received just under one-quarter (24.4%, +1.5% from 2019) of newly certified in-migrants, most of whom migrated from Alberta, followed by Ontario (22.6%), which also surpassed Alberta.

Key Takeaways:

• The ICBA is expanding in Alberta with a new suite of services for members.
• ICBA Alberta will be led by Mike Martens who spent the past eight years working for Progressive Contractors Association of Canada.
• ICBA Alberta will focus on advocacy, group health benefits, training, and wellness programs designed for Alberta’s open shop contractors, builders, and entrepreneurs.

The Whole Story:

The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) is expanding in Alberta.

Building on the growth of its Alberta group health benefits business which has been offering health, dental and retirement plans to contractors and businesses for nearly a decade, ICBA is rolling out a suite of new services for its members in Alberta.

Mike Martens, one of the province’s top advocacy leaders, has been selected to head up ICBA Alberta, ICBA president Chris Gardner announced today.

“Founded 48 years ago, ICBA has grown into the country’s largest construction association with more than 4,000 members and clients and 150,000 people on one of our group health benefit plans,” said Gardner. “Today, I’m proud to announce that we are expanding in Alberta and that Mike Martens has joined us to lead the roll-out and growth of the suite of new member services we will be offering to ICBA Alberta members. Mike is a dynamic, respected advocate, and is focused on growing the construction, building, and resource development industries in Alberta.”

Martens was director of public affairs (Western Canada) for the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada for the past eight years. Working out of ICBA’s Calgary office as ICBA Alberta President, Martens will work with the ICBA Alberta team to expand its member service offering in areas related to advocacy, group health benefits, training, and wellness programs designed for Alberta’s open shop contractors, builders, and entrepreneurs.

According to ICBA, some 88 per cent of the more than 220,000 people who work in Alberta construction make up the open shop sector.

“It’s an honour for me to be able to help build on ICBA’s incredible platform in Alberta,” said Martens. “We’re going to be offering some very exciting services to help merit and open shop construction contractors grow, and we’re going to give them a strong voice in public policy advocacy.”

When it comes to federal advocacy, ICBA Alberta is a member of Merit Canada, joining Merit Saskatchewan, Merit Manitoba, Merit Ontario, Merit Nova Scotia and ICBA. Through Merit Canada, the partnership of open shop construction organizations advocates on issues important to open shop contractors in Ottawa.

“Mike and the team at ICBA Alberta will be working to help construction companies grow and support their workers with the best benefits, training and advocacy possible,” said Gardner. “They will be supporting the reduction in unnecessary red tape and the creation the economic conditions necessary to attract investment, build the infrastructure and harness our energy resources in a way that secures our long-term prosperity.”

Martens encouraged all merit-based, open shop construction companies doing work in Alberta, to send him me a note at mmartens@icba.ca so they can meet to discuss how our ICBA Alberta can help. 

“I’ve hit the ground running with meetings and introductions, and I can’t wait to share what ICBA Alberta can do to help construction companies,” said Martens.

*Editor’s note: This article contains very strong language & describes graphic harassment

Marcia Braundy never planned to make history as B.C.’s first female Red Seal carpenter. 

It was out of necessity. Things needed to be fixed and built. So she learned. 

“I had Volkswagens in the 60s and I had to be able to fix them but I didn’t have work that paid me any real money,” she said. “I had to do all of that myself. I found wonderful men who would let me use their tools and give me direction if I needed it.”

She got so proficient that she was able to rebuild two entire engines. 

Marcia’s main passions were feminism, environmentalism and alternative schooling. While organizing for the National Student Association in the U.S, she began to uncover a skillset that would be invaluable her whole life. 

“Chuck Hollander, who hired me there, gave me the gift of learning what I am really good at in this world,” said Braundy. “I am a community organizer, and I am an activist, and I am really good at identifying issues and helping people find ways to solve them.”

Finding home in the valley

Born in Massachusetts and raised in Pleasantville, New York, Braundy’s travels eventually brought her to B.C.’s Slocan Valley.

“I knew immediately that this was my home,” she said. 

She founded the Slocan Valley Free School, which still exists today as The Whole School, a community-supported, non-profit, independent, elementary school. Its program focuses on outdoor learning, multi-age, small class sizes, independent education planning, and student-driven learning.

In the early 1970s, an effort was made to build a community centre in the valley. But there was little money for the project, so residents rolled up their sleeves and got to work, including Braundy. 

“I ran the volunteer crews and I would sit down once a week with someone who knew more than me,” said Braundy. “The men seemed busy most of the time but they would come and we would draw pictures on 2x10s of the work that needed to be done.”

Braundy and other women in the valley wanted to learn but soon found they were being sidelined by the men. 

“I noticed that the guys kept taking the tools out of the women’s hands, saying ‘here, honey, let me show you how to do it’ and then they didn’t give the tool back,” she said. “So I started having women’s work days where we could come, teach each other and learn. It was wonderful.”

The centre eventually became the Vallican Whole Community Centre which still serves the region to this day.

Starting pre-apprenticeship training 

After several years of working on the community centre, Braundy decided to learn more about carpentry to earn a better living. But after a year of asking the province’s apprenticeship counsellor in Nelson to get into pre-apprenticeship training, she had been ignored.  

“At that point I called the director of apprenticeship,” she said. “And I said ‘I think I am being discriminated against and I am really unhappy.’” 

She was told a course in Dawson Creek started in three days so she made her way to Northern Lights College.  She very quickly found out that all of the other women who had tried to take training in the male-dominated programs had left.

“I heard about them every day and people would tell me women couldn’t make it here,” she said.  

Despite these stories, made a promise to herself that no matter what, she would give four years of her life to becoming a carpenter.

“An apprenticeship was four years,” she said. “And whatever happened in that period of time, I would keep going. And if at the end of four years it was too icky, I gave myself permission to walk away.” 

Things got icky fast. “Marcia’s tits” was scrawled on the blackboard, “Fuck you, miss” was on the tool room door and “Marcia’s potty seat” was written in the bathroom. 

To keep herself motivated she would play song tapes recorded by her friends back in the valley and look at architectural plans of an upcoming Slocan Valley project on her wall. 

“They were fabulous plans,” she said. “They had three octagonal bays on them. I had them on my wall because that was the job I was going to do when I got out of school. I had reasons to keep me there.” 

Everyday she erased the crude messages on the blackboard in class but finally she called her instructor over and told him about the harassment. He erased the board and never said anything to anyone.

When the school was creating posters to welcome a local MLA, some of them were also adorned with crude messages or sexualized depictions of nude women. Braundy objected, telling her classmates that she would not let those images represent the carpenters.

“I grabbed a can of paint and threw it all over their poster. They picked up a can of paint and threw it all over me. I didn’t care. That poster wasn’t going up,” she said.

Braundy had been documenting all the harassment and misogyny on campus and after six months she decided it was time to take action with school officials. 

“I have to speak up,” said Braundy. “I have to. And I did. I let them know what was happening and called it to attention.”

The result shocked her. 

The college president, Barry Moore, went around to every single male dominated trades training classroom on campus and told them that their language and actions were inappropriate at an institution of higher learning and if it continued they would be thrown out of school and would not get an apprenticeship anywhere in British Columbia. 

Getting experience

Braundy graduated with the highest grade in the class on her final exam and took her certificate back to the valley to begin her apprenticeship. She worked in various woodworking shops, helped with Nelson’s first Victorian renovation and did some homebuilding projects. But the real money and opportunity was in the carpenter’s union. 

After months and months of being ignored she finally showed up to the union office and demanded a copy of the constitution and standard collective agreement. After she reviewed the documents with a lawyer and found nothing that would prevent her from becoming a member she showed up at the next meeting. She discovered that she had be accepted as the first woman member of B.C.’s carpenter’s union, local 2458.

Now a third-year apprentice, her first union job was the Chahko Miko Mall in Nelson and her business agent told her this: “Marcia, you don’t have to take any shit from anybody. You’re a union member now.”

Her crew was doing concrete flooring work and she made fast friends with the other workers. When she eventually left the job, the team threw her a party and gave her a 15-year-old bottle of rye whiskey in a velvet case. 

While working on the Hume Hotel she became a miter joint expert, learning how to precisely chisel the joints so that even to this day they have stayed intact without cracking. 

“There’s a pride that comes from doing the job that is thrilling,” said Braundy. 

She soon found herself living in a work camp doing larger, more complex jobs. Braundy was part of a 70-person team doing form work on two side-by-side coal silos, each 278 feet tall. Day shifts were 13 hours and night shifts were 11 hours. Typically, carpenters would be paired up for long periods of time but the foreman bounced her from man to man. After 25 different partners, she learned the foreman wasn’t punishing her. 

“Each of the guys that I was with there, it was the first time they had worked with a woman,” said Braundy. “And he wanted as many men there as possible to have that opportunity. I am forever thankful to him. I felt great on the site with all of them.”

But those good feelings were shattered when a crude joke began circulating the camp and was eventually told to her. 

“I can say that I have no memory of exactly what the joke was, but I remember that I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and I couldn’t breathe,” said Braundy. “And I was horrified that all these people who I had thought were my friends had known about that joke and were walking around with that thought in their minds. I suppose I should have written it down, but it was so horrible and awful I just couldn’t even think of writing it down. I had to get through the rest of the day but I was barely functional.”

Her friend, a carpenter from Cranbrook, found her in her room crying and she made him promise to never tell anyone what he had seen. He agreed. 

“I had to get up the next day, go to work and put all of that away,” she said. 

Making history

In 1981, Braundy was in her fourth year of apprenticeship and traveled to BCIT to complete her trades education. She was met with more disturbing behaviour. Her classmates regularly posted explicit pornographic images on the classroom wall. When she finally brought it up with the instructor, he took the images down but never said anything to anyone. 

On the last day of class, one of the students put a particularly explicit pornographic image on the back wall of the classroom and declared, “this is for the guys in the next class, we hope there aren’t any women in it.” 

She quietly shredded the image, threw it in the trash and went to return her books as she prepared to take the final exam. She left her Frederickson Metric Square in the room. The carpenter’s square was designed by carpentry instructor Paul H. Frederickson to help builders, and he had signed Braundy’s. When she returned, it had been destroyed.

“My signed Frederickson square had been twisted into a knot and dropped on my desk,” said Braundy. “‘CUNT’ was written in pencil below it in big letters.”

Emotionally shattered, she began the half mile walk across campus to take the test that will determine if she will be a Red Seal carpenter or not. A classmate of her’s told her not to pay attention to the bully. She asked him one question: “Where were you when it was going on?”

She later found out the bully had failed his exam, but she had passed. She was informed by the school that she was the province’s first ever female Red Seal carpenter

The story doesn’t end there. Here projects are almost too numerous to mention. Braundy even worked with 13 other women to develop EMMA’s Jambrosia, a food manufacturing business to support chronically unemployed women in the West Kootenays.

In addition to to being on BCIT’s board of governors and holding PhD from University of British Columbia, Braundy is a community development worker, social change activist, independent research scholar, multimedia project manager, archivist, teacher, and was the founding national coordinator of Women in Trades and Technology National Network (WITTNN). She curates and manages KootenayFeminism.com and has been active in the Canadian women’s movement since 1972. 

Braundy is currently building a freely-available, full-text digital archive of equity in apprenticeship and technical fields, with a focus on initiatives for under-represented groups.