Check out this week’s Industry News

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Contractors Can be Victors and Not Victims Every Tax Season, Says Expert
As we gather our receipts and get ready to prepare our taxes, many of us start to feel a ‘cash crunch’ to pay HST and make instalment payments towards income taxes owing. Read more
 
Tories to Roll Out Pre-election Infrastructure Spending Spree
The Conservative government is preparing an infrastructure spending spree in the runup to the fall election, as federal and provincial sources confirm work is heating up to announce new projects under the New Building Canada Fund. Read more

Election Platform Supports Construction: Trudeau
Working with municipalities to support the construction of affordable housing, public transportation and critical infrastructure are elements of federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s upcoming election platform. Read more

Canadian Cities Caught Between Crumbling Infrastructure and Growing Calls for Transit
As a decision looms on part of Toronto’s aging Gardiner Expressway, cities across the country are facing their own difficult choices about building for the future, and what to do with infrastructure nearing the end of its lifespan. Read more

Corporate Social Responsibility a Focus for the CCA
The Canadian Construction Association is looking to take a more active role in educating its members on the growing issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The shift is the result of a report prepared by a task force struck by the association’s business and market development committee. Read more

View From the Board: Working Collectively to Deal with Silica Exposure Limits
Years back, WorkSafeBC slashed the current eight-hour time-weighted average Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) in general industry by 50 per cent. Read more

Harrietsfield wind power project OK’d with conditions

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A three-turbine wind project near Harrietsfield, Halifax County, has received provincial environmental approval, with conditions. Environment Minister Randy Delorey gave the go-ahead to the Harrietsfield Williamswood wind farm on Tuesday. The 4.8-megawatt venture is being developed by Dartmouth-based Watts Wind 4 LP. Read more.

Pieridae gets green light to export natural gas

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Pieridae Energy Canada has received approval from the United States Department of Energy to export American natural gas to countries with which the U.S. has free trade agreements. While the proponent for a proposed $8.3-billion liquefied natural gas export terminal in Guysborough County hailed the approval as a “significant milestone,” the important permit is yet to come. Read more.

CANS 2015-16 Industry Education & Training Calendar – Available Online!

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CANS’ Industry Education and Training program, which provides valuable training opportunities for career development, skill building and enhancement, is designed specifically for the construction industry.

Partnering with industry experts, the Industry Education and Training program offers a comprehensive range of continuing education courses to our members and industry partners.

View the 2015-2016 Industry Education & Training Calendar online! 

Video: Making Nova Scotia the Safest Place to Work in Canada

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At the Safety Services Nova Scotia conference on March 23, 2015, the following video was unveiled. We’re seeing real progress – workers, employers, and safety leaders, are all stepping up to help make Nova Scotia the safest place to work in Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EneG7-sBU20&feature=youtu.be

Don’t Miss the CANS Golf Tournament – June 11, 2015

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Limited spaces remain in the CANS 2015 Golf Tournament! Only two weeks until the tournament on Thursday, June 11, 2015 at The Links at Penn Hills & Fox Hollow Golf Club!

Register as a team or an individual!


REGISTRATION CONTEST

Register a team of 4 by Thursday, May 28, 2015 and be entered for a chance to win CANS prize packs for your whole team!

Think Differently Today

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As spring finally arrives, construction starts to kick into high gear. Today, I ask that you think a little differently about the people you see with hard hats, safety vests and steel-toed boots.

You may be delayed because of construction, but think about this: these hard working professionals are the people who build the highways that are so important to trade and tourism; hospitals that welcome our newest tiny humans and house those who need care; schools, where the hopes, dreams and creativity of our youth are ignited. They, and the tens of thousands of professionals behind them, build the infrastructure we take for granted everyday as we go to a graduation, visit a sick friend or simply go for a Sunday drive along our beautiful shores. We take it for granted, yet, this infrastructure is so vital to our economy, public safety and very way of life.

Today, I ask that you look up when you see a crane and be amazed with the science, technology and complexity of design and construction of the project. The next time you brush your teeth or take a shower, think about the complexity of getting safe clean drinking water to your home. When you cross a bridge without a thought, know that there are many people who have thought long and worked hard so you don’t have to think about it.

Think differently today and I promise you will think differently every day after that about the 30,000 men and women who build our province. You may even be motivated to say thanks the next time you pass a construction site (from a safe distance of course)!

Sincerely,

Duncan Williams
President, Construction Association of Nova Scotia

Duty of honesty principle underlies every commercial contract

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In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Canada found that the concept of good faith is an “organizing principle” underlying Canadian contract law, and that according to this organizing principle, a duty of honesty exists between parties to all commercial contracts. Read more.

The legality of municipal blacklists

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The Blacklist is a popular program on television, but in the world of Canadian construction contracts, some municipalities are creating their own real-life blacklists. Read more.

Off-site Manufacturing Improves Construction Efficiencies

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Two reports into the efficiencies of the Australian construction industry have identified and detailed the need for the industry to better embrace the use of off-site manufactured products. Read more.