Statistics Canada releases first results of Canada’s core public infrastructure survey

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Canada’s road network, as reported by this survey, was long enough in 2016 to circle the Earth’s equator more than 19 times. Statistics Canada, in partnership with Infrastructure Canada, has launched its first-ever catalogue of the state of the nation’s infrastructure to provide statistical information on the stock, condition, performance and asset management strategies of Canada’s core public infrastructure assets. Read more.

Why more women need to pick up power tools, according to a female contractor

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Kate Campbell remembers her first day on a construction job site like it was yesterday. She walked toward a group of men with her head held high, tool belt on, knees shaking. And it was clear how — being the only woman on site — she stood out. Read more.

‘There is no west coast support’: B.C. builders brace for new steel protections.

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Canada’s latest steel tariff proposal has alarmed construction companies, who have warned it could have an outsized impact on the country’s coasts, boosting costs in places like Vancouver, already Canada’s most expensive housing market, while protecting steel producers in central Canada. Read more.

Construction stakeholders applaud federal prompt payment review

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Leaders from national construction organizations are praising the authors of the federal prompt payment review for conducting a thorough consultation process and including issues that are important to their members among the recommendations. Read more.

CCA: Advice for your members on how to mitigate risk caused by tariffs

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On July 1, Canada implemented tariffs on a list of steel and aluminum products in response to a unilateral decision by the U.S. to impose its own tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Act of 1962. As we said in ourpress release, trade wars have negative effects on both sides of the border, and we understood that the Canadian government had to take prompt and decisive action to defend our industry and its workers. Read more.

CCA pre-budget submission focuses on community benefits, productivity

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The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has released its written submission for pre-budget consultation in advance of the 2019 federal budget. The CCA grouped six recommendations into two key themes — accelerating community benefits by removing barriers and encouraging productivity through innovation funding and tax reform. Read more.

Canada’s first entirely stainless steel bridge lifted

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The first span of two new bridge crossings over a busy rail corridor in Toronto was installed recently and, once complete, the Garrison Crossing pedestrian and cycle bridge will create a much-needed connection between Trinity Bellwoods Park in the north and the Fort York grounds in the south. Read more.

These windows can generate electricity and provide insulation

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The windows of many cars and buildings often are tinted with a film that shuts out unnecessary sunlight, an energy efficiency measure that helps lower heating and cooling costs. Other types of environmentally friendly windows feature a coating of see-through solar cells that transform the windows into mini generators of electricity. But you probably won’t find any windows anywhere that can do both. Not yet anyway. Read more.

Five takes on the state of AR and VR in construction

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In 1974, science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, the brilliant mind behind 2001: A Space Odyssey and Childhood’s End, gave an interview in which he described our modern Internet with eerie accuracy: being able to access bank records, book theater tickets, and more all from a small console (though he didn’t mention smart phones).

Like Clarke’s early predictions of the Internet, the prognostications about the use of augmented reality in construction promise big things: better project efficiency, increased worker safety, and new ways to design structures.

Read more.

NASA names top 5 in latest stage of 3D-printed Mars habitat competition

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NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, which kicked off in 2015, is now well into its third and final phase. The latest stage has awarded five teams a share of US$100,000 in prize money for the best virtual models ahead of the hard part, 3D-printing scale models of their designs. Read more.