As baby boomers retire, Canada faces a critical shortage of skilled workers in trades jobs. In the province of British Columbia, which leads the nation in economic and job growth, 70 per cent of job openings in the next 10 years will be due to retirements. Read more.
As drones continue to infiltrate jobsites, manufacturers like Samsung are developing increasingly sophisticated technologies around them. In December 2017, Amazon was awarded patents for drones that self-destruct in midair if something goes wrong, The Verge reported. Aerospace giant Boeing has a patent for a swimming drone that can launch from an aircraft, fly airborne, then lower itself into water, shed its wings and swim using propellors, according to IFL Science. Read more.
The industry is scrambling to deal with a labor shortage, but some say a tone-deaf government recruiting effort can’t overcome serious workplace issues. Read more.
An industry initiative is pushing for better documents before shovels hit the ground. The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has decided to contribute $5,000 for a one-time contribution to the Construction and Design Alliance of Ontario’s (CDAO) initiative to quantify the impact of incomplete design documents. Read more.
Women are the third wave of change sweeping over the construction industry. Here, Mabey Group CEO Juliette Stacey explores how the accelerating pace of transformation in the industry means that time has arrived for women to succeed in the sector. Read more.
The Ontario government’s new legislation to modernize and expand the Construction Lien Act — now to be known as the Construction Act (hinting at its broader mandate) — sets out to improve cash flow efficiency between owners, contractors and sub-contractors by both (a) setting timelines for the prompt payment of invoices and (b) speeding up the resolution of payment-related disputes through an adjudication process. This is the first major update to the Act in more than 30 years and it appears to apply across the board, from relatively small projects to large megaprojects such as the major transit expansions planned for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) in the coming years.
The Liberals will delay billions in planned infrastructure funds until after Canadians go to the polls next year, this week’s budget shows, underlining slower-than-expected spending at a time when the government was under pressure to spend faster. Read more.
National construction indsutry leaders agree there were few surprises in this year’s federal budget and little mention of infrastructure spending, however, many lauded the government initiatives to expand the skilled trades workforce. Read more.
Canadian Construction Association (CCA) chair Chris McNally says the association’s recently unveiled strategic plan will be more provocative and work harder to unite the industry. Read more.
Late payment practices are an important issue for Nova Scotia’s construction industry and CANS has been lobbying the provincial government to enact appropriate payment legislation that would establish minimum norms for payment schedules. In an effort to substantiate our assumptions, CANS surveyed members in June 2015, December 2016, and again in February 2018 to solicit their feedback and help guide us on their behalf.
Click HERE to view the Delayed Payment Survey Comparison results, comparing respondents answers from the 2015, 2016 and 2018 surveys.