Nova Scotia Daily Stats – Canada’s real GDP was down 0.1 per cent in April, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Goods production fell the fourth month in a row with a decline of 0.8 per cent while service-producing industries were up 0.3 per cent. Compared to April 2014, real GDP was up 1.2 per cent. Read more.
Dalhousie students develop chemical-based heating system
A space heater that works like a hand warmer. That’s the principle behind a new type of thermal energy storage being developed by a pair of graduate engineering students at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Louis Desgrosseilliers and Moe Kabbara recently formed NeoThermal Energy Storage, which is working on technology for use in home heating. Read more.
WCB Releases Strategic Plan
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia has released its Strategic Plan which will help guide the organzation for the next five years. Download the Plan here.
Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward Nova Scotia 2015-2024 Report
While total construction investment and employment fluctuate in a narrow band over the 2015–2024 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward scenario for Nova Scotia, important demographic challenges and shifts across markets tighten labour market conditions for several trades and occupations between 2019 and 2022. From 2008 to 2013, the province’s construction industry was sustained at record levels, as work shifted from residential peaks in 2011 and 2012 to engineering peaks in 2013. The record employment level reached in 2013 will act like a ceiling across the scenario period, as work ebbs and flows close to, but below, that level. Read the full report.
CCA President on the Canadian Construction Industry
Few Canadians know that Canada’s construction industry contributes close to seven percent of Canada’s GDP, that it employs over 1.3 million Canadians, (1 in every 14 working Canadians), or that it is in fact the fifth largest construction market in the world. Read more.
The Construction Industry’s Financial Future
The word “fascinating” could best describe a comparison of Canadian put-in-place investments versus trends statistics when it comes to construction’s investment forecast. Read more.
Canada Must Do More to Keep Cities Moving, Executives Say
Strong municipal infrastructure is critical to attracting people to our economic hubs, improving the quality of life for our work force and remaining globally competitive. However, according to this quarter’s C-Suite survey, Canada is only partly succeeding in addressing these needs, despite a growing focus by all levels of government on this backbone of our economy. Read more
Infrastructure Grapples with Climate Change
With groundbreaking research now supporting climate change, sustainable leaders in the industry have been encouraging municipalities and building owners to grapple with potential risk and protect the value of assets. Read more.
Canada’s Top Construction Firms Evolve, Adapt to Change
It is interesting to compare the Top Contractors list of 25 years ago with the one in this issue. There have been changes, but a surprising number of the companies that were on the list then, still dominate it. It is not as if the industry has not changed – the companies that have survived and thrived at the top have had to adapt to very challenging circumstances. Read more.
Developing Great Leaders in the Construction Industry
Leaders in the industry today deal with many challenges on a daily basis—finding and winning work, managing large and complex projects, meeting deadlines, satisfying clients, addressing near-continuous obstacles and much, much more. In the midst of the daily whirlwind, it can be easy to overlook one of the most critical aspects of leadership—developing others. Read more.
The Construction Pro’s Guide to Managing Millennials
While the economy rebounds and the projects roll in, Baby Boomers are leaving but Millennials (the generation born between 1980ish and 2000ish) aren’t taking their place. Read more.
Dexter Construction Receives an Award for Refugee Initiatives
Dexter Construction will receive Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Refugee Employment Award for its leadership role in improving the employment outcomes of refugees in Halifax Regional Municipality. Read more.
Raising Health and Safety Awareness in the Construction Sector
Working in construction involves dealing with ever-changing hazards: new technologies, newly developed work practices, and projects that are constantly evolving. Read more.
Homes in Future Will Feed Us
Rachel Armstrong, medical doctor and architect, tells Toronto conference that buildings in the future will be less inert artifacts than organic structures designed to incorporate natural processes. Read more.
CANS is currently seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Industry Education and Training Lead.
Scope and summary:
This position is responsible for the day to day planning, promotion, delivery and administration of CANS educational programs. This position works with various program advisory committees to design an annual education and general information program in response to membership needs, as well as liaises with industry organizations to assist in the development and delivery of appropriate programming.
This position provides continuing educational support and opportunities in a variety of formats for individuals currently employed in the construction trades in order to improve general business skills, personal performance, attain industry recognized certifications and address shifting client requirements.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Requirements:
Salary and benefits commensurate with experience and education.
Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Closing date: 10 July 2015
About CANS
The Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) is an industry trade association representing the interests of contractors, suppliers and service providers throughout Atlantic Canada and across the country. We represent more than 750 large and small companies that build, renovate and restore non-residential buildings, roads, bridges and other engineering projects.
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.
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
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!
Proposed amendments to the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act introduced today, Oct. 24, will help more apprentices complete their training sooner and easier.
Nova Scotia apprentices who pursue on-the-job-training in another province will no longer have to register in that province. Instead, they can remain registered in Nova Scotia. This lets them start training more quickly, and saves paying extra fees and writing more exams.
The legislation also ensures out-of-province on-the-job and trades training is recognized, meeting a government commitment.
“The role of the new agency is to work with industry to open up more opportunities for Nova Scotia apprentices,” said Marjorie Davison, CEO of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency. “To accomplish this, we need to make it easier for our apprentices to get the training they need to complete their journey.”
Amendments will also allow the agency to make agreements with other provinces to ensure apprentice experience and training is recognized, and the training meets a quality standard.
These amendments complement work already underway to enhance consistency in apprenticeship programs across the country.
The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) applauded the release of the Asset Management Primer, part of the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, which details the important need for asset management plans for Canadian municipalities, as well as recommendations for implementing asset management practices.
“The release of the Asset Management Primer as a follow-up to the 2012 Canadian Infrastructure Report Card is a great next step to tracking and monitoring the importance of ongoing infrastructure investment in Canada,” said Michael Atkinson, president of the CCA. “Since what gets measured, gets done, this primer will go a long way to assisting municipalities in their efforts to continually improve and build the infrastructure that drives the Canadian economy.”
The first-of-its-kind Canadian Infrastructure Report Card indicated that fewer than 15 per cent of municipalities could provide asset condition information that was derived from asset management processes. While the condition of aboveground assets is more easily identified, assets not as visible are only more accurately monitored with asset management processes.
This past year saw increased awareness and promotion of asset management processes, including the federal government highlighting their importance in the New Building Canada Plan, the province of Ontario requiring asset management plans as eligibility for some provincial funding, and a number of municipalities developing their own asset management plans.
“This primer once again showcases the importance of strong asset management to the long-term viability and sustainability of our core public infrastructure assets,” added Atkinson.
The Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency invites you to attend an Update Event. This event will be an opportunity for you to network with your colleagues, enjoy a warm meal, hear about our progress and help us identify how to better engage employers in the Apprenticeship and Trades Certification System.
Apprenticeship Agency Update Events are being held at Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) campuses across the province between October 20th and 29th, 2014. Below, please find a list of the session locations, dates and times. As meeting times vary by location, please make sure to register online for the session that is most convenient for you!
DATES:
October 20th
– Kentville, NSCC Kingstec Campus, 7:30 am – 9:30 am
– Bridgewater, NSCC Lunenburg Campus, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
October 23rd
– Yarmouth, NSCC Burridge Campus, 7:30 am – 9:30 am
October 27th
– Dartmouth, NSCC Waterfront Campus, 7:30 am – 9:30 am
October 28th
– Sydney, NSCC Marconi Campus, 7:30 am – 9:30 am
– Port Hawkesbury, NSCC Strait Area Campus, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
October 29th
– Stellarton, NSCC Pictou Campus, 7:30 am – 9:30 am
– Truro, NSCC Truro Campus, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
The act governs practices by owners, contractors and subcontractors for claims against a property by a business or person who has supplied labor or materials for work on it. The liens protect people from not being paid for their work or goods they provided on a project.
Previous amendments allow owners and contractors to release holdback money to subcontractors as stages of a large project are completed. Before then, commercial builders would hold back 10 per cent of the total cost and could not fully release the holdback until the entire project was complete.
Minor amendments now being made include:
— allowing an owner to continue to make payments to a contractor, up to 90 per cent, after receiving notice of a lien
— requiring an owner to pay interest if they do not make a payment within 65 days of being permitted to, after a subcontract has been certified complete
— allowing a holdback to be released if a lien has been vacated or cancelled
— aligning language introduced in the 2013 amendments with the language of the act.
To review amendments introduced in 2013, visit http://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20130506007 .