Highways Minister Lori Carr announced an estimated $57-million-project will resume construction this spring to twin segments of Highways 6 and 39 between Regina and southeast of Corinne.
“Work will continue on this important corridor to ultimately enhance the safety and efficiency of tourism, trade and commuter traffic,” Carr said. “Transportation infrastructure projects support our strong and growing export-based economy, which sustains our quality of life in our great province of Saskatchewan.”
The project includes nearly 15km of twinning on two Highway 6 segments:
One 7.8km long segment south of Regina between the Bypass and the Highway 306 turnoff; and
One 7.1km long segment north of Corinne on Highway 6 to southeast of Corrine on Highway 39.
Nearly 13km of the existing lanes of Highways 6 and 39 from north of Corinne to southeast of Milestone will also be repaved.
The two-year project began in 2023. It resumed in May and is expected to be completed this year, pending weather. Drivers can expect minor delays through work zones with one-way traffic. Flaggers will be present throughout construction hours to help guide the flow of traffic.
The stretch of Highway 6 from Regina to southeast of the junction of Highway 39 near Corinne has an average of more than 3,400 vehicles per day.
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of all motorists during this project’s short-term inconvenience for the long-term benefit to our highway system,” Carr said.
The federal government is contributing more than $27 million toward this project. The Government of Saskatchewan is funding the remaining $30 million.
“I am thrilled to share that, in 2023, the total injury rate was the lowest in the province’s recorded history,” said WCB chair Gord Dobrowolsky. “This only happened due to the combined efforts of workers, employers, labour and safety associations and safety leaders across the province.”
Under the requirements of The Workers’ Compensation Act, 2013, the WCB remained fully funded with a sufficiency ratio of 135.7 per cent in 2023. This means it has the ability to cover the future costs of all claims in the system.
“Our objective is always to ensure sufficient funds are available to meet required benefit levels and protect against unexpected claim activity or potential fluctuations in economic conditions,” said WCB CEO Phillip Germain. “The process for managing our funded position is based on our approved sufficiency policy. The sufficiency policy establishes a framework of guidelines, measurements and targets to achieve a fully funded status and sets the target range for the sufficiency ratio of between 100 and 140 per cent.”
As part of its annual reporting, the WCB provided financial highlights from its 2023 results, including:
The WCB covered 409,158 full-time equivalent workers in 2023, compared to 400,392 in 2022.
Claim costs were $223.4 million in 2023, up from $188.1 million in 2022.
The WCB’s sufficiency ratio was 135.7 per cent as of year-end 2023, compared to 136.5 per cent* in 2022. (*To reflect the changes in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in 2023, the sufficiency ratio has replaced the WCB’s funding percentage. Prior to 2023, the calculation of funding percentage excluded the unrealized gains and losses on investments in the injury fund.)
Due to increased payroll, an increased maximum assessable wage rate and increased premium rates, the WCB reported premium revenues of $337.6 million in 2023, up from $304.8 million* in 2022. (*Premium revenues are restated for 2022 to align with the changes in IFRS 17.)
The WCB reported investment income of $172.6 million in 2023, compared to an investment loss of $132.1 million in 2022. In 2023, the investment portfolio had a return of 8.2 per cent at market, compared to a loss of 5.5 per cent in 2022. Investment income includes realized income and unrealized gains or losses on investments during the year and can fluctuate significantly year to year to reflect the change in the market value of investments.
“Through this $150 million, multi-year initiative, the WCB is engaging customers, partners and WCB staff in its journey to implement the changes that it believes are necessary to meet customers’ expectations now and into the future,” said Germain. “The program touches everything we do at the WCB and how we support our customers by modernizing every aspect of our service delivery models, technological tools, business processes, workplace culture and engagement with partners.”
When it comes to road safety, small changes can have big impacts: this is the conclusion of a research project led by Pedestrians Québec and the team of Marie-Soleil Cloutier, professor and director of the Pedestrians and Urban Space Laboratory at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS).
The project “On foot safely: developing the crossing of arteries” made it possible to analyze the effect of interventions aimed at making the crossing of arteries safer for pedestrians. Professor Cloutier, who is also director of the INRS Centre Urbanisation Culture Société, has studied the interactions between people walking and vehicles.
The professor was able to grasp perceptions of various safety issues, such as vehicle speed or motorists’ respect for the right of way. The data examined comes from collections in the form of observations and questionnaires on site, before and after interventions such as the removal of a traffic lane or the addition of a pedestrian shelter in the centre of a wide artery.
“Sometimes, relatively simple interventions can have concrete effects,” said Marie-Soleil Cloutier. “Over the course of the study, we documented an improved sense of security and a reduction in vehicle interactions. The verdict: it is not always necessary to plan major development works to improve cohabitation between the different populations using the road.”
Helping municipalities rethink their intersections
With the collaboration of the administrations of Montreal, Longueuil, Laval and Gatineau, seven intersections were observed, including four of them where interventions were made to modify the pedestrian crossing. Reading this data, Pedestrians Quebec’s message is clear: cities have the power to act to make their arterial roads more user-friendly and safer.
“Year after year, we see that arteries have the highest number of pedestrian deaths in Quebec.”
– Sandrine Cabana-Degani, Pedestrians Quebec
The project team has also created a series of fact sheets and video clips to present the results of the study and encourage municipalities to review problem areas.
“Year after year, we see that arteries have the highest number of pedestrian deaths in Quebec,” said Sandrine Cabana-Degani, executive director of Pedestrians Quebec. “Faced with this problem, our project aimed to study the existing solutions to make it safer to cross arteries. The results of this research will help equip municipalities that wish to take action. Because our arterial streets also need safety.”
Highlights
According to the analysis of road safety reports in Quebec, between 2015 and 2019, one in three pedestrian deaths occurred on a main artery
Before the interventions made during this project, less than 50 per cent of the pedestrians surveyed felt safe at major artery intersections
After the interventions:
There was a marked improvement in the feeling of not being pressed for time during the crossing
The number of pedestrians who found that motorists were driving too fast decreased
Pedestrian traffic light compliance increased at intersections with an arterial street
There were 50 per cent fewer interactions at intersections, i.e., occurrences where there was two metres or less between vehicle and pedestrian on the roadway
The federal government’s housing strategy is a long-awaited step forward to build more homes, but significantly more investment is needed to address critical infrastructure needs and the housing crisis, says Canada’s construction industry.
The federal government’s plan announced in this budget, as well as actions taken through the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, promises at least 1.2 million more homes for Canadians, on top of what the industry was planning to build. Yet, with estimates by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities showing that each new housing unit requires $107,000 in public infrastructure investment, an additional $128 billion is needed to build, support and connect these homes to essential housing-enabling infrastructure. This is a major shortfall in the investment needed. Moreover, the focus on measures to ease lending for homebuying and rezoning may only serve to exacerbate demand in the long-term with no real long-term vision on how to increase supply.
“Budget 2024 sets a bold objective to help Canadians buy homes but misses the mark on delivering sufficient investment and a plan to ensure a steady flow of funds to address our nation’s infrastructure challenges,” said Mary Van Buren, president of the Canadian Construction Association (CCA).
“While we acknowledge some initiatives, such as funding for creating affordable apartments, training and recruiting more workers, and upgrading water and wastewater systems, the conditions attached and lack of strategic vision are concerning.”
With growing demands to not only build more homes but also the inevitable requirement for the necessary housing-enabling infrastructure to connect these homes to the services they need, CCA says the urgency to collaborate with provinces, municipalities and the industry is more pressing than ever.
“We need investments in infrastructure that are made based on the real needs of Canadians – projects that are shovel-worthy rather than just shovel-ready,” said Van Buren. “This visionary and consultative approach is what Canadians deserve.”
Canada’s construction industry underscores the urgent need for the federal government to implement policies and incentives that support not only housing construction and related essential infrastructure, including trade-enabling infrastructure, but also investment and help bypass construction’s boom and bust cycle. This includes programs to build the workforce needed and construction projects that share risk so that innovation and investment is encouraged, not hampered.
CCA calls for a shift in federal strategy when it comes to infrastructure investment and housing affordability – one that aligns all orders of government and equips the construction industry with a supportive policy environment. Canada’s construction industry stands ready to collaborate with all levels of government and stakeholders to address these critical challenges and build a better future for all Canadians.
Heavy civil construction is filled with dedicated, hard-working and passionate individuals who take great pride in a job well done. While some outside of our industry might think heavy construction is only about paving, we know there is so much more happening when we look at the work done by our membership. That is why we use the tagline, “If the Earth moved, it was us.”
The scale of the infrastructure developed and maintained by our members is tremendous. These projects often have long timelines, complex engineering requirements and significant environmental considerations. Highways, roads and parking lots are just a few examples of public infrastructure improvements that SHCA members complete.
Other heavy civil construction projects include excavating and preparing sites for commercial and industrial sites or subdividing land into individual lots for homes. There are those who do underground utility work and some who tackle water infrastructure, such as water diversion tunnels, water and sewer lines, water drainage and irrigation ditches and bridges.
We welcome contractors, suppliers, engineers and other professionals as members. They are designing and planning, supplying materials and equipment, and constructing structures that are cost effective while maintaining the flow of public operations and delivering results that will benefit people for decades to come. There are also those whose financial expertise and legal proficiency are necessary for contracts to be developed and proceed. Other professionals are responding to tenders, doing payroll, processing payments and conducting other administrative work necessary to keep our members’ businesses running.
The work of our members supports other major sectors of Saskatchewan’s economy, including the transportation, agriculture and energy sectors. Many recent projects that have proceeded in Saskatchewan began with the work of SHCA members.
SHCA members can be found at sites where canola crush plants are developed, where mines need access roads and haul roads, at airports where runways are being improved and much more. These are just a few examples of how our industry supports the evolving infrastructure needs and economic growth of Saskatchewan in ways that go beyond building, widening and improving highways.
What’s the big deal? All of this work and all of these people are an immensely big deal – not just to our association, but to our province and its prosperity. I am mentioning all of this because I know there are others out there doing this vitally necessary work who would benefit from being an SHCA member.
We want to welcome more of them into the association. We are developing even more ways to provide additional resources and deliver greater value to our existing membership, which I feel confident will appeal to new members as well.
Growing our membership and reviewing our members’ return on investment were two of the priorities set by the SHCA board at its April meeting. Another priority is to work with other industries to deliver messages to the voters, candidates and parties about the importance of adequate investment in the critical infrastructure needed by our province to create more opportunities in Saskatchewan.
We will work to deliver this message as we head towards a fall provincial election. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Saskatchewan has a big job ahead of it. Getting on top of it will take someone speaking up to say we need to do better. That someone will be us – SHCA, representing members who continue to better Saskatchewan. We encourage SHCA members to like SHCA on Facebook or LinkedIn to follow this advocacy as it unfolds.
