Think BIG

Sharing news that SHCA members need to know

April is Dig Safe month

April is Dig Safe month, as proclaimed by the province of Saskatchewan. And for more than 30 years, the Annual Contractor Dig Safe Awareness Breakfast program is held across dozens of communities around the province.

The Saskatchewan Common Ground Alliance (SCGA) and 21 of its member sponsors, including our province’s pipeline and utility companies, make this the unofficial start to our digging season for the year.

The events educate the frontline workers, safety managers, emergency personnel and the general public about the importance of digging safely around underground and overhead infrastructure.

An anchor of the program is the locally made and produced safety videos where a number of digging awareness topics are covered, such as:

1. Costs to you, your family and your community when you contact underground facilities
2. What to look for before you dig
3. Proper pressures when day lighting
4. Safe excavation practices and tolerance zone
5. A powerful story of a man who sets himself on fire when he inadvertently pushes a pipe up into an overhead power line

The 2021 Contractor Dig Safe Breakfast program will look a little different due to the ongoing global pandemic. There will be no face-to-face sessions but there will be a chance for those frontline workers to win breakfast when our made-in-Saskatchewan safety video is watched.

Stay tuned to our social channels and website for more details soon!
www.scga.ca
www.twitter.com/saskCGA
www.facebook.com/DigSafeSaskCGA
Saskatchewan Common Ground Alliance on LinkedIn

Additional stimulus dollars will improve rural roads and bridges while contributing to economic recovery

Earlier in March, Premier Scott Moe announced that the province will advance $11.2 million in economic stimulus funds for the Rural Integrated Roads for Growth (RIRG) program. The funds will give RIRG a head start on getting projects approved for the 2021 construction season.

RIRG will continue to assist RMs with the cost of construction and upgrading municipal roads, bridges and culverts to support growth. With the additional dollars, government is contributing more than $39 million to the program in 2020–21.

“Rural municipalities play a significant role in our plan to build a Strong Saskatchewan,” said Moe. “This funding will ensure projects will be ready for this construction season to help build rural infrastructure while protecting and growing jobs across our province.”

RIRG is an important component of the province’s plan to rebuild 100 roads over the next three years and 100 bridges over the next four years. Through the first two phases of funding, 89 road projects and 45 bridge projects have been provincially approved, receiving nearly $38 million in support. Several of the bridge projects are still going through the federal approval process.

“Our rural municipalities greatly value this continued financial support through this time of economic recovery,” said Ray Orb, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities. “Well maintained rural infrastructure is critical to the sustainability and growth of Saskatchewan’s economy and the rural-based industries using it daily.”

The Government of Saskatchewan is meeting its target of improving more than 1,000 km of provincial highways this year, the first of its 10-year Growth Plan goal to build and upgrade 10,000 km of highways. Another $300 million in highways stimulus funds is being invested over two years in thin-membrane surface upgrades, passing lanes and improvements to municipal roads and airports.

The Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $9.8 billion in highways infrastructure since 2008, improving more than 15,800 km of Saskatchewan highways.

Canadian Construction Association welcomes its new Board of Directors for 2021–22 with Ray Bassett at the helm as chair

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is pleased to announce that Ray Bassett is the chair of the 2021–22 Board of Directors. CCA sincerely thanks outgoing chair, Joe Wrobel, for his dedicated leadership.

Bassett is the vice president and chief underwriting officer at Travelers Insurance Company of Canada, where he manages client relationships with national and larger regional construction companies, leads strategic initiatives in product development and technology and guides the business strategy of the Construction Services Group for Travelers in North America.

A 37-year veteran of the construction surety industry, Bassett has led both claims and underwriting practices for leading national surety companies in Canada and is focused on improving collaboration and value among stakeholders in the construction industry, including public and private project owners, the construction and project finance lending community, financial ratings agencies, consultants, the construction law bar and the surety industry.

Bassett joined the CCA Board of Directors in 2010, has chaired the Manufacturers, Suppliers & Services Council, as well as an executive committee focused on federal prompt payment, which was instrumental in having industry concerns and recommendations addressed in the Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act.

In his address to members at the annual general meeting, Bassett articulated one of CCA’s advocacy focuses for the association over the next year.

“(We need) a long-term federal infrastructure plan, that is evidence-based and is better aligned with the needs and priorities of provincial and municipal governments, and has a clear and uncluttered funding mechanism – this will bring more public and private projects to the market in a more predictable flow,” he said. “This is good for our industry and good for Canada.”

Joining Bassett on CCA’s 2021–22 Board of Directors are:

• Jean François Arbour, President, Groupe SCV
• Andrew Arnill, Operations Manager, West-Can Seal Coating Asphalt Products
• David Bowcott, Global Director, Growth, Innovation & Insight, AON
• Rob Carvell, Chief Operating Officer, Trane
• Charles Caza, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Bird Construction
• Nicole Chabot, Vice President, L. Chabot Enterprises Ltd.
• Leslie Doka, Director of Construction, Wright Construction
• Trevor Doucette, Vice-President Stakeholder Management, Graham Construction & Engineering
• Wayne Ferguson, Senior Vice President, EllisDon Corporation
• John Flemming, President, Ocean Contractors
• Nadine Fullarton, President, CANB, Moncton Northeast
• Eric Gaulin, President & CEO, Telecon
• Quentin Huillery, Chief Operating Officer, Ledcor
• Russ Kerr, Branch General Manager, Vipond
• Branden Kotyk, Division Manager, Western Canada, Victaulic
• Patrick Lafrenière, Director of Projects, Atlantic, JCB Construction Canada
• John Mollenhauer, President & CEO, Toronto Construction Association
• Brendan Nobes, Director Major Projects, Rcs
• Francis Roy, President, Groupe Humaco

CCA thanks these leaders for their generous commitment to the industry and to advance our united vision to Build a better Canada.

New SHCA affinity partner: Shamii

A new partner to the SHCA affinity program is Shamii, a pickup/drop-off full service for your vehicles. By using Shamii, SHCA members can avoid lineups, wait times, arranging pickups, drop-offs or awkward courtesy car rides with strangers. Shamii chauffeurs pick up your vehicle from wherever you are, detail your car with the package you choose and then deliver it back to you.

SHCA members, use the promo code “SHCA21” and receive a 10 per cent discount on all packages.

Changes to the WCB’s Employer Initial Report of Injury (E1) form

To continuously improve its customer service, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) has made changes to the online E1 form.

The new features of the online E1 form include:

• A document upload feature – Employers will be able to attach documentation with the E1 form submission. This could include pictures related to the worker’s injury, incident reports or medical notes.
• Fewer required fields – This will allow users to get the E1 form submitted to the WCB faster so injured workers can get the support they need sooner.
• Fewer questions – Based on the feedback from users, the E1 form was redesigned so the WCB is not asking questions that did not provide value for an injured worker to receive support.
• An enhanced dashboard that gives the users a better view of what E1s are submitted and saved.

When you submit your E1 form online, the form is automatically entered into the WCB system, which eliminates delays that can occur if mailed.

Government announces increased funding for channel clearing

Premier Scott Moe recently announced $2 million over two years in funding to expand channel clearing for rural municipalities across Saskatchewan.

“As we work through economic recovery, investments in our communities will help build our future,” said Moe. “Increased funding for water management in rural communities will not only help protect essential infrastructure but also help our producers grow Saskatchewan’s economy.”

The Water Security Agency originally budgeted $600,000 over two years for channel clearing. This increase in funding will allow for the program to grow to $500,000 for the 2020–21 fiscal year. In 2021–22, funding will increase again to $1.5 million for a total investment of $2 million over two years. This is an additional $1.4 million over two years to support RMs with channel clearing activities.

Channel clearing involves removing beaver dams, debris, trees and shrubs, and the removal of silt and blow dirt from and along natural channels, lessening the possibilities of blockages that can cause flooding and damage to infrastructure.

Obstructed creeks and channels cause flooding and erosion problems to many RMs and local landowners. This program supports RMs in the removal of these obstructions.

“Our members welcome the news of this timely additional support for a needed program, especially as we enter the spring season,” said Ray Orb, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities. “Our communities are concerned not only about proactively dealing with situations like flooding, but also practicing good water management that protects our ratepayers’ investments.”

Clearing dense vegetation can also reduce unwanted nutrients from water bodies and is an essential component of any long-term water management plan.

Melfort STARS heliport project

Redhead Equipment is pleased to announce that it was named the Mission Lead Pilot Donor of the Melfort Heliport Fundraising Campaign with a contribution of $100,000.

“Since acquiring the dealership in Melfort, we have strived to support our customer’s needs and to give back to Melfort and its surrounding communities. The health and safety of our customers, staff and community is of great importance to Redhead Equipment, and we hope this $100,000 donation reflects our commitment to the people of northeastern Saskatchewan,” said Gary Redhead.

The Melfort Hospital serves approximately 12,200 people and previously did not have a heliport. All patient transfers occurred by ground EMS directly or through the Melfort Airport via fixed wing air ambulance or STARS service. The City of Melfort proposed developing a heliport beside the Melfort Hospital. The landing area would be a certified area used by STARS for the transport of patients from the emergency department at the hospital.

The heliport is an important service for the growing community of Melfort and area. The greatest risk for patients being transported is during handover. With STARS service, the care team can come right to the patient, get a report from the team providing care and transfer directly to tertiary care in Saskatoon.

A heliport will save STARS critical time, in some cases up to 50 minutes from Melfort to Saskatoon’s hospitals.

“When I reached out to Gary Redhead about supporting the Heliport Project in Melfort, there was no hesitation,” said Heliport Fundraising Committee member, Rod Gantefoer. “Redhead Equipment is a proud, active member of all the communities they serve throughout Saskatchewan and is committed to supporting charities and community organizations across the province, through sponsorship, donations and participation.”

Thanks to the support of businesses and families in the Melfort area, the campaign has raised more than $750,000.

Peggy George, chairman of the North Central Health Care Foundation stated, “Raising funds during a pandemic had its own special challenge, but with the support of all our donors, we have been able to exceed our fundraising goal by over $100,000. Excess funds from this campaign will further the work of the foundation. The foundation plays an important role in supporting our local healthcare professionals by providing funding for equipment in the facilities throughout the district.”

As of Dec. 1, 2020, the helipad was completed and certified by Transport Canada, making it operational. Redhead Equipment is happy to know that every time STARS lands in Melfort, their team helped make it happen.

Municipalities of Saskatchewan elects new president

Municipalities of Saskatchewan delegates recently elected Naicam Mayor Rodger Hayward as their newest president.

“It is an honour to be elected Municipalities of Saskatchewan president,” said Hayward. “I look forward to continuing to work with Municipalities of Saskatchewan’s Board of Directors as president, and our member municipalities, to ensure our hometowns have the resources we need. We are stronger when we work together.”

Hayward has served as Municipalities of Saskatchewan’s vice-president of towns since 2012. He was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2010 as northeast regional director. Hayward has represented the community of Naicam since 1996, and has served six terms as mayor.

Municipalities of Saskatchewan’s towns and villages, resort villages and northern municipal sectors also elected their sector representatives. Nipawin Mayor Rennie Harper will serve as the new vice-president of towns, and incumbent Mike Strachan, Mayor of Torquay, will continue to serve as vice-president of villages, resort villages and northern municipalities.

SGI scam warning

SGI warns the public that scammers could be targeting SGI customers by sending them an email posing as their bank and asking them to provide a photo or scan of their driver’s licence.

If you come across a similar request in your inbox, take steps to verify that the email is coming from a trusted source before providing any personal information. Be sure to use publicly listed contact information, not a phone number or email address included in the suspect email.

If you have provided this information to someone who shouldn’t have it, you should contact the police and take steps suggested by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, such as gathering information about the fraudulent activity and contacting your financial institutions and reporting the incident.

SGI asks that customers who suspect they’ve fallen victim to a fraud to please notify SGI of the potential issue. You can have your SGI information password protected – in order to do so, customers will have to go to any SGI motor licence issuing office. 

Saskatchewan’s economy has demonstrated incredible resiliency over the past year. Our province was not immune to the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, but we have implemented a number of strategies and programs to ensure economic and labour market recovery.

As part of our government’s commitment to stimulate economic recovery, we launched the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan to provide a phased-in and methodical approach to ensure the safe operation of businesses in Saskatchewan. The Business Response Team was established to provide Saskatchewan businesses and organizations with critical information and advice on operating within the current public health orders, as well as the various business support programs available to them. The programs include the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment, the Re-Open Saskatchewan Training Subsidy and the Strong Recovery Adaptation Rebate.

These programs have shown to be effective, as our province leads Canada’s economic recovery with the strong export growth figures and the lowest unemployment rate among the provinces. Our strong export numbers are a good indication of the huge demand around the world for our products. In addition, as of early March, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) Small Business Recovery Dashboard cites Saskatchewan as having 74 per cent of private sector businesses fully open, compared to only 51 per cent nationally.

As we move through and ultimately into a post-COVID-19 world, our government will remain focused on key actions to grow our trade and export infrastructure in support of our Growth Plan over the next decade, including the goal to build and upgrade 10,000 km of highways by 2030. Saskatchewan’s two-year, $2 billion stimulus program is an investment that will help drive economic recovery from the global pandemic.

We are proud to work with the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association to a build a strong economy, supporting the growth of our families and our communities. 

I’m pleased to have this opportunity to report “behind the headlines” Ottawa updates to the members of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association.

Although all Saskatchewan MPs have a role to play in promoting construction in Saskatchewan, I have the duty and privilege to play a particular role. I sit on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities, which studies many of the federally funded or regulated infrastructure projects in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.

In this report, I’ll try to bring you the latest news on construction-related discussions going on in our nation’s capital.

Coming up in the transportation and infrastructure committee

Since the new year, much of the time of the transportation and infrastructure committee has been taken up with transportation issues, as we have grilled the transportation minister over pandemic threats to many of Canada’s airports, including Regina’s.

In March, the committee moved on to examine the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), a Crown corporation mandated to manage federal infrastructure investments. This is actually the second time the Trudeau Liberals have attempted to start the CIB. They previously announced it in 2017 and gave it a budget of $35 billion. But, like many Liberal initiatives, it was long on press releases but short on actual accomplishments. After three years in operation, it had spent only $1.7 billion. With CIB 2.0, the Liberals have promised a more streamlined, less bureaucratic decision-making process. We’ll see how that turns out – the Liberals, after all, don’t have much of a track record for reducing bureaucracy.

A negative sign for the prospects of the new CIB is that the Liberals have given it a mandate to pursue a number of their favourite boutique issues, such as renewable energy. One mandated area of potential interest to Saskatchewan heavy construction is a priority to invest in large-scale agricultural irrigation projects. But again, we will have to wait to see if that goal gets beyond an announcement and into actual shovels in the ground.

In April, the committee will be studying the potential for targeted infrastructure investments in underserved or disadvantaged communities. At the moment, this is quite broadly defined although there is some talk that Liberal members will focus mainly on Eastern priorities, such as extending subway lines in Toronto. For my part, I’ll be advocating for projects that produce benefits for Saskatchewan, such as improving transportation connections to tidewater.

Pipelines

When I ran for office in 2019, I campaigned on three principles – pipelines, balanced budgets and an end to the carbon tax. It’s looking like I’ll be able to recycle those slogans in the next campaign, considering that the federal deficit is out of control, the carbon tax has gone up and the federal Liberals have failed to get pipelines built. In fact, pipelines are being shut down under their watch.

We all remember the ill-fated Transmountain Pipeline, which the Liberals bought for $4.5 billion after the previous developer pulled out due to never-ending protests and court challenges. Two years later, the project continues to be plagued with protests and delays as well as a near-doubling of its estimated construction costs.

There was, for a time, great hopes for advancement of the Keystone XL Pipeline after it was approved by the previous U.S administration. Unfortunately, one of President Biden’s first acts in office was to cancel it. Despite Trudeau’s cozy relationship with Biden, there is little evidence that Trudeau is having much influence on this topic nor even that he’s making much of an effort. In the two leaders’ first virtual state visit, officials familiar with the meeting said Biden told the prime minister that he understood the hardship the Keystone cancellation caused Canada but that he was simply fulfilling an election promise. In other words, “tough luck, Justin.”

Much the same pattern has played out with the Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline in Eastern Canada. This pipeline, which ships oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Ontario, has been operating safely for over half a century. Recently, Michigan’s environmental activist governor ordered the line closed, causing a diplomatic furor not only between Canada and the U.S. but even among U.S. states. In response, the natural resources minister delivered chest-thumping rhetoric that sounded almost identical to the language the Liberals used with regards to Keystone…and we know how that turned out.

Given the Liberals affection for renewable energy projects, it’s easy to see why their efforts to defend pipelines are failing. They want them to fail and are paying only lip-service to efforts to save them.

Airports

Although it doesn’t directly relate to construction, I would like to close by touching on my campaign to save Regina’s airport. Like airports all over, the Regina Airport Authority has seen its revenues drop nearly to zero during the pandemic. Unlike other G7 countries, Canada has offered virtually no sector-specific aid to help the nation’s air infrastructure survive. As well, NavCanada, the agency that regulates air traffic, appears poised to close Regina’s air traffic control tower. Combined, these assaults on the airport could threaten southern Saskatchewan’s capacity for business travel and cargo shipment, which would hurt businesses in every sector including construction. To help with my campaign, visit saveyqr.ca.