by SHCA SHCA

Brandt to Create up to 200 Jobs with New Moose Jaw Trailer Factory

The Brandt Group of Companies is pleased to announce that they will be opening a new utility trailer manufacturing facility in Moose Jaw with production expected to commence in late summer 2022. The company plans to create up to 200 positions over the next three years including assemblers, welders, material handlers, engineers and supervisors, and is hoping to draw as many employees as possible from the local labour pool. 

Hiring will begin immediately with the addition of 70 jobs. 

“Brandt is very excited to become an active member of the Moose Jaw business community and we will be utilizing local contractors to prepare the facility for production,” said Murray Yeager, Brandt vice president, Manufacturing. “Later, when the upgrades are complete, we will employ local vendors for everything from supplies and janitorial services to maintenance and snow removal.”

Moose Jaw was considered an ideal location for the plant, with its strong workforce and history as a centre for trailer production. The move is being made to free up space at Brandt’s North Regina Works campus to expand production for other product lines currently being built in their Regina facilities. 

The company also has long-term plans for additional expansion and more equipment purchases to outfit the plant to produce utility trailers for North America-wide distribution. 

The 64,000 square foot facility was originally home to General Cable and was purchased by Brandt in 2012. 

by SHCA SHCA

Upcoming Regina Golf Tournament

SHCA’s golf tournament in Regina is coming up in August! Dust off your clubs and
prepare for a day filled with golf, food, drinks, networking and fun.
Contact the SHCA office for more information.

Wascana Golf & Country Club
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Regina, Sask.

Shantel Lipp - SHCA President
by Shantel Lipp Shantel Lipp

Diesel Fuel Adjustments

The construction season is underway, and work is in full swing. While that work moves ahead, the realities of inflation have been unavoidable.

Since the start of the year, the price of diesel has climbed substantially. Continuing to pay that much more for fuel has been difficult for many of our members under the existing contracts they have with the Ministry of Highways, which has estimated the increase to be around 69 per cent.

Shantel Lipp

Now, there is a conversation happening about what to do about this situation. Recently, the Ministry of Highways presented our association with some proposed adjustments to the fuel escalation clause. Since the start of the year, the ministry has been reviewing prices and policy and exploring potential options for updating the policy and the budget impacts of those possible updates. Then, in late March, there was a standard practice bulletin posted that directed that interim diesel fuel adjustments be calculated and applied monthly to improve contractors’ cash flow. But, at that time, no formal changes were applied to the policy. 

Then, in June, the ministry began a process to review options – with industry – for updating and expanding the diesel fuel adjustment. The risk associated with the cost of diesel is shared by the ministry and contractors, but not all types of work or components of work are eligible for the adjustment. Not all diesel consumed on a project is included. 

This shared risk will continue, but the ministry is open to taking on a greater share of the risk. The ministry has proposed expanding the scope of work to include additional types of work. It is also looking at the consumption rate and applying the existing consumption rates more broadly in some areas of work. It is also looking at better options to address fuel consumption for haul. Then, there is payment. The ministry is using a monthly adjustment to apply interim adjustments in advance of a final calculation.

While the ministry has some ideas, it had asked for industry to provide input on a few questions:

  • Are the work types eligible for the diesel fuel adjustment appropriate?
  • Are the proposed and existing consumption rates relevant? Do they adequately reflect the nature of the work being performed?
  • Is the method of calculating and applying the diesel fuel adjustment sufficient “as is”?

Our industry has reviewed the proposal and a number of SHCA members provided additional improvements they would like to see beyond what the ministry has proposed.  

We provided actual figures and examples of how the industry has been impacted by the escalation in diesel fuel. We’ve also asked for compensation for our members that currently provide asphalt concrete products that go into making the binder materials for crushing, micro-surfacing, paving and more. Then, there are the various types of work that also consume diesel fuel that the ministry didn’t include in its presentation, such as rock excavation and hauling used for dirt excavation. Finally, we will be working with the ministry on revising the industry consumption rates to reflect more realistic figures. It should be reasonable and fair to both industry and government. The deadline for comments was July 8.

The ministry is aiming to complete any updates to the diesel fuel adjustment by Aug. 15 this year in order to include them in all fall tenders. Changes through the supplemental agreement will be applied retroactively to the active contracts back to Jan. 1.

I know the current situation is not sustainable for our industry and this is a crucial conversation for many of our members whose future depends on this situation being addressed by government. We appreciate all of you who have contributed your input so that we can provide government accurate and meaningful information to ensure changes address your real need. 

by SHCA SHCA

WCB’s 2020–22 COVID-19 Cost Relief to Conclude This Month

For more than two years in 2020, through 2021 and through the first six months of 2022, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) provided cost relief for employers with accepted COVID-19 claims. The WCB will conclude providing COVID-19 cost relief for employers with accepted COVID-19 workplace injuries that occur on or after July 1, 2022. Accepted COVID-19 workplace injuries that occur prior to July 1 are still eligible for cost relief.

“The WCB has worked to support employers and workers over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This included covering all claim costs for accepted COVID-19 workplace injury claims in 2020, 2021 and the first six months of 2022,” said the WCB’s chair Gord Dobrowolsky. “As the pandemic has evolved, claims related to COVID-19 exposures in the workplace have started to taper off. At the same time, high vaccination rates and effective risk management by employers have helped to limit the time lost to COVID-19 and the resulting costs.”

The number of COVID-19 claims requiring workers to be away from work for more than 10 days has dropped significantly, from 41.9 per cent of claims in 2021 to 24.5 per cent of claims in the first part of 2022.

The WCB has implemented relief measures for employers and workers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing cost relief for employers. For claims that occurred from 2020 to May 10, 2022, the WCB has provided more than $7.5 million in cost relief for COVID-19 injury claims. The cost relief is funded through the WCB’s occupational disease reserve as a temporary measure to aid Saskatchewan employers.

“While we will conclude the temporary cost relief measures for COVID-19 claims after two and a half years, employers and workers can still submit eligible COVID-19 workplace injury claims to the WCB,” says the WCB’s CEO Phillip Germain.

A worker may be entitled to WCB benefits if they contract COVID-19 and there is a confirmed link between the worker’s exposure and their employment. Based on WCB policy Injuries – Communicable Disease (POL 02/2010), the following conditions must be met:

  • There is confirmed exposure to the disease in the workplace
  • The time period that the illness is contracted is in close proximity to the confirmed workplace exposure
  • The nature of employment creates a greater risk of exposure for the worker than to the general population

“COVID-19 presented each one of us with challenges unique to our lifetimes over the past two years, affecting the way we conduct business in Saskatchewan,” said Germain. “Thank you to the workers, employers, employer associations and unions for your health and safety efforts. Together we can all help keep each workplace safe.”

Frequently asked questions for employers on COVID-19 workplace injury claims are available at wcbsask.com.

Photo credit: perig76/123rf

by SHCA SHCA

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce Welcomes New CEO

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome Prabha Ramaswamy as its new CEO. Ramaswamy is a champion of Saskatchewan business, a passionate community leader and organizational visionary.
 
“I look forward to collaborating with all our stakeholders to build the strongest business eco-system in Canada,” said Ramaswamy. “Saskatchewan has what the world needs and is well-positioned to be a leader – particularly at this juncture. Our continued growth will transform the business landscape and create opportunities to enhance competitiveness, and boost investments and trade. I have been a staunch champion of women-owned businesses and now I look ahead to advocating for all businesses in our province.”
 
The CEO of non-profit, membership-based organization Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) since 2014, Ramaswamy has demonstrated a strong commitment to helping Saskatchewan realize its economic potential by driving change to close the gender entrepreneurship gap and the resulting gender economic gap in the province.
 
During her eight-year tenure at WESK, Ramaswamy launched several breakthrough programs to support the business community, including Matchstick, the first program in Western Canada to support Indigenous women entrepreneurs, and Charter Champions, the first charter designed to enhance the support of Saskatchewan’s women-owned businesses.
  
“Prabha brings to this role extensive experience in transforming organizations, advocating on behalf of the business community and leading with a strategic vision,” said Thomas Benjoe, chair of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. “We are confident that she will shape the future of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce as an organization and strengthen our network, voice, and province as a whole.”
 
Ramaswamy will assume her role on June 20, 2022.

by SHCA SHCA

SRC Celebrates 75 Years of Technology and Innovation

This year, the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is reaching a major milestone – 75 years of providing valuable research, development and demonstration to Saskatchewan industry and beyond. SRC is focused on providing services that support the province’s key economic sectors, such as mining, minerals, energy, oil and gas, agriculture and biotechnology, as well as meeting the environmental needs of industry.

Throughout its history, SRC has been a part of many important firsts for the province. In the 1970s, SRC was a leader in energy efficient housing research and its work formed the basis for the development of the R-2000 standard for energy efficient homes. In the 1980s, SRC played a large role assisting the Saskatchewan energy industry by enabling the implementation of horizontal wells in and the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery.

SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories’ ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited secure diamond laboratory was established in the early 2000s and is now the largest such facility in the world. SRC’s Rare Earth Processing Facility, supported with $31 million in funding from the Government of Saskatchewan, will be the first-of-its-kind in North America as it comes online early in 2023.

Today, SRC’s environmental remediation work in northern Saskatchewan also leads industry with its community engagement, project management and environmental practices, some of which have translated to other government programs like the Ministry of Energy and Resources’ Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP).

These are just a few examples of how SRC has pioneered initiatives that benefit Saskatchewan over the past 75 years. Going forward, SRC is strongly committed to continuing to create positive impacts for the province while it supports government and industry in new and emerging strategic areas including the energy transition and critical minerals.

SRC is Canada’s second largest research and technology organization. With nearly 300 employees, $137 million in annual revenue and 75 years of experience, SRC provides services and products to its 1,500 clients in 27 countries around the world.

For more information on SRC’s history, view our blog at https://src.nu/75atsrc.

by SHCA SHCA

Stronger Together Conference: See you in Waikiki!

The Western Canadian Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association (WCR&HCA) are heading to Waikiki, Feb. 5–9, 2023 for the Stronger Together Conference. Joined by hundreds of delegates from across Western Canada, the conference offers industry speakers, education and an array of networking events. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect!

Click here for more information about the conference; we hope to see SHCA members there!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Find out more.

Shantel Lipp - SHCA President
by Shantel Lipp Shantel Lipp

Champions of Infrastructure

Infrastructure needs its champions, and the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association is proud to be one of them.

Recently, our chair and some of our board members had the opportunity to attend a dinner meeting in Saskatoon sponsored, in part, by the SHCA.

The Canada West Foundation, which released the Shovel Ready to Shovel Worthy report last month, was in Saskatchewan for its board meeting, bringing together those who understand what Western Canada offers the world.

Trade infrastructure is how we make sure that what provinces like Saskatchewan produce can be transported from here to everywhere that buys what we sell. The SHCA champions for long-term investment into trade infrastructure through its relationships with the Western Canadian Roadbuilders as well as the Civil Infrastructure Council among others, such as the Canada West Foundation.

These relationships are how reports such as the Shovel Ready to Shovel Worthy report are produced and promoted. A report like that creates the narrative for industries like ours to have the conversation with elected officials, and industry leaders at all levels about working together to capitalize investment into trade corridors.

A report like Shovel Ready to Shovel Worthy is where compelling data is pulled together and presented to prove our case. A report with such data is at the core of our collaboration on coordinated campaigns that target the federal government to carve out explicit funds for trade-related infrastructure.

The contents of the report will be discussed at meetings with Saskatchewan’s new Minister of Highways, Jeremy Cockrill, as well as the new chief of staff, Brayden Fox, who I am excited to work with going forward.

It is the focus of messages our industry and association send out to the public through radio, social media and publications to get people thinking about the value Saskatchewan’s trade infrastructure brings to our economy and the people of this province.

It is what we bring forward to conversations with groups such as the City of Regina, the City of Saskatoon, SUMA, SARM, the Saskatchewan Trucking Association and chambers of commerce. We encourage municipally elected officials, business owners and administration to recognize how trade benefits from this infrastructure and to echo our message about investment in it.

If you can’t move it, you can’t sell it. That’s a message that resonates with everyone.   

Between opportunity and crisis, Saskatchewan and Canada face a choice. We have opportunity but we need a plan to capitalize on it over the long term to rebuild this country’s trading reputation.

Helping those who make decisions about funding trade infrastructure to recognize that opportunity and choose to support strategic investment that betters this country is why SHCA works with other champions.