by SHCA SHCA

Working Together to Build a Better Future

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As I write this, Canada is still in the middle of a federal election, so I have my fingers crossed that I’m 

not jinxing myself by assuming I will still be your MP.

Prior to the election, I had the honour to serve on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. In the aftermath of the election, I hope that I will continue to be able to serve in that capacity, since infrastructure will be an increasingly important aspect of how Canada rebuilds its economy in the post- pandemic world.

All the major parties made significant commitments to the infrastructure sector in their party platforms. For their part, the Liberals continued to re-announce and-re-promise action through their failed Canada Infrastructure Bank institution. This bureaucratic sloth consistently succeeded in generating more red tape than shovels in the ground.

In four years, the Infrastructure Bank completed precisely zero projects and left tens of billions in job­ creation dollars unspent while the economy stagnated.

During the campaign, the Conservatives’ plan for economic recovery included an aggressive approach to revamp how our country invests in infrastructure. This plan would include:

Immediately investing in critical projects that will put hundreds of thousands of Canadians to work, cut commute time and reduce emissions;

Providing more flexibility to municipalities and First Nations by removing onerous requirements to receive federal infrastructure funding;

Scrapping the failed Canada Infrastructure Bank and committing the money sitting unused on its books to infrastructure projects that can strengthen our economy;

Reprioritizing the Investing in Canada Plan towards infrastructure projects that would have the maximum benefit for economic recovery; and

Building digital infrastructure to connect all of Canada to high-speed internet by 2025.

No matter the outcome of the election, the Conservatives will employ all the leverage they have in Parliament to drive this plan forward. It is time to get Canada working again and the members of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association will have a vital role to play.

It won’t be good enough to simply go back to pre-pandemic business as usual. The past year-and-a-half has shown that, in too many ways, our country has stagnated over the last few years from lack of investment.

As we move forward, we must ensure that we build in a way that is stronger and more secure for generations to come. Better vaccine production, manufacturing and supply chains are part of that, but an equally important part is to make sure we have shovels in the ground to build world-class roads, transportation, dams, power plants and pipelines to support our economy.

I look forward to continuing to work with the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association as we work together to build this better future. 

It is time to get Canada working again and the members of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association will have a vital role to play.

by Shantel Lipp Shantel Lipp

Opportunities to Connect

Together, we are better. Now that we are able to host and attend events, we have a few coming up that offer all our members great opportunities to advance their interests.

Mark your calendars with a couple of events this November!

The first is the MLA Reception that the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association (SHCA) is hosting on Nov. 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. This event is your opportunity to meet with provincial MLAs from both sides of the legislature to talk to them, face to face, about your business as well as the industry. 

Whatever insights, issues or topics you think these MLAs need to recognize is up for discussion when we get together in Room 218 at the Legislative Building in Regina. Encourage other members to attend. The more people we have out, the more we can amplify the relevant messages about our industry. 

Please pre-register if you are planning to attend this reception. The SHCA needs to provide the legislative staff with a list of those attending. To pre-register, please contact traceyk@saskheavy.ca or slipp@saskheavy.ca. The earlier you register, the better!

The second event is the SHCA Fall Convention, which is set for Nov. 25-26 in Saskatoon. For two days, we will gather at the Delta Bessborough Hotel and Convention Centre to hear engaging speakers and participate in conversations about our industry. 

The Chairman’s Banquet will take place on Friday evening. New this year is a maximum capacity of 300 delegates. That makes early convention and room registration extra important! 

Registration links are now open and available for the SHCA room block.  More details about the convention will be released as we move towards November. 

Events like these are important to our members because they help develop and strengthen the voice of the association. Gathering to share our experiences, ideas and suggestions helps our members recognize and realize improvements and opportunities. It is how our members can find and form the connections that make their businesses and this industry even better. 

I look forward to seeing each and every one of you at these events and learning more about your current interests and ideas, so I can best represent you and our industry. 

Now that we are able to host and attend events, we have a few coming up that offer all our members great opportunities to advance their interests.

by SHCA SHCA

SHCA Equipment Rental Rates Guide & Membership Roster: Last chance to reserve your ad space!

The deadline to reserve advertising space in the 2022 SHCA Equipment Rental Rates Guide & Membership Roster is quickly approaching.

Click here to download the 2022 Media Kit and assess your company’s options to advertise in this exclusive annual tool for SHCA members. [link to kit]

In addition to advertising in the SHCA Equipment Rental Rates Guide & membership Roster, plan the rest of your 2022 marketing to SHCA members and stakeholders. Review the media kit and contact a sales representative today to confirm your placements or to request additional information.

by SHCA SHCA

Western Canada Trade Gateway Initiative Picks Up Support

A new report out of Export Development Canada on the country’s potential for market growth in China adds urgency to the Western Canada Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association (WCR&HCA)’s call for the federal government to ramp up funding for trade-enabling infrastructure, the WCR&HCA board heard Dec. 9.

The WCR&HCA is working with federal and regional partners to promote the initiative that is premised on pressing the federal government to substantially increase investment within the National Trade Corridors Fund, which was announced at $1.9 billion in 2021’s budget.

Anything less than a $10 billion federal contribution would be inadequate to task, WCR&HCA president Chris Lorenc says, to attend to the regional corridors in the West and across Canada that need attention, not just coastal or Eastern Canadian ports.

The update to the WCR&HCA follows the circulation of a report on the need for recapitalization of the federal Trade Corridor Fund, which sits at $1.9 billion. The report summarizes a roundtable discussion, co-hosted by Export Development Canada (EDC), the WCR&HCA and the Canadian Construction Association (CCA), among regional and national stakeholder organizations Sept. 8.

Two panelists of the roundtable, EDC vice-president and chief economist Peter Hall, noted that Canada has to significantly boost its efforts to diversify its trade markets, not just to alleviate reliance on the United States, but to take advantage of growing middle-class demand in under-developed export markets.

Western Canada is a region with access to west coast ports is indispensable to Canada’s trade profile and productivity and, therefore, its economic health and prosperity. With CP’s pending acquisition of KCS and KCSM, the continent of North America is also very much in play for market growth.

“Today, the United States is the primary customer for Canadian products, accounting for about 75 per cent of all merchandise exports. Unlike Asia, the U.S and other traditional export markets are already quite mature, with demographics that are not favourable to high future growth that matches the scale in the Asian markets,” the report says, summarizing Hall’s comments.

“While China represents only five per cent of Canada’s current trade, if the growth rate seen over the last two decades holds, it will surpass the U.S. as the top destination for Canadian goods by 2048. And if Canada can achieve even just half of Australia’s market share for Chinese imports… the point at which China becomes our top destination could be reached much faster – by 2036.”

Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, says there is huge potential for expanding trade into Asia, particularly China. He cautions, however, that strengthening ties to China brings risk, noting the severe sanctions China has imposed on Australia.

Australia is among the countries concerned about the use of Huawei Technologies and expressed concerns about the limited access to potential sources of the COVID-19 virus during investigations in China.

Food products make up 31 per cent of Canada’s exports to China, so “there is an opportunity to diversify into other areas, such as energy and manufacturing, where Canada lags behind other countries,” the report says, summarizing Saint-Jacques.

“To capitalize on these and other market opportunities, Canada must build the infrastructure required to bring Canadian products to tidewater.”

The need for reliable trade infrastructure was not lost on the federal government, in its financial update presented Dec. 15.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that supply chain problems, including port congestion, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will trigger $50 million in special support for Canada’s ports, to be drawn out of the $1.9 billion National Trade Corridors Fund.

More detail is to come on what criteria such proposals will need to meet.

Lorenc says the perspective must be much wider, because the trade network across the West needs attention.

The WCR&HCA is working with the CCA, Business Council of Canada, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Canada West Foundation in its strategy to put the WCTG&CI on the agenda of Canada’s premiers, provincial governments, federal MPs and ministers.

The proposed Western Canada Trade Gateway & Corridor Initiative aims to boost domestic, continental and international trade, particularly in Asia, through a multi-year national program that brings both public and private investments to Western Canada’s multi-modal trade transportation network. That includes investments in existing trade gateways and corridors, plus the long-term build-out of new marine and inland ports as well as road, rail and air transportation assets that will support the freight and passenger flows required for international trade.

by John Mark Aquino John Mark Aquino

How Inclusive is Your Engineering Workplace?

Research shows many companies are struggling to ensure women are represented fairly in top management and in retention numbers. Progress toward gender parity remains slow and the engineering profession is one of the few licensed professions where men continue to vastly outnumber women.

Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 is a collaborative national initiative to increase the number of women in the engineering profession. 

Read more about what employers can do to diversify their teams on Engineers Canada’s website.

by SHCA SHCA

SHCA Annual Convention – Book Your Hotel Rooms

The SHCA Annual Convention is taking place April 7–8, 2022 at the Delta Hotels Bessborough in Saskatoon.

SHCA members are encouraged to book their room at the Delta Hotels Bessborough as soon as possible; SHCA has secured a special room rate of $154 per night.

Members need to book their room before March 7, 2022.

Book your group rate for Annual Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Convention

by Shantel Lipp Shantel Lipp

Ready for 2022

A new year brings some new reasons to be enthusiastic about what’s ahead for Saskatchewan as well as opportunities to address challenges for our members and industry.

Last year, there were a number of announcements of high-profile projects for Saskatchewan, which I see as a signal there will be a boost in the amount of earthwork available for members in 2022.

Those projects include construction of three canola crushing facilities, which is expected to begin this year – Cargill and Viterra’s two plants at Regina and Ceres Global Ag’s one in the southeast part of the province.

This year is also when BHP expects construction of the world’s largest potash producing mine will be complete. Its Jansen Stage 1 project was already 93 per cent complete when BHP announced in August 2021 it was investing $7.5 billion into the project.

When the highway construction season wrapped up in November, the provincial government highlighted the passing lanes put in on Highways 2, 3, 7, 14, 16 and 39. It told the people of Saskatchewan that there had been 175 kilometers of repaving, 635 kilometres of pavement sealing and medium preservation treatments and 240 kilometres of thin membrane surface and rural highway upgrades done in 2021.

The fall tender included $157.3 million in new highways projects for Saskatchewan. The projects the province highlighted from that include repaving Highway 1 west of Moose Jaw and resurfacing 15 kilometers of Highway 16 near Saskatoon. It explained to the public that tender releases are published in the spring and fall so “industry can thoroughly prepare and bid on upcoming projects, mitigating the risk of price increases and delivering the best possible value for taxpayers.”

This year, I will continue to bring the message to governments that funding for infrastructure should ideally be planned years ahead of construction being scheduled. A policy paper highlighting the importance of a national infrastructure program with a specific focus on Western Canada is imminent. It will be presented to the federal government by the Canadian Construction Association along with our partner organizations. I look forward to sharing more about that paper and governments’ response to it with you this year.

Until then, I know you will be busy lining up employees for the coming construction season and making sure they are adequately trained for their responsibilities. We are all hearing from other industries how their workforces are being impacted by COVID-19 and the rate at which this most recent variant is spreading. Finding enough people to work was a challenge in 2021 for members and we expect that challenge will be present this year, but I am working with others to address it.

The Saskatchewan Workforce Alliance is a group of industry leaders who are discussing solutions that will allow them to fill positions to keep businesses strong. One idea from the group is the Saskatchewan Workforce Retention Program, which is described in detail in the Q1 2022 issue of SHCA’s magazine, Think Big. I’ll let you know what movement there is from government on this idea.

As the year unfolds, I look forward to working with you and on your behalf on this and many other initiatives that SHCA is involved in. I hope your year has started off on a positive note and that the months ahead are filled with work that is prosperous and personal time that is satisfying.