Regina-based Clifton Associates Ltd. has been selected to begin engineering work for the Westside Irrigation Project.
Clifton was selected after successfully completing a two-staged transparent procurement process consisting of a request for qualifications and a request for proposals. Clifton’s work will encompass the first stage of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Expansion – the largest infrastructure project in Saskatchewan’s history, which is being undertaken in order to double the amount of irrigable land in the province.
“This is an important step forward to realizing the irrigation potential of Lake Diefenbaker,” said Minister Responsible for SaskBuilds and Procurement Jim Reiter. “Our government looks forward to the commencement of the first phase of this generational project.”
Clifton’s team will start work immediately to complete the overall engineering preliminary design for Phases 1 and 2. Their work is expected to take 12 to 18 months, and will inform the next phases of work, including:
Preliminary engineering design for Phases 1 and 2
Geotechnical, soil suitability and geographical mapping
Environmental consulting services
Playing a central role in the extensive consultations with First Nations and other stakeholders, which will also start in the near future
“As prime consultant, Clifton is proud to lead the Saskatchewan-based Westside Irrigation Canal Project engineering team in association with Stantec and Associated Engineering,” Clifton Associates Ltd. CEO Wayne Clifton said. “Our team has deep Saskatchewan roots; each firm brings more than four decades of successful delivery of major projects in this province. We are delighted to be a part of this legacy project that will further reinforce Saskatchewan’s position as a leader in global food security while building on the vision made possible by the creation of Lake Diefenbaker a half a century ago. We look forward to continuing the tradition of prairie innovation – applying Saskatchewan talent to deliver a legacy project for the people of Saskatchewan.”
Clifton has spent more than a decade intensively involved in a variety of irrigation studies within Saskatchewan. They are among the most experienced engineering firms across Western Canada and have delivered on other large-scale infrastructure projects in the past. Clifton provides a strong team to review the environmental scope of the work required to complete the initial stages of the necessary provincial and federal regulatory approvals and permits. There will be careful assessment of potential impacts to environmental protection, downstream users and communities, including consultations with First Nations and other stakeholders as part of the process.
Announced in July 2020 by Premier Scott Moe, the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project is expected to double the amount of irrigable land in Saskatchewan, a significant step to completing goals set out in the 2030 Growth Plan.
Phase 1 of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Expansion Project will include the rehabilitation and expansion of the existing Westside irrigation canal system, increasing irrigable land in Saskatchewan by 80,000 acres. Phase 2 will further expand and buildout the Westside Irrigation Project, adding an additional 260,000 acres of irrigable land. Phase 3 will see the buildout of the Qu’Appelle South Water Conveyance Project, adding an estimated 120,000 acres of irrigable land.
The Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Expansion Project is expected to offer several future benefits, including:
An estimated $35.5 to $83 billion increase in the Province’s Gross Domestic Product over the next 50 years
Up to $20 billion in tax revenues to support public services including health, education and social services
An estimated 2,500 jobs per year during the 10-year construction phase.
What to do when an injured worker is due to be laid off
I often get asked what an employer should do if they are laying off a worker and they are currently are on a Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) claim. The reality is that the heavy construction industry, for the most part, is a seasonal industry. Most companies lay off their workers at the end of the season and then re-hire people in the spring again. What people do in their layoff time varies from collecting employment insurance to working for another industry or maybe they vacation somewhere warmer. It varies from worker to worker.
If a worker on a WCB claim when the normal season layoff comes it can be a real pain for employers. The real issue is the worker is not medically fit to return to work, the WCB may pay them if the injury and layoff would preclude them from working somewhere else during the layoff period.
An example of this is Sam’s case. Sam works in the heavy construction industry driving heavy equipment until layoff but was injured at work. In the wintertime, Sam works doing snow removal for another company but due to his injury, this year during layoff cannot do his snow removal job. Sam’s wages would continue to be paid by the WCB unless the employer can find a job for Sam to do until he is fully recovered. Where possible, it is in the employer’s best interest to keep workers employed so the employer isn’t incurring WCB costs for the claim during layoff. Keeping people employed during a layoff season is not always possible for some employers, but if possible, it is a way to reduce WCB costs.
If you are able or can find something for an injured worker to do during layoff, it can be financially beneficial to keep that person working as long as possible to reduce your WCB costs.
In the past, if a worker was on WCB they would often make more than they would working their normal season in a seasonal industry. The Saskatchewan WCB brought in Section 70, recognizing that some workers were making more on WCB than they normally would make in a year. Section 70 states that a review will take place within 24 weeks of the claim’s acceptance to review the wage loss to see what that person would normally make in 52 weeks. If the person only ever works 26 weeks a year, then their WCB wage loss should reflect that and their wage loss may stay the same or get reduced. All claims are reviewed at the WCB for Section 70.4.
It is good to remember any cost that is put through the Saskatchewan WCB will affect an employer’s WCB premiums. In simple terms, less WCB costs equals less WCB premiums. If you are able or can find something for an injured worker to do during layoff, it can be financially beneficial to keep that person working as long as possible to reduce your WCB costs. I recognize that it may require some creative thinking to come up with some ideas for jobs during a layoff period, but it is worth it financially! Ideally, you hope you never have an injured worker still on the books during the seasonal layoff time, but sometimes it cannot be helped and you may have to bite the bullet and find something for them to do and hope it is short term.
WCB policies that can be referred to for more information are POL02/2018: Benefits Return to Work Interrupted; and Section 70.4: establishing a wage-base for seasonal workers.
How to draft construction contracts to avoid the anti-deprivation rule
In Chandos Construction Ltd v. Deloitte Restructuring Inc1[“Chandos”], the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) reaffirmed the common law anti-deprivation rule in Canada. The anti-deprivation rule voids contractual terms that apply upon a party’s insolvency and bankruptcy where the clause removes value from an insolvent person’s estate that would otherwise have been available for the insolvent person’s creditors. Anyone entering into construction contracts should avoid contractual provisions that may trigger the anti-deprivation rule and understand that if they are already in a contract, they may not be enforceable. However, despite the anti-deprivation rule, there are contractual provisions that can be used to protect parties where their contracting counterpart becomes insolvent or bankrupt.
Factual background
Chandos Construction Ltd. (Chandos) was a general contractor that entered into a subcontract with Capital Steel Inc. (Capital Steel). The subcontract provided that in the event of Capital Steel’s insolvency or bankruptcy, Capital Steel would forfeit 10 per cent of the contract price to Chandos “as a fee for the inconvenience of completing the work using alternate means and/or for monitoring the work during the warranty period” (the “Insolvency Clause”).
Capital Steel filed an assignment in bankruptcy prior to completing the subcontract work. Chandos argued that it was entitled to rely upon the Insolvency Clause and set-off 10 per cent of the subcontract price as a fee. The Trustee in Bankruptcy for Capital Steel applied to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench to determine whether the Insolvency Clause was valid.
Parties can also protect themselves in the event of an insolvency or bankruptcy by their contractual counterparts by taking security, acquiring insurance or requiring third-party guarantees when the contract is executed.
Trial and appellate judgments
In Chandos, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench found the Insolvency Clause was valid because the Insolvency Clause was not an attempt to avoid the effect of bankruptcy laws.2 The majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal reversed this decision, finding the Insolvency Clause to be invalid based on the common law anti-deprivation rule.3
The SCC agreed the Insolvency Clause violated the anti-deprivation rule and was void. The court articulated a two part test for invalidating a contractual provision based on the anti-deprivation rule as follows:
The relevant clause must be triggered by an event of insolvency or bankruptcy; and
The effect of the clause must be to remove value from the insolvent’s estate.
The SCC stated the test for the anti-deprivation rule was an effects-based test, meaning the ultimate effect of the clause should be examined in assessing the above criteria.
The SCC affirmed that set-off is generally allowed during the bankruptcy of a contracting party due to section 97(3) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.4 Set-off reduces the value of assets that are transferred to the insolvent’s estate, but it only applies to enforceable debts or claims. Since the anti-deprivation rule voided the Insolvency Clause, Chandos was unable to apply set-off against Capital Steel for the 10 per cent amount.
Key takeaways
Chandos urges parties entering into construction contracts to avoid clauses that are triggered by insolvency or bankruptcy and that remove value from the insolvent party’s estate. These clauses are invalid and unenforceable. Some contractual terms that are prohibited by the anti-deprivation rule include clauses where a party forfeits some or all of the contract price due to their insolvency or bankruptcy, or clauses where fees, charges or other amounts are payable solely upon insolvency or bankruptcy.
Other contractual terms can be employed to protect a party in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy by their contractual counterpart. For example, any clause triggered by events other than bankruptcy or insolvency are valid, including penalties that arise upon default of the contract.
Contracting parties can consider using clauses where property is removed from the insolvent party’s estate but no value is eliminated from the estate. For example, the anti-deprivation rule does not apply if a third party’s assets are forfeited upon bankruptcy or insolvency, since this term would not reduce the value of the insolvent party’s estate. Additionally, parties may be able to modify their security interests or enter into a credit default swap agreement (amending the nature or type of security) upon the insolvency or bankruptcy of their contractual counterpart without offending the anti-deprivation rule, provided these clauses do not increase the amount of security held over the insolvent party.5
Parties can also protect themselves in the event of an insolvency or bankruptcy by their contractual counterparts by taking security, acquiring insurance or requiring third-party guarantees when the contract is executed.6 Before entering into a security agreement, parties should verify whether any creditors already have priority charges against the assets which comprise of the security. In the case of guarantees, suitable guarantors may include a parent company, directors or officers of the contracting party. A guarantee causes the guarantor to become personally liable for the debts or contractual breaches of the subcontractor.
Suppliers and subcontractors can require a labour and materials payment bond at the time of entering into a contract.7 This bond guarantees that suppliers and subcontractors are paid for the work and materials that they supply, up to a specified amount. Additionally, parties may require a performance bond, which provides payment up to a specified amount if the contractor is unable to complete the project work or is in default of the construction contract. For the most project security (but usually at an additional cost to the price of the work), a contractor would have both a labour and materials payment bond and a performance bond in place for at least 50 per cent of the value of the contract.
Overall, when entering into construction contracts, contracting parties should consider contacting legal counsel to ensure their contracts are drafted with enforceable terms that do not offend the anti-deprivation rule. When drafting construction contracts, parties should also consider if they are appropriately protected should their counterparty become bankrupt or insolvent.
Charles W. Bois is a partner in the Vancouver office of Miller Thomson LLP. Rachel Haack and Kayla Romanow are associates in the Regina office of Miller Thomson LLP. For inquiries, contact Charles at cbois@millerthomson.com, or for any Saskatchewan construction inquiries, please contact Rachel at rhaack@millerthomson.com, or Kayla at kromanow@millerthomson.com.
References
2020 SCC 25.
Alta Q.B., Edmonton, 242169632, 17 March 2017.
2019 ABCA 32.
RSC, 1985, c B-3. Set-off allows a creditor (who happens to also be a debtor) to reduce the amount they owe to the bankrupt by the amount they (as debtor) are owed by the bankrupt.
Belmont Park Investments Pty Ltd v. BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd, [2011] UKSC 38.
Supra note 1 at para 40.
See s. 81 of The Builders’ Lien Act, S.S. 1984-85-86, c. B-7.1 and s. 69 of The Construction Lien Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30;
How to boost your employees’ retirement fund without additional company costs
lightwise / 123rf
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that amazing and resilient employees are the backbone of great companies and it’s important to retain them. So how can you acknowledge that and help enable the retirement that your employees deserve, without breaking the bank?
Now more than ever, the key is to dive in and engage your retirement benefit provider to bring their horsepower to the table.
The real path to retirement success lies in “hands-on” financial planning that grows with you. No single message or plan will resonate with every person across their various life stages. Someone who is just starting their career in their 20s needs a certain type of advice, and as an employee moves through their career, that advice must change accordingly. A cookie-cutter approach is never going to add the value that employees truly need to achieve their best retirement. The problem? Many providers of retirement benefits in Canada specialize in that cookie-cutter approach, under the guise of simplifying administration or lowering costs, leaving employees to secure a proper retirement almost by accident, at best.
Employers can focus on a few key areas to increase value for employees and demonstrate that the long-term financial success of staff is a priority for the company:
1. Invest in small amounts of time to provide exponential employee benefits
Many organizations invest three, four or five per cent or more of an employee’s pay into a retirement savings plan for employees but are hesitant to allocate time for a single one-hour meeting per year to have staff meet with a retirement professional. For an employee who works 2,000 hours per year, this represents only 0.05 per cent of that same employee’s wage – but it adds significant benefit to their retirement. Furthermore, if the employer takes the lead on this activity, it shows employees that the company cares and is willing to explore multiple avenues to help enable the best outcome for that employee, increasing their goodwill. According to Ipsos Reid’s 2011 Value of Financial Advice Study, folks who have the chance to meet with an advisor regularly have up to four times more investable assets, save more regularly for retirement and retain greater discipline during more volatile markets.
2. Take advantage of your plan provider’s different service levels
A plan provider should offer guidance and value to all of the different employees in your diverse organization – not just the owners, and not just the newbies. This is where that one-size, cookie-cutter approach is not recommended. Booklets and websites may help get employees to opt into a plan (even that is debatable), but human beings are typically needed to properly guide a person’s financial journey. Someone who is just starting their savings journey will require a tailored conversation that possibly incorporates other financial concerns, such as debt and budgeting. Whereas someone who is nearing retirement may need more income planning information that warrants a different advisor trained in those financial areas. And it seems every company has that select group of employees who – for any number of reasons – know more about investing than you do.
Finding the right fit for financial advice isn’t always about the amount of an employee’s income, or the hypothetical colour of their collar. Your service provider needs to have the resources and diversity in their staff to handle all of your different employees. And don’t shy away from offering that higher level of service to your key employees who may have more complex needs – the numbers are only part of their retirement picture. As an employer, taking advantage of a comprehensive, full-service approach won’t cost extra, but has meaningful benefits for your employees.
3. Get SMarT
We frequently ask companies, “Are your employees saving enough for retirement?” It’s a trick question: almost always, they aren’t. Most of us aren’t. The easiest way to change that is to offer them an out-of-this-world match on their contributions, enticing them to save more. But who can afford to do that in 2020 and stay competitive (or heck, keep the doors open)? The good news: there is a way to encourage employees to save more and achieve a better-funded retirement, without costing you a penny.
The concept is called “Save More Tomorrow” (SMarT) and was developed by behavioral economics researchers in the U.S., Shlomo Benartzi and Richard Thaler. To summarize their research, knowing that folks are hardwired to make decisions in a certain way that doesn’t necessarily drive the best retirement outcome, Benartzi and Thaler created a type of SMarT savings plan, where employees were able to opt into a program that allowed them to split their future cost-of-living raises in half, putting half to work in the company retirement savings plan (passively increasing their contributions annually), and taking the other half as a pay increase (so their pay would never decrease).
A Regina employer implemented just this type of plan. Of the staff who were offered the program, 40 per cent accepted and zero opted out after the first annual pay increase – resulting in a large number of employees automatically increasing their retirement savings while feeling none of the pain and costing the company nothing extra in the end. The research also shows that blue collar folks are likely to get more out of a program like this and stay opted in for the long haul, increasing their retirement savings rates by up to triple the amount.
You as a company can offer this simple SMarT solution to help your employees get around the hardwiring, and it’s also applicable to those who think their plan is doing “just fine” right now. A simple but brilliant way to kick-start growth of an otherwise average plan and realize better outcomes.
The Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) is getting ready to launch a new, client-facing IT system that will provide Saskatchewan apprentices and employers with faster, more efficient service. It will transform the way we serve our clients and we’re excited to launch it.
It’s called MyATC.
Apprentices will be able to self-register for training and employers will be able to monitor and track their apprentices’ training status. Rather than requesting information from SATCC staff members, clients will be able to access their information online when it’s convenient for them.
The launch date is tentatively set for spring 2021.
Clients have been asking for the ability to self-serve and more easily access information. This system will meet that demand.
According to the SATCC’s 2019 Employer and Apprentice Satisfaction Survey data, the majority of employer respondents would like to complete all services with the SATCC online and at least half of apprentice respondents would like to complete all services online.
Right now, the apprenticeship system in Saskatchewan is primarily a paper-based system. MyATC will modernize the SATCC’s processes, allowing customers to register apprenticeship contracts, pay fees and tuition for technical training, update personal or business information and submit trade time hours online.
With the introduction of this new system, the SATCC will strive to maintain the highest levels of service.
In 2019, 92 per cent of apprentices who responded to the SATCC’s Satisfaction Survey agreed staff members are friendly and courteous, while 96 per cent of employer respondents agreed. Eighty-nine per cent of apprentices agreed that staff are helpful and 94 per cent of employers agreed.
The new IT system will provide faster, on-demand service, but the warm, personalized service that our staff members provide won’t go away once the system is introduced. Our clients will still be able to call us or walk into one of our offices, and we are still going to have staff members visiting employers.
Closer to launch, the SATCC will share more details with apprentices and employers regarding how to get set up in the new system.
If you have questions about MyATC, please contact project director Curtis Leung at 306-531-4903 or curtis.leung@gov.sk.ca.
In the coming decade, the need for rare earth elements (REEs) will increase many-fold due to their importance in high-growth technology areas such as wind turbines and electric cars. Canadian rock formations hold 12 per cent of the world’s REE measured resources. But currently, no REEs are being processed in Canada due to both a Chinese monopoly as supplier and end user, as well as the lack of a fully developed supply chain in North America.
The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is looking to change that by securing an early and important piece of the supply chain for industry – a Rare Earth Processing Facility. The $35 million dollar facility was announced in the summer of 2020 by the Government of Saskatchewan. The facility will be located in Saskatoon, Sask., and completion is slated for the fall of 2022.
The facility, a first-of-its-kind in North America, will begin to establish a REE technology hub in Saskatchewan, forming an industry model for future commercial REE initiatives and supply chain development.
A key element of the facility is a commercial processing plant, which will include concentration and separation stages and treat monazite sands at approximately 60 per cent concentration. Monazite is a source of mainly so called “light” REEs (especially cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium, neodymium) which are some of the critical elements for the permanent magnets used in clean technologies. SRC will work with the mining industry to secure this feed stock from across Saskatchewan, Canada and internationally.
The $35 million dollar facility was announced in the summer of 2020 by the Government of Saskatchewan. The facility will be located in Saskatoon, Sask., and completion is slated for the fall of 2022.
An intermediate concentrate of mixed rare earth carbonates will be produced from the concentration plant and further processed in a separation plant to produce separated rare earth oxides, as the market requires. These will be sold by SRC and further refined and processed to provide the inputs that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) require.
The treatment capacity of the plant will be 3,000 tonnes per year, producing an initial product: mixed rare earth carbonate. Part of the mixed rare earth carbonate will be fed to the separation plant to produce approximately 500 tonnes of separated, individual rare earth oxides, excluding cerium.
SRC’s Rare Earth Processing Facility will follow the most stringent operating standards. To minimize the risk for the environment, the plant will be designed to have zero liquid discharge, which means that there will be no solution waste streams that are released into the environment. All solid waste will be handled and disposed of properly following regulations and procedures, as SRC and mining companies in Saskatchewan currently do.
SRC has decades of experience in testing and development of concentration and separation technologies of REEs from various minerals, as well as operational experience. With mining clients in Canada and across the world, SRC has developed and piloted many REE concentration and separation processes. This experience, combined with being located within Saskatchewan’s world-class mining jurisdiction that has a vibrant and sustainable uranium industry, are key assets to future success. The uranium industry also produces a REE-rich solution waste stream (containing mainly so called “heavy” REEs) that can be an additional feed source for the plant, as markets require.
SRC currently offers a large variety of REE services through existing service lines and facilities. These include:
Rare earth processing technology development and commercialization
Uranium tailings processing and treatment; recovery of thorium and uranium
Validation and demonstration of rare earth processing technologies in bench, pilot and semi-commercial scale
Rare earth production from bastnaesite, apatite and uranium processing waste
Once the facility is operational, SRC will be able to offer a number of other services to industry including potential toll separation of individual rare earth elements and potential toll processing of monazite. This will mean that mining companies around the world will have the option to sell their feedstock to a North American Rare Earth Processing Facility for the first time.
In the future, SRC plans to use this facility as a starting point for the creation of an REE technology hub, which will likely include developing downstream and upstream aspects of the REE supply chain. Future development also includes new applications for lanthanum and cerium. In order to do this, SRC is currently developing capabilities for downstream rare earth product development and the production of magnets and alloys.
The future certainly looks bright for the rare earth elements industry in North America and this facility and the proposed REE technology hub will play a key part in securing a supply chain right within Canada.
After entering the Saskatchewan market in 1953, Associated Engineering has become a fixture at major infrastructure projects
Associated Engineering assisted with the expansion of SaskPower’s expansion of the Queen Elizabeth Power Station near Saskatoon
Plenty has changed in the world over the last 70 years, but one thing that has remained constant is the stable existence of consulting firm Associated Engineering. Founded in Edmonton, Alta., following the Second World War, Associated Engineering has grown to become one of the Canada’s most significant long-serving engineering consulting firms with 21 offices across Canada and employing more than 1,000 staff. The company is the largest of the privately held, employee-owned engineering firms in the country, working with public and private sector clients here and internationally.
“The fact that we are a private firm means we take complete ownership of the work that we do, the relationships that we have with our clients and the products that we produce,” said Paul Pinder, a professional engineer and vice president and general manager of Associated Engineering for Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
During the past 12 years, the firm has been awarded one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, earning Platinum membership status in the respected national program. It has also been a carbon neutral company since 2009.
Associated Engineering provides community planning and engineering services for water and wastewater, transportation, municipal and industrial infrastructure, buildings and environmental projects. Beyond this, the company also provides infrastructure management and certified operational training and support to many clients, in the interest of public health and safety, through its ATAP subsidiary.
The firm also provides in-depth environmental science and management services for bridges, roads and highways, community and industrial development, infrastructure rehabilitation and airports. Other services include solid waste management, landfill design, composting, odour control and environmental impact assessment.
Entering Saskatchewan
The company entered the Saskatchewan market in 1953, opening an office in Regina to service clients in southern Saskatchewan. It quickly established itself by providing the engineering work for the initial Buffalo Pound project, which would supply water to Regina and Moose Jaw.
The company later expanded to offices in Saskatoon and Prince Albert with the Saskatchewan head office situated in Saskatoon. Pinder oversees all three offices, as well as the Winnipeg office and the ATAP subsidiary.
In Saskatchewan, Associated Engineering focuses on projects in the transportation, municipal infrastructure, water, wastewater, intakes, bridges, environmental, buildings and asset management sectors. The Saskatchewan employee complement currently sits at 140 staff across the three offices. Much of the firm’s work in the province is done in small communities, Indigenous communities and smaller cities, complemented by projects within bigger centres, such as Saskatoon and Regina.
“Many communities in the province are in need of an effective water treatment plant or have an existing facility that is inadequate, have insufficient capacity for the community’s size, are unable to consistently meet drinking water requirements or may be so dated that they simply need replacing,” said Pinder.
“Smaller communities and smaller cities are often in greater need of engineering assistance from firms like ours as they don’t have the tax base of the bigger cities like Regina and Saskatoon who are large enough to have in-house engineering departments. This is where we come in. We provide many small communities, or even cities like Moose Jaw or North Battleford, with the engineering expertise they need when they need it without being a continuous financial load on their operating budget. The same can be said of highly specialized and complex projects in the larger cities as well, where our extensive experience and specific expertise, such as water and wastewater treatment, can really be brought to bear.”
Associated Engineering also does a significant amount of work with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure on transportation infrastructure design and construction.
“Everything that we do in this sector is engineer-based, either design engineering or construction administration. When we are commissioned for transportation infrastructure by the Ministry, we do an in-depth review of what is required and come up with a detailed design solution and a tender package. Then we also provide service in construction management and operational assistance,” explained Pinder, a transportation engineering specialist.
Associated Engineering also has a strong partnership with SHCA to assist them in the work that they undertake.
“We work with SHCA with many contractors all the time. So not only do they support us, but they are also a part of the process,” said Pinder.
The company worked with regulators to outline the requirements for the Regina Bypass Project and the technical specifications for the tender process
Current projects
Currently, Associated Engineering is doing a significant amount of work in Langham, a small community west of Saskatoon, including sewage pump station upgrades, a lagoon upgrade and infrastructure assessment.
Another larger project Associated Engineering has been contracted for in Saskatchewan is the development of The Greens on Gardiner, a major residential subdivision located in southeast Regina. Associated Engineering also led the design and construction of upgrades for the La Ronge and Air Ronge municipal utilities to provide back-up systems to keep tap water flowing during power outages – an issue many northern communities face.
Associated Engineering has also been involved with the City of Martensville Athletic Pavilion, snow management facility, the Avenue H Reservoir, Raw Water Intake and Pump Station in Saskatoon, the Regina Bypass, Chief Mistawasis Bridge and environmental site assessment for the Town of Lumsden’s landfill. A listing of Saskatchewan projects can be found on the company’s website at www.ae.ca.
Projects and overall work load has continued for the firm across Canada despite COVID-19. Fortunately none of the offices have had to be shut down yet; however, many of the employees started working from home when the pandemic started. Any staff who remained in the offices, or have returned to the offices since, follow health guidelines, contact and cleaning protocols stringently.
“Work never really slowed down for us because provinces and municipalities confirmed engineering as an essential service. A community that is in need of a critical infrastructure project, like a new water plant, cannot put something like that on hold, so we have kept most projects moving through the pandemic,” said Pinder.
Despite COVID-19, Associated Engineering assures its clients that its project delivery remains the same. Staff are available by phone, email, teleconference or videoconference. Project managers will continue to reach out to clients about project updates and reviews and answer any questions.
“Our goal is to keep building better communities; we do that in three ways. The first is more obvious with building better infrastructure that supports the health and economic wellbeing of our towns and cities; the second is contributing to important local charities – we believe in our social responsibility to the communities in which we work; and the third is developing and training our staff to provide them career growth and opportunities while creating a great culture within our firm. What we do is all in the service of public protection, environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility. In this way, we shape a better future for all of us.”
Aecon believes building inclusive and collaborative relationships with Indigenous communities is not only good business but also a way to address a looming labour deficit in the construction industry
Suriyo Munkaew / 123rf
One of the challenges facing construction companies in Canada is a potential labour shortage in the coming years. According to a national report from BuildForce Canada, an estimated 257,100 construction workers will retire in the next decade, while only 227,600 workers will enter the construction workforce during this time — a shortfall of nearly 30,000 people.
One of the country’s leading construction and infrastructure development companies, Aecon, has a solution for this problem. “Canada’s workforce is aging quickly,” said John Bonin, director of Indigenous relations for Aecon. “We need to start looking at the Indigenous population as a way to start backfilling our workforce.” Bonin says while Indigenous communities represent the fastest and youngest growing population in Canada, they often tend to be overlooked.
“The Indigenous population is largely untapped, and I think that it’s important for companies like Aecon to be leaders in looking to that resource to fill our needs,” he said. “Aecon is one of the largest infrastructure companies in Canada, and we’re always looking for employees who have certain key skill sets and diverse backgrounds. It helps us with our infrastructure projects when we have a really diverse group of employees being able to support us.”
To this end, the company recently teamed up with Indspire, a national Indigenous registered charity, to support Indigenous students pursuing post-secondary education.
Through the three-year partnership, Aecon will donate to Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships and Awards program, which provides financial assistance to First Nations, Inuit and Métis students. The Aecon Group Indigenous Bursary will be awarded to Indigenous students with a demonstrated need for financial support who are enrolled in an engineering, business or technical trades program at a Canadian post-secondary institution.
“It’s important to have a good education,” said Bonin. “This bursary opens the door for students who are in those fields to possibly look at Aecon as a potential future employer, and also for us to look at and keep track of them as they go through their post-secondary education.”
Under the bursary program, $50,000 will be awarded annually, with $25,000 donated by Aecon and the rest comprised of matching funds from the federal government. Bonin notes the money will be used to help Indigenous students offset some of their education costs to allow them to focus on their academic studies.
“Indigenous youth who are able to have that education can quickly get into the mainstream economy to support themselves,” he said. “That creates confident and educated Indigenous graduates, so it opens the doors for them down the road.”
Inclusive approach
The Aecon Group Indigenous Bursary is one example of Aecon’s commitment to building inclusive and collaborative relationships with Indigenous peoples across Canada. The company also fosters Indigenous participation through apprenticeships, employment training, joint ventures and other sustainability and business development initiatives.
“We’ve been working closely with Indigenous communities and have had our Indigenous relations program in place for over 10 years,” said Bonin. “We need to respect that Indigenous peoples have a right to be involved with all of the work that we’re doing, to be included,” he added. “We purposely create plans that include Indigenous communities within our construction projects.”
“Because we work in many Indigenous communities as well as within the Indigenous traditional lands and territories, we’re always looking at ways to participate with each community.”
– John Bonin, Aecon
Bonin says for any major project in Saskatchewan or elsewhere in the country, Aecon will look at creating an Indigenous engagement plan that spells out how the company can encourage hiring and procurement opportunities for Indigenous communities in and around the project area.
“Because we work in many Indigenous communities as well as within the Indigenous traditional lands and territories, we’re always looking at ways to participate with each community,” he said. “This gives us social license to do our work,” added Bonin. “It’s really important that in the work we’re doing, we’re recognizing that Indigenous participation is one of the key aspects of doing the job. It’s just the way we do business now.”
The Moosomin First Nation in northwestern Saskatchewan is among the beneficiaries of Aecon’s Indigenous relations program. Earlier this year, Moosomin started a new company called MediMask Canada that manufactures surgical and N95 respirator masks. The First Nation was recently added to Aecon’s preferred Indigenous supplier’s list as a provider of personal protective equipment.
“We really investigate all the opportunities we can on procurement,” said Bonin. “That is one of our focuses right now, to look at how we can do more procurement with Indigenous businesses as we do our projects.”
Building trust
Bonin points out Aecon’s Indigenous relations program is grounded on the principals of trust, respect and understanding. “This is the way you build relationships with Indigenous communities,” said Bonin. “Indigenous communities look to partner with companies who they can trust, and so when you’re building those relationships, you need to be as transparent as possible.
“When we start building those relationships, we keep our communications very open with the Indigenous communities,” he added. “We ensure that they’re aware of what we’re doing, and then we want the same. We ask them to be fully transparent as to what their needs are.”
According to Bonin, Aecon’s approach to Indigenous relations has enabled it to forge strong ties with many indigenous communities.
“I think one of the things that we are most proud of is building those relationships with the Indigenous communities. We can go into the community and they know who Aecon is and they know the work that we do,” said Bonin. “Aecon started down this path well over 10 years ago, so we’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned how to make our approach scalable and make it focused.”
Bonin notes that Aecon is often asked to send speakers to construction industry events to talk about the company’s Indigenous relations program and what makes it successful. “Aecon can and has worked with various construction organizations and associations to encourage [Indigenous participation], and to talk about what we’ve done, what’s worked, and we will continue to do that,” he said.
Bonin believes some construction companies may be at the point where Aecon was over a decade ago in terms of their attention to Indigenous relations, “but there are others that are moving very quickly and understand that it is an untapped workforce.
“I think that as a whole, the construction industry is evolving, and they see the Indigenous community as a very strong labour force,” said Bonin. “That’s going to be looked at in the future because we just don’t have the numbers of people coming into the trades that we once did.”
