As you may have heard, Bill S-224, the Canada Prompt Payment Act, unanimously passed third reading in the Senate of Canada on May 4. This is a huge win for our industry! The bill now goes on to the House of Commons for review and consideration by Members of Parliament. MCA Canada, together with the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada, has been working hard to get this bill passed in the Senate. We now need your help to get it passed in the House of Commons.

We are asking you to again write to your Member of Parliament to seek their support for this very important piece of legislation. And we’ve made the job as easy as possible. Just go to www.promptpayment.ca, fill in your personal information (name, address, company name) and click send. It’s as easy as that!

MCA Canada and the NTCCC will continue to lobby on your behalf on Parliament Hill. We aim to meet with as many Members of Parliament as possible, many of whom will have received your letters soliciting their support for small businesses in Canada.

Let’s work together to ensure the Canada Prompt Payment Act becomes a reality.

What can you say to make your company stand out from everyone else? In the typically competitive bidding process, how do you differentiate yourself? Everyone promises the best workmanship, the best customer service and the best value. What can you say to make a difference? The answer: earn your MSCC Gold Standard designation. Stand above the rest and win more contracts. And to help, MSCC has waived the $75 exam fee until the end of June.

The Swedish Trade and Invest Council office in Toronto, Ontario is performing a market analysis on the use of heat exchangers (HEX) in the HVAC, refrigeration and oil cooling industry in Canada. A part of the analysis is to get an understanding as to what Canadian sales channels contractors are buying from (manufacturers, OEMs, system integrators, distributor/wholesalers, engineers), how they are buying (online/from sales reps/in person at retail stores) and what are most essential characteristics of the HEX (price, quality, availability, after sales service, customization etc.). They have asked our members to participate in a brief survey to assist in their research.

Welcome to our newest member of the Mechanical Service Contractors of Canada: LCD Mechanical Inc. of Maple, Ontario. Contact: Steve Bickle.

Do you have an employee who has a son or daughter currently studying to be in the mechanical contracting industry? Are you a member of an MCA student chapter? If so, we’ve got good news: CEC and Federated Insurance can help offset the financial burden. We are accepting applications for our annual scholarship until June 30. This is the 12th year that Federated Insurance has generously sponsored the scholarship. For further information please contact Tania Johnston at 613-232-5169 or tania@mcac.ca.

• Download scholarship criteria
• Download scholarship application

The Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship has launched the call for nominations for the fourth biennial Red Seal Award of Excellence.

Health Canada, together with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Carrier Corporation, has issued a recall of certain Carrier Greenspeed and Bryant Evolution Extreme Heat Pumps. This recall involves 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-ton sizes of the residential variable speed heat pump units, all of which are manufactured in the U.S.

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) establishes a highly restrictive regime for the distribution of promotional emails and texts. On July 1, the three-year transition that allowed organizations to rely on a particular form of implied consent based on a prior relationship and communications comes to an end. In addition, the coming into force of a private right of action will have significant repercussions for non-compliance. Your company will need to devote time and resources to ensure compliance with the act, if it hasn't done so already. Waiting until July 1 to get the facts will be too late. It is imperative to prepare your association or business for these changes before the deadline.

Are you interested in supplying or subcontracting with the federal government? Have you had issues obtaining an appropriate security clearance? You can attend this information session online via WebEx, or in person at Small Business BC's offices in downtown Vancouver on July 28 at 13:00 to 15:30 PDT.

Check out the following programs offered by the CEC and our local MCAs in the months ahead!

• Proactive Service – Vancouver, BC – June 15
• Design for Value Engineering to Increase Job Profits – Ottawa, ON – June 15

It’s back! The Construction Education Council is pleased to announce fall dates for its always-popular Project Management for Contractors course. The highly acclaimed, Gold Seal and Blue Seal accredited program is offered in partnership with the University of Waterloo. It takes place over a 10-day period and is split into two five-day sessions. To date, nearly 900 managers have graduated from the program.

Week one of the program is scheduled for November 16-20; week two is booked for December 7-11.

This program always sells out, so don’t delay. Register today.

Since 1919, VICTAULIC has been the world's leading producer of grooved mechanical couplings and pipe-joining systems. Over the years, Victaulic has continued to develop innovative solutions focused on ensuring efficiency, reliability and safety. To find out more, please visit www.victaulic.com.

1431: Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, at the age of 19.
1539: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto discovers Florida.
1848: Mexico ratifies treaty giving the United States New Mexico, California and parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona & Colorado in return for $15 million.
1783: The first daily newspaper was published in the U.S. by Benjamin Towner called The Pennsylvania Evening Post.
1814: The First Treaty of Paris was declared, which returned France to its 1792 borders.
1848: W.G. Young patented the ice cream freezer.
1896: The first automobile accident occurred in New York City.
1911: Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 at an average speed of 74.59 MPH.
1958: Unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflicts were buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
1967: Daredevil Evel Knievel jumped 16 automobiles in a row in a motorcycle stunt at Ascot Speedway in Gardena, CA
2002: In New York, a ceremony was held to officially mark the end of the clean-up from the World Trade Center.

This year’s Annual CEC Fundraising Golf Tournament has moved to an exciting new venue, the Royal Ontario Golf Club in Milton, ON. The Royal Ontario is a prestigious course that everyone will enjoy. The tournament will take place Wednesday, July 12. Enjoy an amazing golf course, a great BBQ lunch, on-course games, a prime rib dinner, prizes, trophies and much more. Registration is now open and there are plenty of exceptional sponsorship opportunities still available. Learn more on our website or by contacting tania@mcac.ca.

Building on the success of 2014 and 2016, the third edition of the Canadian Hydronics Conference will take place October 16 and 17 in Edmonton.

Plan to join the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum on October 26 and 27 as it hosts a two-day workshop at the Delta City Centre in Ottawa. This event will focus on alternate delivery of apprenticeship technical training, including how new approaches are accommodating under-represented groups. Participants will discuss how apprenticeship training is adapting to technology trends and calls for diversity, while continuing to develop the highly-skilled tradespeople required by the Canadian economy.

• May 31-June 3: Skills Canada National Competition, Winnipeg MB
• June 6: MCA Canada Western Regional Meetings, Saskatoon, SK
• June 15: MCA Sask/Ron Young Memorial Golf, Moon Lake Golf and Country Club, SK 
• June 22: MCA Sask/ASHRAE Golf Tournament, Deer Valley Golf Club, SK
• June 23: MCA Eastern Regional Meeting, St. John’s, NL
• June 25-27: CIPH Annual Business Conference, Ottawa, ON
• July 12: CEC Golf Tournament, Royal Ontario Golf Club, Milton, ON
• July 13: CANS Developing Executives Meet and Greet, Halifax, NS
• September 21: CIPHEX Roadshow, St. John’s, NL
• September 29: CANS 155th AGM, St. Andrew's By-The-Sea, NB
• September 29-October 1: MCA Toronto AGM, Collingwood, ON
• October 2-4: CCA Meetings, Niagara Falls, ON
• October 15-18: MSCA Educational Conference, Boca Raton, Florida
• October 17: CIPHEX Roadshow, Edmonton, AB
• October 19: CIPHEX Roadshow, Regina, SK
• November 6-9: MCA Canada’s 76th National Conference, Maui, Hawaii

AON Reed Stenhouse is the leader in Canada’s construction insurance business. It’s true that they are the world’s largest insurance broker, but don’t let that fool you. Their more than 59,000 colleagues are local people from your city who will be there to take care of your needs. Save money on premiums, expand your coverage and work with someone in your neighborhood. Learn more at www.mcac.ca.

We still need your help! Operation Eyesight has prevented more than 35 million people from facing the needless tragedy of preventable blindness. Their work is focused in places where blindness can be deadly, especially to those who are very young, old or poor. MCA Canada's members, offices and staff have made significant contributions to help in this worthwhile cause but we still have a long way to go.