Last month, MCA Canada launched a national survey of its membership. The aim of the project is to discover more about who you are and the work you perform, and the information we collect will be used for our internal purposes only. The survey contains just six questions and really does take less than a minute to complete. We hope you'll take the time to complete this important exercise.

In a letter dated April 13, MCA Canada President Dave Flamand urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to elevate the implementation of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Project on the government's party list. In the letter, he stated, "In the interest of all Canadians, your government must now make this issue a top priority. Investor confidence is essential to creating jobs, supporting middle class and healthy communities. As such our membership expects this government to take action without any further delays and use all the powers at its disposal to bring this project to fruition."

Learn more about the case for supporting the pipeline project and visit confidenceincanada.com to lend your support.

Ordinate Technologies is an engineering and consulting company involved from brainstorming to delivering large-scale turnkey projects, they help their clients through every milestone along the way, assuring exceptional standards. From small budget to full scale FEA design validation, Ordinate performs engineering drawings, product design and engineering, fine element analysis, testing and prototyping. For more information, visit www.ordinatetechnologies.com.

The Mechanical Service Contractors of Canada (MSCC) is proud to welcome CAON Services Inc. from Calgary, AB to the growing list of MSCC 'Gold Standard' Contractors. This designation signifies your organization as an elite-level contractor in Canada. It verifies your company implements industry leading, best-business practices in specific key competencies including technical excellence, safety, training, documentation, security, customer service and business acumen. Congratulations to the entire team at CAON Services Inc.! 

Most Canadian income tax and benefit returns for 2017 are due on April 30, 2018. If you have a balance owing, the total amount is also due by that date.

The launch of ENERGY STAR certification for Canadian buildings has brought with it an amazing opportunity. To celebrate and honour visionaries and leaders in building energy efficiency, NRCan has issued a challenge to building owners and managers across the nation: Who Will Be the First?

The federal infrastructure minister is defending the government’s vaunted spending plan to improve Canada’s roads, bridges and water systems against accusations it is sputtering and overly complicated.

CSA Group is launching a project to revitalize the withdrawn standard CAN CSA A93-M92 Natural airflow ventilators for buildings, and develop a new standard providing standards requirements for active ventilators.

Registration and sponsorship opportunities are now open for the 14th Annual CEC Fundraising Golf Tournament at the Royal Ontario Golf Club in Milton, Ontario on July 11. All proceeds from the event go to support CEC’s ability to provide the mechanical contracting industry with innovative education programming. Learn more at CEC's website, or by contacting Tania Johnston at 613-232-5169 or tania@mcac.ca.

The Construction Education Council would like to expand its list of Canadian instructors. Do you have a passion for teaching and would like to give back to the industry? Please contact Tania Johnston (tania@mcac.ca or 613-232-5169) if you or someone you know would be interested. Please include your area of expertise and any experience that you may have.

As part of the CEC legal webinar series, Dan Leduc of Norton Rose Fulbright will present a free webinar to MCA Canada members on managing risk contractually.

Taco is much more than a manufacturer, it is a way of doing business. Whether you are a commercial or residential installer, an engineer, architect, or building owner, registration opens the door to our vast training and support network. The FloPro Team, Taco University, webinars, blogs, videos, and free system design software are just some of the value-adds we provide for our customers. Learn more at www.tacocomfort.com.

1184BC: The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse.
1626: Samuel de Champlain sails on his 11th voyage to Canada.
1704: The first successful newspaper, the Boston News-Letter, is formed.
1779: Montreal fur trading partners found the North West Company as a formal stock trading company.
1895: Parliament decides not to bring in prohibition.
1800: The United States Library of Congress is established by President John Adams
1923: The paper The Ego and the Id by Sigmund Freud is published, outlining Freud's theories of the id, ego and super-ego.
1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.

The central bank kept its rate at 1.25 percent April 18.

• May 3–6: MCA British Columbia Conference, Whistler, BC
• May 7–9: MCA Canada Midyear Meetings, Ottawa, ON
• May 8: MCA Canada & CIPH Day on the Hill, Ottawa, ON
• May 15: CanBIM Satellite Session, Dartmouth, NS
• May 31–June 3: MCA Alberta Conference & AGM, Kananaskis, AB
• June 4–5: 24th Skills Canada Competition, Edmonton, AB
• June 4–5: MCA Western Regional Meetings, Winnipeg, MB
• June 10–15: UA National Skills Competition, Edmonton, AB
• June 17–19: CIPH Annual Business Conference, Whistler, BC
• June 21–22: MCA Eastern Regional Meetings, Moncton, NB
• July 11: CEC Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser, Milton, ON
• September 7–9: MCA Toronto Conference & AGM, Muskoka, ON
• September 19–22: MCA Canada Annual National Conference, Whistler, BC

MCA Canada is proud to announce our new partnership with Shell. Members can enroll now and save 5¢ per litre on every purchase with their new Shell Fleet Navigator Card program until October 15 and 3¢ thereafter. Use it at over 1,300 Shell stations, as well as any other service station or maintenance location where MasterCard is accepted. Take advantage of this extraordinary discount by contacting MCA Canada at mcac@mcac.ca, visiting mcac.ca/memberships/members-benefits or calling 613-232-0492.