Reaching your peak performance!

MCA Canada's 2018 Annual National Conference is less than two months away. Have you registered? As you know, our destination for this year's event is the fabulous Westin Whistler Resort and Spa in the Coastal Mountains. We have a fantastic lineup of speakers, courses and social events planned for the conference, and beyond those activities, you'll find plenty to do: fine dining, nightlife, shopping, golf – and more. See you in September!

The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler, BC
September 19, 20 & 22, 2018

We are pleased to invite all MCA Canada Associate Members to participate in our 2018 Reception & Product Showcase to introduce your latest products and services to our conference delegates. In an effort to expand your interaction with the contractor members, MCA Canada, in consultation with your Associates Council, is very proud to provide you with our 2018 interactive showcase format. Download the registration form for more information.

MCA Canada has always placed a significant emphasis on the importance of education. With that in mind, the Construction Education Council, in partnership with many of Canada’s top companies, has created an extensive list of substantial scholarships. Each is unique and we would encourage everyone to pass these opportunities along to any staff who have children enrolled in a post-secondary graduate program. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is quickly approaching—July 31—so please don’t wait to get these into your people’s hands. Visit the CEC website for details.

• MCA Canada Associates Council – Student Chapter Member or MCA member’s son or daughter studying mechanical or related construction field.
• Taco – Women in a mechanical construction-related program
• Franke Kindred – Students enrolled in skilled mechanical trades programs
• Wolseley Canada – Students enrolled in skilled mechanical trades programs
• Federated Insurance – Student Chapter Member or MCA member’s son or daughter studying mechanical or related construction field
• Masco Canada/Delta Faucet – Student Chapter Member or MCA member’s son or daughter studying mechanical or related construction field
• Uponor – Student Chapter Member or MCA member’s son or daughter studying mechanical or related construction field
• Bradford White Canada – Student Chapter Member or MCA member’s son or daughter studying mechanical or related construction field, business management or computer science
• OS&B – Recognized post-secondary institution with a goal of entering the mechanical trade upon graduation (office or tools)

After 16 years of service, Daryl Sharkey is leaving MCAC to take on a new challenge as the Executive Director of the Electrical Contractors Association of Ottawa.

During his tenure at MCAC, Daryl’s responsibilities included marketing, sponsorship and member services. He also had responsibility for the Associates’ Council and the Mechanical Service Contractors of Canada. He has always shown enthusiasm and dedication for his work.

Daryl’s last day of work is July 27. We wish him well and success in his new endeavours.

In an opinion-editorial published in The Province on July 17, MCA BC executive vice-president Dana Taylor outlined the need for prompt-payment legislation in British Columbia.

On behalf of our AON Home & Auto Insurance program, we are very pleased to announce Kim Huynh from GLP Canada in Calgary, AB as the winner of our iPad contest. The contest has been ongoing for the last couple of months and any staff within our membership who asked for a quote were placed into a draw. Congratulations Kim!

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled his pre-election cabinet, shuffling six ministers to new portfolios and promoting five other MPs to his front benches in a bid to boost the profile of his team.

The Canadian government agreed in May to buy the Trans Mountain oil pipeline and a related expansion project from Kinder Morgan Canada for $4.5 billion, highlighting the lengths deemed necessary to overcome stiff opposition to such projects.

A lack of new commercial spaces available for purchase has been identified as a major contributing factor to a dip in volume in the pace of Canadian commercial real estate transactions in the second quarter of 2018, according to a new report by Morguard Corporation.

A trades training program that is helping connect immigrants and aboriginal people with construction careers in Alberta has made changes to its curriculum.

For decades the Bolton Camp offered a brief respite from the city’s heat for low-income Toronto families. Now the approximately 254-acre conservation area is the setting for a unique program introducing construction skills to female high school students.

BuildForce Canada has been building a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Tool Kit that includes a self-assessment tool to benchmark your organization’s progress toward a respectful workplace, a policy framework and implementation guide, and an online respectful workplace course for workers and supervisors. Before launching the tools in late fall, BuildForce would like to pilot test them to ensure they will be easy to use and impactful. If your organization is interested, please contact Rosemary Sparks at 905-852-9186.

CEC is pleased to announce that it will once again offer the highly acclaimed Estimating Conference Oct. 17-19 in Toronto. This conference focuses not on how to estimate but rather on project procurement and strategies. Sessions covered will include deal breakers, project risk and go/no-go strategies, putting together a proposal, and what a general contractor looks for in its selection process — to name a few. Jack Wilhelmi and Tim Wentz from MCA America will lead the conference; Dan Leduc from Norton Rose Fulbright will deliver a special session of his own. Registration is limited to just 30 people, so register today!

More than 1,000 students have completed the 10-day PM CEC/University of Waterloo course since its inception in 2000. This latest session is sure to be another sellout. If you have new hires or people looking to upgrade or refresh their PM skills, this is the course for them! As a bonus, the program is Gold Seal-accredited for those who wish to pursue their certification.

As with all courses, be sure to look into the Canada Job Grant for funding assistance.

A new tech company, called OpenSpace, is making their way into the 360-degree photo scene with a fresh take for the construction industry. OpenSpace stitches together hundreds of thousands of video frames to create a Google Street View style tour of your jobsite.

Now that drones are so readily available, how can drones be used in construction? Specifically, how are they applicable in the heavy civil construction space? They have many value add applications that address key challenges and there are three major areas that drones can be used by heavy civil contractors.

Since 1916, Oatey has provided reliable, high-quality products for the residential and commercial plumbing industries. Today, Oatey operates a comprehensive manufacturing and distribution network to supply more than 6,000 products for professional builders, contractors, engineers and do-it-yourself consumers around the world. The company has continued to meet customer needs for more than a century by offering innovative plumbing solutions that deliver results the first time. Its solutions are now being enjoyed by thousands of users – all from within the construction industry – to improve efficiency and drive revenue.

Click below for the latest prompt payment in the construction industry payment tables.

1148: Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade.
1534: Jacques Cartier erects a 10-metre high cross at Gaspé, claims Canada for France.
1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and replaced by her one-year old son, James VI.
1814: Phineas Riall advances to Niagara to meet Jacob Brown's American invaders.
1847: After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young leads 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, establishing Salt Lake City.
1866: Tennessee becomes the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.
1917: Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden's government passes Military Service Bill (Conscription Act).
1963: The ship Bluenose II was launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
1974: The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.

The Canadian Design-Build Institute’s conference will take place October 11–12 in Halifax with the Fundamentals of Design-Build tutorial scheduled for October 10.

• September 7–9: MCA Toronto Conference & AGM, Muskoka, ON
• September 19–22: MCA Canada Annual National Conference, Whistler, BC

Commercial Credit Adjusters Ltd. is the preferred supplier of debt collection and receivable management solutions to MCA Canada members. CCA is one of Canada’s most respected suppliers of debt collection services and is licensed and bonded in all provinces and territories in Canada. MCAC members will receive preferred pricing on the full suite of receivable management tools to help mitigate bad debt write-offs.