Congratulations to the MCA Hamilton-Niagara/McMaster University Student Chapter for reaching the top four in the MCA America Student Chapter Competition.

In March, the team will be presenting to more than 2,500 delegates in Phoenix, Arizona during the MCAA annual convention. This is an amazing accomplishment.

MCA Canada and its membership wish all the best to David Devisser, Carmen Bracho, Eva Bracho, Philip Reinders, Marisa Caluori and Keera Guay!

The Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada will host its first-ever innovation conference on April 15 and 16 in Toronto.

Given the speed at which technology is advancing, and the extent to which our industry is changing, now is the ideal time to innovate. Our information-packed program will help you understand how to prepare to innovate – and prosper. You'll hear from industry leaders and stakeholders as MCAC explores what innovation looks like in the mechanical contracting industry, where change will come from, and how to better prepare for a rapidly evolving industry.

Visit the MCAC website for program information as well as sponsorship and exhibition details. Watch for registration opening soon.

The latest instalment of CEC's Estimating Conference takes place in Calgary, AB from February 27 to March 1. But act soon. The early-bird registration price and hotel room block are available through January 27.

This conference focuses not on how to estimate, but rather project procurement and strategies. Sessions  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.

Don't delay. Register today!

Do you have an expectation – either formal or informal – that your field service technicians will promote your products and services? Are you disappointed with the results? If so, then spend 45 minutes with Jim Baston who will explain why these “selling” initiatives often fall short and what you can do about it.

Date: January 29

Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET

Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8316939444499193091

For further information, read this program overview, or contact Tania Johnston at (613) 232-5169 or tania@mcac.ca.

The Construction Education Council is pleased to announce the launch of its brand-new Advanced Project Management course. The program builds on the teachings in the highly successful 10-day program, and provides 28 hours of Gold Seal-accredited, industry-specific, advanced-level project management training.

Graduates will bring back to their companies’ strategies for making their projects even more successful. Senior project skills that will be covered include:

• The Art of Facilitative Leadership
• Organizational Planning – Portfolio Management
• Financial and Basic Accounting Principles for Project Managers
• Principles of Lean for Construction

Register today!

By popular demand, the Construction Education Council is once again offering its 10-day, Gold Seal and Blue Seal-accredited Project Management Program. Over the course of this highly-acclaimed program, participants will learn to improve how they plan and control projects, take ownership over a project from bid to final payment, improve their company’s project-management processes and more!

This session will be held in partnership with the University of Waterloo. The first five-day session will be held from February 28 to March 4, and the second will be held from April 4 to 8.

For more information and to register, visit the CEC website.

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

1813: During the War of 1812, British forces under Henry Proctor defeat a U.S. contingent planning an attack on Fort Detroit.
1824: A British force is wiped out by an Asante army under Osei Bonsu on the African Gold Coast. This is the first defeat for a colonial power.
1879: Eighty-two British soldiers hold off attacks by 4,000 Zulu warriors at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift in South Africa.
1905: Russian troops fire on civilians beginning Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg.
1912: The second Monte Carlo auto race begins.
1932: Government troops crush a Communist uprising in Northern Spain.
1943: Axis forces pull out of Tripoli for Tunisia, destroying bases as they leave.
1971: Communist forces shell Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for the first time.
1979: Abu Hassan, the alleged planner of the 1972 Munich raid, is killed by a bomb in Beirut.
1982: President Ronald Reagan formally links progress in arms control to Soviet repression in Poland.