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March 10, 2020 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Member Update
Reflecting on International Women’s Day, the mechanical contracting industry, and where we go from here
By Tania Johnson, CEO, MCA Canada
With International Women’s Day taking place on March 8, I find myself in both a unique and exciting position as the first female CEO of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC). It is an association I have spent the last 20 years working for, and it is an industry that I have come to know and love.
Proactive Service Workshop for Field Service Technicians
MCABC and CEC present the Proactive Service Workshop, a highly interactive training program designed to help field service technicians build and leverage stronger, more durable business relationships, and identify and close more business opportunities. The workshop shows technicians how to add much more value and provide even higher levels of service by proactively discussing ways their firms can help customers.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Feds short hundreds of million in repair, maintenance of defence infrastructure
Source: Lethbridge News Now
Reports and figures show that the federal government has been underspending on the maintenance and repair of Canadian defence infrastructure for at least 10 years. The result is aging roads, runways, jetties and buildings, which have left officials playing catch up.
Coronavirus could have multiple impacts on construction
Source: Daily Commercial News
The Canadian construction sector should prepare for significant interruptions to the supply chain due to the coronavirus outbreak, experts warn.
Coronavirus in plumbing systems: How did the outbreak occur in Hong Kong and is there a risk in North America?
Source: Construction Links Network
According to health officials in Hong Kong, plumbing systems in certain high rises may be to blame in several recent cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
World Plumbing Day: A brief history
Source: HPAC Magazine
Tomorrow is World Plumbing Day. Here is a brief history of the trade and ways you can recognize the international celebration.
Show organizers: CMPX 2020 will proceed
Source: HPAC Magazine
As the reported risk of COVID-19 remains low in Ontario, the Canadian Mechanical & Plumbing Exposition will proceed. Show organizers plan to continually monitor developments and provide updates as necessary.
Racism, sexism among Indigenous youth construction career fears
Source: Daily Commercial News
Indigenous youth trying to transition into apprenticeship programs in the trades face several obstacles, including fears of racism and sexism at work, according to a new report from the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY
How the construction industry works smarter and safer with IoT
Source: Aeris
Construction workers now have the ability to work more efficiently and smarter than ever before thanks to the use of IoT-enabled tools, which can reduce the amount of people required for complex projects and lower labour costs.
BY THE NUMBERS
Who got paid by the federal government this week?
Click below for the latest prompt payment in the construction industry payment tables.
Canada added 30,300 jobs in February
Source: Canadian Manufacturing
New data from Statistics Canada shows the unemployment rate in Canada increased a tenth of a percentage point to 5.6% as the economy added 30,300 net new jobs last month. Quebec had the most job gains and saw its unemployment rate fall to 4.5%.
On this day in history

0049: Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon and invades Italy.
0515: The building of the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem is completed.
1656: In the colony of Virginia, suffrage is extended to all free men regardless of their religion.
1814: Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated by an allied army at the Battle of Laon, France.
1848: The treaty of Guadeloupe-Hidalgo is signed, which ends the United States' war with Mexico.
1876: Alexander Graham Bell makes the first telephone call to Thomas Watson saying "Watson, come here. I need you."
1910: Slavery is abolished in China.
1924: The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a New York state law forbidding late-night work for women.
1933: Nevada becomes the first U.S. state to regulate drugs.
1947: The Big Four meet in Moscow to discuss the future of Germany.
1948: Author Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of F. Scott) dies in a fire at Highland Hospital.
1953: North Korean gunners at Wonsan fire on the USS Missouri, the ship responds by firing 998 rounds at the enemy position.
1954: President Dwight Eisenhower calls Senator Joseph McCarthy a peril to the Republican Party.
1966: The North Vietnamese capture a Green Beret camp at Ashau Valley.
1969: James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King and is sentenced to 99 years in jail.
1975: The North Vietnamese Army attacks the South Vietnamese town of Buon Ma Thout, the offensive will end with total victory in Vietnam.
1980: Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, lends his support to the militants holding the American hostages in Tehran.
1987: The Vatican condemns surrogate parenting as well as test-tube and artificial insemination.

HistoryNet.com

Events
2020 National Apprenticeship Conference
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum’s 2020 conference will highlight initiatives, programs and strategies that help attract and retain top talent. This requires an understanding of how to breakdown the stigma associated with skilled trades careers and engage youth, underrepresented groups, parents and educators to actively promote apprenticeship as a first-choice career path.
 

 

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