On Wednesday, May 8, OGCA held a very successful Lobby Day. Lobby Day: when an association or organization meets politicians or public servants at various levels to advocate and explain support for legislation relevant to the association / organization.

Our Lobby Day gave OGCA an opportunity to introduce itself to members of Ontario’s 42nd Parliament. Our aim was to highlight some of the major issues facing the Ontario construction industry.

Our Province needs to recruit, train, and retain over 100,000 skilled workers by 2027 in order to keep pace with Ontario’s critical infrastructure demands. We asked elected officials to promote careers in the skilled trades as noble, fulfilling, and financially rewarding. We explained that without the leadership of government, Ontario will fall short on its infrastructure needs while neglecting to fill many of these good paying jobs.

The OGCA met with 28 MPPs throughout the day to discuss the skills gap in the province. Ontario’s elected officials want to work with the OGCA to overcome this challenge. If you have thoughts on how we can take on this challenge, please reach out to Steven Crombie at the OGCA. 

After our meetings, we hosted MPPs for an evening reception. This reception was a great opportunity to engage with MPPs we hadn’t met with throughout the day. Thank you again to GEN-PRO, Aon, Northfleet Concrete Floors and Procore for sponsoring our event. Without strong partnerships, lobby days would not be possible.

Thank you to Premier Doug Ford, and MPP Jill Dunlop for the taking the time out of their busy schedules to join us for a group photo following question period.

Lastly, the OGCA would like to thank Mike Holmes and Mike Holmes Jr. for speaking at our lobby day reception. Mike Holmes is a passionate advocate for the trades and works tirelessly to break down stigmas surrounding the skilled trades. Mike spoke on his own experience and fulfilment throughout his career while encouraging and challenging reception attendees to thank tradespeople for the critical work they do.

"As you may or may not be fully aware, the OPTC and MCAO have jointly agreed to step away from the negotiating table for the time being, thus averting the potential for a strike this coming Wednesday at midnight.

The parties have agreed to extend the terms of the current ICI collective agreement until Friday, May 24, 2019.

We will continue to negotiate and keep the membership employed until all avenues have been exhausted at the bargaining table.

Meetings are scheduled to resume May 21st through to the evening of May 24th."

The Ontario Construction News and Report Group is extending the following offer to members of the OGCA. 

With Certificate Ads or Tender Ads, members now can post these daily in the Ontario Construction News daily digital construction newspaper for as low as $249 (or 50% depending on size of notices).

Any questions, please ask Chase.

The League of Champions is excited about the month of May. This is the month we celebrate Safety Month and Safety Week. The theme this year is “Safe by Choice”. We were proud to be a part of member events during May 6-10, and will continue supporting our members for the rest of the month.

We encourage you to let us know about your company’s safety-related meetings, events and seminars that will be taking place across the province for the month of May.

We would like to support and recognize you for being a Safety Leader. Don’t forget to tag us on social media! Include @theLOChampions on Twitter and Facebook. Remember the hash tags #SafetyWeek #SafetyMonth #SafeByChoice #LeadersNeedToLead.

Check our Facebook and Twitter page and the LOC website for more updates about our member events.

For more information about the League or to apply to become a Champion, contact Marjorie Javier by phone at 905 671 3969 or email at Marjorie@theLOC.ca.

Karin Sheldrick (NCA, General Manager) and Zack Schipper (Merit Contractors)	Elizabeth Huynh (OGCA, Program Coordinator) and Marjorie Javier (LOC, Program Coordinator)

The League of Champions was pleased to participate in the NCA’s 4th Annual 2019 Niagara Safety Awareness Day event that took place at Grantham Lions Club in St. Catharines on Thursday, May 9th.

Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) was one of the sponsor for this year’s event. The LOC was also given a complimentary showcase table and joined the list of exhibitors who participated.

Keynote speech was presented by Clive Thurston, OGCA President. "Come home safe at the end of the day" was part of the message he shared with the audience.

Congratulations Niagara Construction Association for a very successful safety event. Thank you for being a Safety Champion. We are Safety Leaders and “Leaders Need To Lead.”

We would like to welcome and congratulate the newest members to the League of Champions, MEMME Infrastructure Contractors and MJ Dixon Construction Limited.

Memme Infrastructure Contractors is the name behind many of Southern Ontario’s most advanced and prestigious underground Infrastructure Projects. The company was founded in 1967 as a small family company and has since expanded to include a staff of over 75 employees. For more information, please visit https://memme.com/

MJ Dixon Construction Limited was established in 1986 and has experienced steady growth while attaining a reputation for quality of work and service. The company is active in the commercial, industrial, educational, healthcare and institutional fields of construction. MJ Dixon Construction Limited provides a complete General Contracting and Construction Management Service. For more information, please visit https://mjdixon.ca/

We are excited and look forward to the induction of the new leaders and to award them their League of Champions Jerseys and Member Charters.

Walsh - Ashbridges Bay WWTP		GEN-PRO - McMaster University outside McKay hall

Here is a great example of killing two birds with one stone - Both Walsh and GEN-PRO submitted pictures from Safety Week which can also be entered into the OGCA Photo Contest!

More entries are coming in for the OGCA's Photo Contest, these from Collaborative Structures, on the left - the Guildwood Retirement Residence in Scarborough for Chartwell, and on the right, Maple Lodge Farms developments in Brampton.

To win, you must submit your photo in a JPG format, by July 31, 2019.

This competition is for OGCA members to win a trip to the OGCA AGM and Conference in October at the JW Marriott Hotel at Lake Rosseau.

Every firm that submits a project displaying their OGCA membership sign will be entered into a draw for two complimentary admissions to the OGCA AGM in Muskoka.

This will include accommodation as well as the registration fees. The draw will be made in August to allow the winner time to plan their trip to Muskoka!

Get your cameras out and start shooting! Submit your entries to Mary Wademan by July 31, 2019.

The COR Summit brings together 70+ safety professionals from around Canada who are interested in achieving and maintaining COR™.

This one-day event provides a platform for COR™ experts, thought-leaders, and COR-getters to network, collaborate and share ideas.

By learning from a variety of experts and COR certified companies, we hope you’ll leave the event with tips and tricks from some of the safest companies in Canada.

Click here to register.

Strength, capability, technology and luxury are the hallmarks of the all-new 2019 Ram Heavy Duty, and you can experience this impressive new truck at the upcoming 2019 Spring Fleet Event. The all-new 2019 Ram HD is the ultimate heavy-duty pickup. Packed with features that raise the bar for what it means to be a hard-working truck – like best-in-class towing capacity, best-in-class payload capacity and best-in-class torque output (1,000 lb-ft) – Ram HD is up for the most demanding tasks.

You’ll also get to explore the all-new 2020 Jeep® Gladiator – a highly anticipated mid-size truck that provides freedom, adventure and unrivaled off-road capability.

Enrol today, and we’ll save your spot at the event. Click here to register.

Building on the momentum of Ontario’s new Construction Act, the federal government now proposes the Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act, within Bill C-97 (Budget Implementation Act, 2019).

On April 28, 2019, the Bill passed second reading in the House of Commons and was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for further review. In this update from Osler, they briefly examine issues on the potential application and scope of the statute, initial differences with the Ontario legislation, and potential effects of the new legislation on existing construction contracts.

In addition, they note some rather surprising transition provisions that contemplate a one-year deferral period, and does not provide for any grandfathering of existing contracts. Therefore, existing federal construction contracts prior to the enactment of the new legislation must nevertheless comply starting a year from enactment.

Read more

The Willis Chipman Award, the premier award of the night at the annual Ontario Consulting Engineering Awards Gala, was presented to R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd. for its work on the East Bayfront Stormwater Management System in Toronto.

In total the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) recognized 12 outstanding engineering projects by Ontario firms at its 15th Awards Gala Saturday, held April 8 at the International Centre.

For more information on the awards, please click here.

Judges for the awards are shown above: Sandy Browne, John & Arlene Thompson, Priscilla & Ken Browne, Christine and John Dawson