All wheels greased

By Chris Atchison, BCCA President

The old saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is often true in life, but not when it comes to operating an essential construction business in 2021. All wheels need the grease. All the time.

This year has brought contractors and those who work for them no shortage of urgent and unique challenges. In the Southern Interior, as the industry has pivoted and collaborated to manage COVID-19 during extreme heat and wildfire, those fresh challenges rightly demand your urgent attention.

In the background, the underlying serious challenges to the productivity and resilience of our industry have not moved to the backseat. They still ride right up front, demanding attention because they have the power to derail what you’ve worked so hard to build.

That’s where the BC Construction Association (BCCA) and Regional Construction Associations like the Northern Regional Construction Association (NRCA) come in.

Let’s take a minute to catch up:

PROMPT PAYMENT

B.C. is still lagging behind other provinces on the introduction of prompt payment legislation. BCCA has kept the pressure on B.C.’s Attorney General David Eby, partnering with ECABC and MCABC to communicate industry concerns alongside the impact and realities of lack of payment. We’ve made it crystal clear that we expect legislation within the next 12-month period and have proposed a clear and simple plan for moving ahead. The Attorney General has agreed to town hall meetings across B.C. early this fall.

The first episode of BCCA’s “Inside Construction” podcast is “Prompt Payment or Bust” and lays out the case for legislation with real-life stories from well-known B.C. contractors. Find it by Googling “BCCA Inside Construction Podcast”.

COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS (CBA)

Infrastructure BC (previously known as Partnerships BC) is getting ready to roll out a “CBA light” for public projects. This version will forgo the preferred union requirements of the full CBA introduced in July 2018. BCCA has fought the CBA’s mandatory unionization of workers on the grounds that it infringes on the rights of Canadians to Freedom of Assembly under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and we’ve been glad to see the rollout of the CBA much more limited than what was originally anticipated.

That said, these new diversity hiring requirements on smaller public projects will include financial penalties for contractors not meeting those requirements. BCCA is working to manage the scope and complexity of the plan and has made a robust and detailed recommendation to Infrastructure BC.

COMPULSORY TRADES

B.C.’s new Skilled Trades Certification (commonly known as Compulsory Trades) system will require all workers in selected trades to be either registered

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apprentices or certified journeypersons to work in their trade. BCCA has been at the table with government and other industry representatives to make sure that all sides are heard in the pursuit of a fair and balanced outcome. We have amplified the government’s outreach across industry to ensure that contractors across all labour groups add their voices, and will continue to advocate on industry’s behalf to find a compromise position that supports diversification without aggravating the existing workforce shortage.

PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT STANDARDS

The rise of subjectivity in procurement practises is a blight on the construction sector that adds unnecessary risk for all parties, from owners to contractors and service providers.

There is new urgency: as infrastructure projects lead our economic recovery after COVID-19, public sector procurement should be conducted according to the best practices that help to ensure every taxpayer dollar goes as far as it possibly can.

Public owners who use fair, open and transparent procurement processes will get the best value for the taxpayer dollars they spend, and will be known as an “owner of choice”, attracting the highest quality contractors to their projects and delivering the best outcomes. To support these outcomes, BCCA is launching a new B.C. Construction Documents website with brand new construction management guidelines and documentation, plus the existing BCDC2 documentation currently available at www.bcdc2.ca.

These documents were developed by BCCA with input from industry stakeholder groups, and in consultation with design consultants, public owners, construction supply chain/procurement management consultants, and construction management companies. (The above public procurement content is an excerpt of a larger “Construction File” article called Building Back Smarter: Restoring Confidence in BC’s Public Procurement Methodology for Construction Services, which you can find at www.bccassn.com.)

With B.C.’s ongoing skilled trades shortage in no sign of retreat, and as B.C. ramps up for post-COVID-19 recovery, it’s more essential than ever that all parties work together to find compromise solutions to these issues and keep our industry going strong.

As the only non-partisan association representing all of B.C.’s construction industry, BCCA is working hard to support your business and your team and lead the way to a resilient and productive industry. l

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