NO MARGIN FOR ERROR IN 2023

By Chris Atchison, President, BCCA Chris Atchison.

Last year kicked off with the provincial government making an abrupt about-face on the most crucial business issue in B.C.’s construction industry: lack of prompt payment for work completed. It was not a good start to the year.

This is a government that has rested its portfolio on delivering housing but doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the fact that the contractors and tradespeople who build the housing are more vulnerable financially than they’ve ever been.

We are on the cusp of carnage for businesses in construction.

In October, BCCA published, “Reversal Of Fortune - An Economic Analysis of BC’s Construction Sectors”. It painted a very clear picture for B.C.’s lawmakers of the state of our industry, and it’s not a pretty picture:

• Investment in B.C.’s ICI industry was down 10.9% since Feb 2020

• The price of non-residential building was up 12.8%

• The non-residential building price index was up 19.6%

• There had been an 11% rise in labour costs

• Construction unemployment rate was the lowest it has been since 1976 at 5.8%

That’s a lot of risk for your construction business to navigate. With interest rates and inflation rising faster than your blood pressure, waiting to be paid is more unaffordable than ever.

BCCA and the four regional construc- tion associations are advocates for you. It’s our job to work with whichever party is elected to build a stronger, more productive, and resilient construction industry in which your business can succeed.

For 2023 our advocacy efforts remain focused on:

• Prompt Payment

• Public Sector Procurement

• Contracts

• Workforce Development

I’ve already mentioned that the NDP government has been stalling on prompt payment legislation. We’ll keep the heat on, working closely with ECABC, MCABC, General Contractors Association, and over 30 other stakeholder groups.

If you’re bidding on public projects, you’re likely experiencing firsthand an erosion in the quality of documents. Best practices and fair, open, and transparent policies are out the window. That’s why we’ve started a series of “Owners Only” sessions to drive home to public owners that contractors will not bid on projects that present too much risk.

We’re also working hard to get some reality around contract terms. If you need help navigating a procurement or contract situation you can get in touch with VICA for some support and advice in partnership with BCCA.

Now let’s talk about workforce. Your team is getting smaller and more expensive:

• B.C.’s construction labour force has shrunk more than 12% in the last two years

• Wages went up nearly 11% between February 2020 and May 2022

• The paid sick leave policy introduced at the start of this year effectively represents 2% of that increase

This is why BCCA is offering you cash and talent:

• BCCA has $21M from the Federal government to pay up to $40,000 per contractor for simply registering up to four first-year apprentices in 39 Red Seal trades

• There are no strings on what you can do with that money

• Register a current employee, or hire a new one, but you must register the first two no later than March 31, 2023, and the second two by March 31, 2024.

We know its hard to find the talent, so we’re running an aggressive recruitment campaign across B.C. called “Builders Life”. Its already brought in over 5,000 applicants – real people interested in an apprenticeship in the construction industry.

I can’t urge you strongly enough to tap into this talent pool. There’s no cost to you, we have experts vetting and matching candidates based on your needs. Just go to www.bccassn.com to find out more.

It’s going to be a tough year but we’re here for you. Take advantage of the resources VICA and BCCA have to offer. Why wouldn’t you?