2023 Issue 2 - Mar-Apr

THE GREEN DESIGN TECHNOLOGY &

ISSUE

Inside, you’ll find stories on the latest in innovation in the interior systems sector, new ideas about how to store carbon in concrete, and the latest thinking about workforce planning from a local expert. Check out these – and more – in our March/April issue.

PLUS + GVCA EVENTS AND EDUCATION CALENDAR

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GRAND VALLEY CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION

www.gvca.org • @GVCANews

VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 2

MARCH - APRIL 2023

PUBLISHER Jeff MacIntyre

EDITOR James Raiswell

CONTRIBUTORS Kim Aitken

Alex Kinsella

Sahil Shoor

Monica Szabo

PHOTOGRAPHY Julie Nicole Photography

CONTRIBUTOR

LAYOUT & DESIGN Janet Day

ADVERTISING SALES Lana Lang-Nagle lana@gvca.org

519-622-4822 x128

SUBSCRIPTION editor@gvca.org

INQUIRIES & LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

GVCA Journal is published six times yearly by the Grand Valley Construction Association ©2023. All rights reserved.

Canadian Publications Mail: Product Sales Agreement #42259531; ISSN 2368-2930; in Canadian Periodical Index.

GVCA Journal subscription is a benefit of Grand Valley Construction Association membership and is included in membership fees.

Magazine Subscription: Canada $28/yr (incl. 13% HST). US/International $32/yr (CDN).

Return undeliverable addresses to: Grand Valley Construction Association 25 Sheldon Drive, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 6R8

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE

My tenure as GVCA Board Chair concludes, and quite a rewarding experience it has been.

Certainly, there was plenty to do as the association emerged from the various COVID-related prohibitions to renewed social gathering and networking. It was wonderful to see and participate live industryrelated events once again and, as always, the GVCA was actively and continually engaging its members at social gatherings such as the summer golf tournaments, the BOLD Awards, various WinC events and the Chair’s Barbecue – to name a few.

Martha’s retirement and the introduction of new GVCA President Jeff MacIntyre will be the most identifiable memory for GVCA in 2022. I choose to recall this past year as an exciting opportunity for new

vision and excitement within the GVCA to carry us all forward in the years to come. Look for exciting new initiatives relating to training and continuing education, project procurement, advocacy and outreach as well as enhanced web-based tools and communications from the GVCA.

On behalf of the membership, I would like to thank Mike Reid of AEC Developments for his service to the GVCA. Mike leaves the Board of Directors after a full tenure of service. He steered us through that first difficult year of COVID, and has always been an engaged and thoughtful board member. I would also like to welcome incoming GVCA Chair Mark Mollison of Conestoga Roofing.

As Vice-Chair, Mark has consistently provided me with incisive opinion and welcome advice. He will do a fine job for us all in 2023.

Lastly, I would like to thank you, our members, for the support and courtesy you’ve extended to me and the responsibility that you’ve entrusted me with this past year. It has been an honour and a privilege and I wish you and your staffs and families all the best.

The GVCA remains one of the country’s strongest local construction associations and I sincerely believe that the continued success of the GVCA can and will help to make all our futures brighter.

THE FUTURE OF TALENT

Change and progress are unstoppable.

Whether in how we look for talent, how we procure business and products, or how we connect and interact with each other, we need to adapt and accept change.

And we need to do it quickly.

People today look for careers very differently than was done in the past. What was important then no longer matters. Offer a prospect a 30-year career and they will run in the other direction. Why do many people still try to attract employees using the same methodology and processes that they used in the past?

Networking has also changed. Today it’s about purpose over volume: meeting the right people versus meeting all the people.

Supply chains are in a state of constant flux, and that impacts almost every project and

deliverable. Buying product and storing it is sometimes the only guarantee that you’ll have what you need when you need it.

Pricing, bidding and delivery will continue to change. Partnerships with all involved –buyers, designers, contractors and suppliers – will create a more secure understanding of all the moving pieces in the new normal. More collaboration always increases the likelihood of a successful project.

All these changes were always in play. The pandemic just expedited them and created the resulting challenges. Stay diligent. Be more flexible. Tighten up your process and controls but be more collaborative. It can happen and it must happen.

Change will happen—whether you’re ready or not.

Jeff MacIntyre

Andrew Bousfield, B. Arch. OAA, NSAA, MRAIC, LEED* AP.

A

CRYSTAL BALL REPORT

Crystal PRE-BID REPORT Ball UNMATCHED CONSTRUCTION INTELLIGENCE

GVCA’s Crystal Ball Report is a unique and insightful member service. Updated daily by GVCA staff, the report tracks planned projects during the pre-bidding phases, following them from concept to design to prequalification, construction and completion.

A developer is aiming to build Guelph’s tallest building on a vacant parcel of land on Wellington Street East.

Fusion Homes is proposing to develop a 23-storey mixed use containing 250 residential units, three commercial/residential units and 714 square metres of retail commercial space. The company has filed for the rezoning of the land at 58 Wellington St. E to allow the construction. The city’s official plan caps the height of any building on the property at 18 storeys.

The developers are proposing 224 parking spots for the building – 211 for residents and the

Market Snapshot Q3 2022

For more market statistics and information please contact: Graham Trusler, Research Analyst, graham.trusler@cushwakewr.com

SMALL BUSINESS INCENTIVES FOR IMPROVING HEALTH & SAFETY

I wanted to highlight an incentive offered through the Health & Safety Excellence program (HSEP) that is aimed at encouraging small businesses to improve their health and safety programs.

The program sees small employers – those with 99 or fewer employees – earn double their usual rebates for completed HSEP elements, and receive $1,000 toward their health and safety plans.

Based on the feedback received by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) – and results thus far – the program is a great success. So much so that the WSIB is developing a longer-term approach for smaller businesses, one that could include incentives that are better aligned with the needs of smaller businesses, that is being planned to launch in 2024.

More information will be shared as this initiative changes.

Participation in the HSEP provides an opportunity for smaller employers to work on up to five topics that align

with their priorities for improvement. The program overall counts 36 topics.

GVCA provides the framework, support, guidance, templates and examples of successful submissions as well as a process for building successful submissions. We also convene monthly meetings in which our HSEP participants share information and experiences.

What’s the benefit of HSEP participation for a small business?

Not only does it give you a kickstart to starting your journey in the program but the connection to others in the program is so important. It also gives you the opportunity to let your clients know that you are working on your health and safety program and have been successful in implementing the topics you have chosen.

Support from GVCA also helps you make the process of completing HSEP elements more manageable, and

Monica Szabo has more than 30 years of experience in health and safety. She is a Registered Occupational Hygienist, a Canadian Registered Safety Professional, and a Certified Occupational Health and Safety Technologist. She can be reached at szabomonica739@gmail.com.

connects you with a health and safety professional who can provide coaching, resources and guidance.

What do you need to do to participate?

Start by contacting the GVCA office or me –monica@gvca.org – to learn more.

I can help you determine if this program is for you and then choose topics and build a plan to meet the requirements.

I encourage you to take advantage of the incentives and ultimate benefits available to you in 2023.

OSSFA members are ready to tackle your next Section 5 structural steel project. Today, our membership has invested in the latest CNC fabrication, plasma, laser, water cutting and robotic technologies as well as advancements in 3-D steel detailing and engineering programs to service our clients. For a list of our members please visit our website.

Streamlining Data with Web Forms

Like all companies, construction companies rely on large volumes of data and technology to operate.

The systems and processes in place to take all that data and make it into useable financial results, customer follow ups and staff schedules are what determines a company’s efficiency and capacity to grow their top and bottom line with their limited people resources.

One way to better control the structure of the data you are collecting and automate some of your processes is through the use of web forms.

WHAT IS A WEB FORM?

Web forms are online forms that you can

create (or have created) to collect the information you need quickly and easily. You create a form that has fields for all the information you require and then embed it onto your website or send a link to that form to your suppliers, customers or staff to fill out. The finished form gets sent back to the staff responsible for that data to incorporate into your system. The forms can also be used to receive files including pictures and videos. Some examples of how web forms can be used are:

• An accounting firm, like RLB, sending clients a form to submit their personal

tax information including relevant questions needed for the firm to prepare the returns.

• A company sending performance review forms to employees for self-assessments and to collect 360-degree feedback.

• Subcontractor pre-qualification forms.

• A form on your website for potential customers to request a quote.

• A form for staff to report their time by job including any material used and the job status if you do not have a fully integrated time and inventory system.

WHY THEY HELP?

Using a web form to collect information allows you to control what information is being collected. This allows you to collect full and complete data to complete

your processes. For example, do you want to collect <name> or <firstname> <lastname>? Getting all the correct data upfront, saves valuable time and resources. Once a form is complete, it triggers a notification to someone on your team or routes the data to another software to begin the next step of the process. You can also take the automation further and have the data pushed into your system on its own. The possibilities are endless. Using a web form automated to push information into your system can save countless hours for office staff to take on other duties. Overtime you will also be able to analyze trends within your data such as where most of your customer quote requests are coming from and when they are received. Doing such analysis can help you tailor your internal processes, your marketing efforts, or your follow up on the submission creating further efficiencies.

OUR FAVOURITE TOOLS

There are a number of options on the market that can be used to build web forms. Our current favourite is Cognito Forms (www.cognitoforms.com). But for basic forms Google forms and Microsoft forms are also an option. Your forms can be embedded on your website or a stand alone link that you send out when needed. All these options provide a more secure way to upload documents and provide information than doing so through traditional email.

For more complex forms and automating that form within your internal system, you likely need external help. But the cost of automating a process is likely much lower than the savings in staff time and frustration from collecting accurate, streamlined data. A discussion with a technology consultant can help you

determine where you have bottlenecks in your processes that could be removed with an automated process.

Companies use technology to maintain their financial information, their customer and supplier data, their staff time and much more. By using a web form and automation to tie some of these processes together, you can gain efficiencies allowing your team to spend more time doing the work that will grow your top line revenue. Good data in leads to good data coming out and web forms can ensure the data being input is complete and accurate.

INTEGRIT Y

Written by Kimberly Aitken, CPA, CA, Co-Leader of RLB LLP’s Construction Team and Kyle Turiff, Senior Technology Consultant for RLB Digital. Contact them at 519-822-9933, kimberly.aitken@rlb.ca or kyle.turiff@rlb.ca.

The Carrick, Waterloo

But with insolvencies on the rise across the global construction industry, the viability of such agreements in a bankruptcy context has been increasingly put to the test. Do such agreements still hold water when one party to a contract is in receivership?

A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision provides some useful clarity.

Which rules apply?

In 2015, Peace River Hydro Partners subcontracted work to Petrowest Corporation in connection with the development of a hydroelectric dam in British Columbia. In keeping with the subcontract agreement, the parties agreed to resolve any future disputes through arbitration.

However, about halfway through the construction project, Petrowest began experiencing financial troubles and, before long, was forced to seek a court-ordered receivership order under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

Soon after a receiver was appointed to manage the company’s assets and properties, Petrowest brought a civil claim against Peace River seeking to collect on funds owed to it under the subcontract agreement. In response, Peace River applied under British Columbia’s Arbitration Act for a stay of proceedings, arguing that the arbitration agreement, in fact, governed the dispute.

The stay was dismissed by both the B.C. Supreme Court and the B.C. Court of Appeal, after which Peace River appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court decision

In a unanimous decision rendered in November 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed Peace River’s appeal, finding that –pursuant to B.C.’s Arbitration Act – the arbitration agreement in question was “void, inoperative, or incapable of being performed” as a result of the receivership.

Justice Côté, writing for the majority, agreed with Peace River in that the presumption in favour of arbitration is long established in Canadian court decisions. But, importantly, Côté emphasized that such a presumption can be rebutted where arbitration would “compromise the orderly and efficient resolution of a receivership.”

The Supreme Court’s decision made it clear that finding such an arbitration agreement to be “inoperative” is fundamentally a factual exercise. As it relates specifically to insolvency proceedings, the majority laid out the following interpretative factors that courts ought to consider in the context of insolvency proceedings:

• the effect of arbitration on the integrity of the insolvency proceedings,

• the relative prejudice to the parties from the referral of the dispute to arbitration,

• the urgency of resolving the dispute,

• the applicability of a stay of proceedings under bankruptcy or insolvency law, and

• any other factor the court considers material in the circumstances.

Arbitration agreements are commonplace in many construction contracts, allowing parties to resolve common disputes with speed, procedural flexibility and a degree of cost certainty.

IS YOUR SUBCONTRACTOR IN RECEIVERSHIP? YOUR ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MAY BE ‘INOPERATIVE.’

The Court concluded that, “[t]he inexpediency of the multiple overlapping arbitral proceedings contemplated in the Arbitration Agreements, as compared to a single judicial process, [was] the determinative factor in this case.”

Put differently, the myriad of overlapping arbitration proceedings required in this case would have compromised the receiver’s ability to maximize recovery for Petrowest’s creditors.

Key takeaways

Although Peace River’s appeal was dismissed, the Supreme Court’s decision ultimately provides yet more support for the deference to arbitration agreements, as long established in Canadian case law. Indeed, the decision illustrates that the aims of arbitration and insolvency are more similar than not, and that – barring unique factual circumstances –arbitration agreements should generally be enforceable in an insolvency context.

Nevertheless, the reasoning behind the decision still brings about uncertainty in practice. In most instances, parallel proceedings will bring about extrajudicial costs and will likely deplete resources to the detriment of creditors (as seen in this case) – the very thing bankruptcy and insolvency legislation seeks to prevent. It therefore remains to be seen as to when precisely a court will find it appropriate to have parallel proceedings.

Sahil Shoor is a litigation and dispute resolution partner based out of Gowling WLG's Waterloo Region office. His practice is focused on construction and infrastructure projects (including public-private partnership), expropriation law, land use planning law and real property disputes.

APPRENTICESHIP REGISTRATIONS, COMPLETIONS REBOUND IN 2021

The number of new registrations in apprenticeship programs and certifications in the trades rebounded in 2021 after a difficult 2020, but data from Statistics Canada shows that registration levels remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Apprenticeship registrations jumped more than 31% last year, while trades certifications increased by 33.7%.

Growth in trades registrations and certifications is usually linked to the health of local labour markets, since apprentices seek to maintain suitable employment to fulfill their on-the-job hours and technical training. With the number of job vacancies in the trades, transport, and equipment operators and related occupations nearly doubling since 2019, and unemployment at historically low rates, it makes sense that apprenticeship rates should be also increasing.

While all trades saw some growth in new registrations in 2021, carpenters (+46.3%); heavy duty equipment

air conditioning mechanics (+42.9%); millwrights (+42.0%); plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (+39.0%); and electricians (+37.0%) posted the largest year-over-year increases. Certifications in these trades also showed similar trends.

The story was somewhat different for public-facing, service-related trades. Employment rates in many of these trades remained well below pre-pandemic levels. Unemployment remained elevated since many of these occupations continued to be impacted by public health guidelines and business closures.

Construction trades seeing more participation among women

Statistics Canada reports there were 8,688

safety services to construction professionals.

WOMEN IN THE TRADES DID, HOWEVER, MAKE SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED.

by female apprentices in 2021. This represents some recovery from the significant drops in 2020 but remains well below 2019 levels for new registrations in apprenticeship programs (-17.1%) and certifications in the trades (-24.4%).

Part of the reason for the decline is because of the disproportionate representation of female apprentices in service-based, publicfacing trades, such as early childhood educators and assistants, hairstylists and estheticians, and community and social service workers – all of which were heavily impacted by the pandemic and showed slow recovery in 2021.

Women in the trades did, however,

THE TRANSITION OF WOMEN FROM PUBLIC-FACING, SERVICE-BASED TRADES INTO OTHER INDUSTRIES COULD LEAD TO STRONGER OUTCOMES FOR FEMALE APPRENTICES BECAUSE OF THE HIGHER EARNINGS IN MANY OF THESE OCCUPATIONS.

olivia.reed@rbc.com Royal

make significant gains in apprenticeship programs where they have been historically underrepresented.

New registrations of female apprentices surpassed pre-pandemic levels in many construction-related trades, such as exterior finishing (+56.5%), carpenters (+29.8%), electricians (+27.0%), interior finishing (+25.8%), and refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics (+25.0%).

While this shift was already underway before the pandemic, the events of recent years may have acted as a catalyst to bolstering these trades, which saw their highest numbers of new registrations for women since the beginning of the series in 1991.

The transition of women from public-facing, service-based trades into other industries could lead to stronger outcomes for female apprentices because of the higher earnings in many of these occupations.

Quebec reports highest registrations on record

In 2021, growing numbers of new registrations and certifications in the trades were recorded in every province, with many reaching their pre-pandemic levels.

Quebec reported its highest number of new registrations on record (24,169). This represents a significant year-over-year increase (+5,169, or +27.2%) for the province with the most extensive apprenticeship system in Canada. These increases were primarily driven by year-over-year growth in the construction industry, high demand for housing, strong investment growth in residential construction, and employment growth in the trades. Construction-related trades, such as carpenters (+51.3%), electricians (+42.6%), and plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (+28.7%) accounted for more than half

of the increases in new registrations in this province.

Ontario (+4,317, or +32.7%), Alberta (+2,811, or +36.6%), and British Columbia (+2,148, or +20.7%) had the next-highest increases in new registrations. All four provinces also reported similar increases in certifications, with Quebec posting the largest increase— up 5,631 (+41.0%) compared with 2020. Growth in the construction industry in Ontario (+6.6%) and British Columbia (+3.6%) helped these provinces, at least partly, to post increases in the number of certifications in the trades. Certifications in Ontario (+23.3%) were mostly accounted for by increases in electricians (+34.4%) and automotive services (+23.0%). In contrast, increases in certifications in British Columbia were largest among plumbers, pipefitters, and steam fitters (+23.4%) and welders (+26.5%).

Q&A WORKFORCE PLANNING BOARD

Labour challenges, childcare availability and construction career messaging – GVCA discussed these and other issues with Charlene Hofbauer, executive director at the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin.

By Alex Kinsella

In December, the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (WPB) released updated statistics on unemployment, labour participation and job vacancy rates. The data points to 2023 being another year of hiring and retention challenges for employers across every industry—including construction.

Established in 1997, the WPB facilitates local labour market planning through research, consultations and discussions. GVCA Journal sat down with Charlene Hofbauer, executive director at WPB, to talk about the latest statistics and what businesses need to do now to prepare for the future.

The labour market has been challenging across the board for the last three years. With talks of recession, interest rate increases and inflation, what does the WPB see in the market?

When you look at December's labour market, we had low unemployment rates. Kitchener was slightly higher than the provincial rate, but Guelph and rural areas were lower. The

provincial unemployment rate is at a historic low of 5%. At the same time, we're sitting at some of our highest participation rates ever. The participation rate is the number of people in our population working or actively seeking work. Right now, we're at 70%, which is good. If you get 70% of your population working or looking for work, it's a rarity.

So we have lots of people looking or working, but we also have that low unemployment rate, so you end up in this person crunch where it's not just an issue of talent anymore. It was scary when we looked into who was not participating. Two-thirds of the people in our labour force are aged 55 and older—and they're not returning. That's one big challenge we're facing in our market. And we're talking 55 to 64—and I hate to break the news, but that's the beginning of Gen X too.

What are the reasons for such a high percentage of people 55 and older leaving the labour market?

Many are retiring. One of the reasons that were floated during the pandemic was older women were leaving the workforce because they didn't need to work. Their daughters and sons needed to work—but there was no childcare. So even childcare is affecting industries that do not typically have that issue.

Will the province's $10-a-day childcare program help with this?

The $10-a-day childcare is excellent from a demand perspective. The question becomes, will there be enough spaces at $10? There might not be enough staff, and spaces are dependent upon staff. So construction companies should advocate for childcare because it's what will help keep people employed.

Another challenge we've heard from our members is the difficulty in hiring and getting people to show up on the job site. Do you have any insights on that?

This is more from being on the ground than statistically based, but there's just so much opportunity right now. You could bring somebody in that you think you're offering a fair wage, but they've also interviewed at four other places. They're making comparisons

MAKING COMPARISONS ON NOT ONLY PAY, BUT ALSO THE WORK

THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE WORKDAY LOOKS LIKE. YOU'RE NOT INTERVIEWING THE CANDIDATE ANYMORE. THE CANDIDATE IS INTERVIEWING YOU. / CHARLENE HOFBAUER

I MET AN APPRENTICESHIP COORDINATOR AT A SCHOOL BOARD, AND HE SAID WE NEED TO START CALLING SKILLED TRADES WHAT THEY ARE— STEM EDUCATION. THEY ARE SCIENCE, TECHNICAL ENGINEERING, AND MATH POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION. / CHARLENE HOFBAUER

on not only pay, but also the work environment. They want to know what the workday looks like. You're not interviewing the candidate anymore. The candidate is interviewing you.

When it comes to the work and worksites, there's still a great deal of misinformation, especially when trying to attract younger and female workers. What can we do to help change that?

Let's talk about attracting more women. We just talked about childcare. Traditionally, construction does not happen during childcare hours. Childcare starts at six and ends at six, so there is a challenge there: if you're hoping to attract women, childcare now becomes your issue. You have to accommodate somehow or figure out how to accommodate.

How is the current messaging on trades and construction failing?

I'm the daughter of a tradesman, and the message on trades and construction has mostly stayed the same for 30 years. We're in the third generation of youth we're trying to attract—the fourth is 11 to 12 years old—and we're not changing messaging. It was created for Gen X, and we gave the same message to millennials and then to Gen Z, and now we're going to give it to Gen Alphas.

I took my kids to a skilled trades event, and their questions could not be answered because no one had ever thought that way. That's going to be a big challenge in construction. If you're trying to attract new people, do you know their challenges, and are you meeting those as an industry?

What can we do now to start engaging with students in school—whether that's high school or post-secondary?

I met an apprenticeship coordinator at a school board, and he said we need to start calling skilled trades what they are—STEM education. They are science, technical engineering, and math post-secondary education. Whether you're going to college or going to a union environment, it's still a program. That sort of out-of-the-box thinking, which aligns with jobs, tails very nicely with what universities and colleges talk about, which is the benefits of a STEM career. What better STEM careers are there than a skilled trade?

LEGACY BUILDERS: WORKING TO BUILD A PROMISING FUTURE FOR OUR INDUSTRY

We’ve featured many stories in past issues of the Journal that outline the crisis we’re all facing in the construction industry: a lack of skilled workers.

Baby boomers are retiring (or have already retired) and Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z’s have been encouraged to focus on a university degree and work in the tech sector. Promoting a profession in the trades has been put on the back burner for years. It’s been considered a career that means you get your hands dirty, offers little opportunity for success and growth, and poor pay.

Nothing can be further from the truth. We all have a role to play in changing this perception. Happily there is something you can do to help.

Consider getting involved in the Legacy Builders program.

GVCA and its Leaders in Construction (LinC) committee launched Legacy Builders last fall to encourage young students to consider a career in construction. The in-class education program has surpassed expectations. Primarily focused on students in Grades 7 and 8, it is being expanded into high schools later this year.

“Our initial goal for the program was to schedule one classroom session a month with 30 students per class, for a total of 300 students reached over a 10-month period,” says LinC committee chair Christina Rauchfleisz-Shantz. “But with the incredible interest since its launch, Legacy Builders will reach a total of 1,440 students by the end of June 2023, with an additional 300 students on the waitlist for the fall 2023–2024 school season.”

WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN CHANGING THIS PERCEPTION. HAPPILY THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Shantz coordinates classroom visits with the Business & Education Partnership of Waterloo Region. Each session lasts approximately two hours. Volunteer instructors from GVCA member firms explain their career in construction, why they chose it, and how they got there. Then there’s an interactive portion where students are divided into teams to play “Jobsite – The Board Game”, a Monopoly style game produced in Canada (www. jobsitegame.com), followed by a question-and-answer session.

Each student receives a Careers in Construction booklet that contains information about the ICI industry, the

chain of work in a construction project, and a list of 20 possible construction professions with potential salaries. The booklet also includes a list of 45 construction training facilities, schools and organizations that offer courses, certificate programs or degrees, and/or apprenticeships. Legacy Builders ball caps and hoodies are also handed out.

“We began the first session by asking the Grade 8 students if they knew anything about a career in construction or if they wanted to get into the construction industry, and no hands went up,” says Shantz. “At the end of the class we asked if anyone had changed their mind, and 9

Your company logo will appear on the Legacy Builders website (https:// legacybuildersprog.wixsite.com/legacybuilders-prog), the sponsor registration page on the GVCA website, and in the booklet that each student receives. Keep in mind that those hundreds of students take that booklet home to show their parents, family and friends.

Legacy Builders is also looking for volunteer instructors to talk to students about their career in the industry so if you or someone you know is interested in getting involved, please email legacybuildersprogram@gmail.com.

hands went up out of 25 students. That’s 36% of the class that will now consider a career in construction. This is amazing progress for our industry!”

While Legacy Builders’ instructors are volunteers, there are expenses. Costs for printing the booklets plus acquiring board games, ball caps and hoodies can add up. After that first class, Shantz says, “Each student was raving about how cool each of the swag items was and they proudly wore them out of the classroom for the day. Spreading this positivity around the construction industry is what we need to do to break the bias!

GVCA chair Mark Mollison agrees, and is excited about the potential growth of the program. “We are receiving interest from construction associations across the province. This is a terrific campaign to promote our industry to the next generation.”

Sponsorships are available for both GVCA member and non-member firms and we encourage you to consider it.

AT THE END OF THE CLASS WE ASKED IF ANYONE HAD CHANGED THEIR MIND, AND 9 HANDS WENT UP OUT OF 25 STUDENTS. THAT’S 36% OF THE CLASS THAT WILL NOW CONSIDER A CAREER IN CONSTRUCTION. THIS IS AMAZING PROGRESS FOR OUR INDUSTRY!

/ CHRISTINA RAUCHFLEISZ-SHANTZ

IESO REPORT FINDS

A report produced by Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) finds that the province is in a strong position to decarbonize its electricity grid, adding that a moratorium on new natural gas generation could be feasible as soon as 2027.

The Pathways to Decarbonization report is one of three produced by the IESO at the request of the Minister of Energy and which highlight the progress being made to prepare Ontario’s electricity system for the future.

“With one of the cleanest electricity grids in North America, Ontario has a real advantage in enabling the decarbonization of the broader economy,” said IESO president and CEO Lesley Gallinger. “The process of fully eliminating emissions from the grid itself, however, will be a significant and complex undertaking. Through our ongoing commitment to work with a wide range of partners to assess risks and overcome challenges, we believe it is possible to achieve an orderly transition toward a decarbonized electricity system that remains reliable, affordable and sustainable.”

The report finds that Ontario could begin moving toward a decarbonized grid starting with a moratorium on new gas generation beginning in 2027, as long as sufficient non-emitting supply were in place to meet growing electricity demand. By 2035, the system could be less reliant on the natural gas fleet, lowering emissions by 60 percent below the IESO’s original forecasts.

The report also finds that attaining a decarbonized electricity sector by 2050,

alongside aggressive electrification targets, would require a system more than double the size it is today at an estimated cost of around $400 billion. These costs could be offset by lower overall energy costs as consumers reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and through energy efficiency.

Ontario’s electricity system comprises about three percent of economy-wide emissions.

“This report clearly illustrates the scope and magnitude of work necessary to grow and decarbonize the electricity system to support electrification and a thriving economy,” said Ontario Power Generation President and CEO Ken Hartwick. “A mix of generation technologies is consistent with OPG’s ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach to meeting growing energy needs, and we look forward to advancing much-needed new generation in partnership with Indigenous communities.”

The IESO has identified a number of “no regret” actions that could be taken as the province moves towards decarbonization. They include: continuing competitive efforts to acquire non-emitting supply; expanding energy-efficiency programming post-2024; beginning planning and siting work for nuclear, storage, hydro and transmission projects that require long-lead times to develop; galvanizing collaboration amongst stakeholders; and continuing support for lowcarbon fuels such as hydrogen.

The two other IESO reports demonstrate the work already underway to prepare Ontario’s electricity system for the future.

The 2022 Annual Planning Outlook forecasts electricity demand will increase almost two percent annually over the next two decades, driven by economic growth and electrification.

Meanwhile, the 2021–2024 Conservation and Demand Management Framework Mid-Term Review presents a plan for future energy and demand savings, including new programming, to help meet emerging system needs in 2025 and beyond.

WITH ONE OF THE CLEANEST ELECTRICITY GRIDS IN NORTH AMERICA, ONTARIO HAS A REAL ADVANTAGE IN ENABLING THE DECARBONIZATION OF THE BROADER ECONOMY. THE PROCESS OF FULLY ELIMINATING EMISSIONS FROM THE GRID ITSELF, HOWEVER, WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT AND COMPLEX UNDERTAKING. / LESLEY GALLINGER

ONTARIO IS WELL PREPARED TO DECARBONIZE ITS ELECTRICITY GRID

INNOVATION —FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

As an example, a 2,000-square-foot office could require over 10,000 pounds of drywall. But even with the best boarding team, an average of 20%—almost 2,000 pounds—can end up in local landfills. There is so much wasted drywall that many landfills have separate entrances for drywall drop off. Drywall’s weight also means more people on the job site. If a team falls behind on boarding, that can further delay mudding and taping. This all leads to missed milestones and wasted budget.

By Alex Kinsella

Lowering project costs and reducing waste are top-of-mind concerns across the industry. With rising inflation and interest rates, adopting new tools and materials will be critical as material costs continue to increase.

Since its development almost 100 years ago, drywall has seen little innovation. It is a problem that has long bothered Dave Caputo, a Waterloo-based tech leader. Caputo is no stranger to innovation, having helped grow Waterloobased PixStream and Sandvine into multimillion-dollar businesses.

After Sandvine was acquired in 2017, Captuo was in what he refers to as a time of "funemployment." He wasn't ready to retire but wasn't sure what to do next.

"As I was surveying the universe for what to do next, I kept on going back to what feels like a lifelong obsession of hating painted drywall. Anyone who's known me for any period has heard my rant about what a terrible product it is, and for the most part, everyone agreed with me," Caputo said.

It was through a connection at the Young Presidents Organization that Caputo met Joel Koops, the founder of MSW Plastics. The company was finding success selling wall panels for agricultural use, and the product was just what Caputo was looking for in a drywall replacement.

"I thought this could be positioned as a great drywall alternative. That was the genesis of what became Trusscore," Caputo said.

With Trusscore, Captuto wants to do to drywall what drywall did to plaster. The Palmerston, ON-based company uses a unique high-strength polymer formulation to create lightweight wall and ceiling panels as sustainable alternatives to drywall and fibreglassreinforced plastic systems.

But replacing the go-to product for interior walls takes convincing. To break into the market, Trusscore chose home garage renovations as a way to showcase the versatility of its ceiling and wall panels.

He pointed to the evolution of the walk-in closet as an example. For years, people would marvel at a three-by-six walk-in closet. Today, walk-in closets are almost the size of a small bedroom.

"That same phenomenon is starting to occur in the garage. You can see it with the epoxy floors and cabinetry. Once people do their garages, they start thinking about mudrooms and basements. We have this great phenomenon occurring that 100% of the customers who use our product say will recommend it to their family

I THOUGHT THIS COULD BE POSITIONED AS A GREAT DRYWALL ALTERNATIVE. THAT WAS THE GENESIS OF WHAT BECAME TRUSSCORE. / DAVE CAPUTO

WHILE TRUSSCORE PANELS ARE MADE FROM PLASTIC POLYMERS, THEY DO NOT HAVE THE SAME ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AS SINGLEUSE PLASTICS. THE PANELS ARE RATED TO LAST LONGER THAN THE BUILDINGS THEY ARE USED IN.

and friends—and 100% of them say they'll use it on their next project," Caputo said.

While Trusscore panels are made from plastic polymers, they do not have the same environmental impact as single-use plastics. The panels are rated to last longer than the buildings they are used in. Caputo added that along with the reduction in labour requirements, simplified supply chain logistics and transportation costs, the environmental footprint of Trusscore panels is significantly less than drywall.

As labour challenges continue across the industry, Caputo said that

Trusscore's ease of installation makes it a compelling replacement for drywall. Drywall installation requires separate workers to install boards, tape, mud, and paint. Trusscore panels can be installed by one person.

"If only one person shows up, you can't board the ceiling because it takes two people to do it. Where our product, if you can hold 20 pounds over your head, you can put up a 20-foot board yourself," Caputo said.

In a demonstration of how easy it is to install Trusscore panels, a drywall team and a Trusscore employee were tasked with finishing an eight-by-ten room. It took two people 13 hours over four days to install and finish the drywall. The Trusscore installer finished in three hours.

"With the severe labour shortages that are out there, you can get the job done with your least skilled workers on your job site," Caputo said.

Replacing drywall is just the beginning of Trusscore's ambitions. The company has opened a flagship experience centre at 11 Weber St. W. in Kitchener, where consumers, contractors and architects can see Trusscore products in action. Caputo said the experience centre was inspired by wanting to mix a paint store with an Apple Store.

"The big challenge for us was showing people there was an alternative to drywall—one they needed to see to believe. Paint stores are where you go to change the look of your room. Apple Stores have the Genius Bar where you can ask questions. Anybody can walk in,

and our reps are happy to help with your design," Caputo said.

Another innovation in the works is straight out of the 1990 sci-fi film Total Recall. In an early scene, a receptionist is shown changing the colour of her nails with a stylus. Caputo said Trusscore is working to make that movie magic a reality for walls and ceiling panels.

"That scene really had an impact on me. Wouldn't it be incredible if you could do that with walls? There's been some incredible breakthroughs in nanotechnology and nanomaterials. We're still two to five years away from this, but this is going to be revolutionary," Caputo said.

STRATEGIES TO BURY CO2 IN CONCRETE

The endeavour, which received $1.7 million in funding from the Government of Canada’s Climate Action and Awareness Fund, is called “Burying Carbon in Buildings: Advancing Carbon Capture and Utilization in Cementitious Building Materials”.

The project involves a team of researchers led by Daman Panesar, a professor in the University of Toronto’s department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. The team aims to identify the potential and implications of low-carbon approaches and technologies and how they might capture large amounts of CO2 and trap it in concrete.

“Currently, several low-carbon concrete framework documents have been produced worldwide and most of these roadmaps have set 2050 carbon reduction targets related to several levers, such as clinker-cement ratio, alternative fuel use and carbon capture, storage and sequestration,” says Panesar.

While there has been preliminary work on several carbon utilization approaches, few have been implemented on a large scale. Panesar and her team will examine the challenges associated with scaleup of these strategies and explore new technologies that can effectively turn built infrastructure into a carbon sink.

“Natural carbonation of concrete occurs by a chemical reaction between the

A collaboration between the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) and the University of Toronto (U of T) is exploring how concrete may be able to capture carbon in the air.

U of T, GAGBC Project Explores

constituents of concrete, particularly cement, and atmospheric carbon dioxide –and it has the potential to occur throughout the life of the concrete,” says Panesar.

“However, accelerated or enforced carbonation approaches are relatively new technologies, which can also be referred to as carbon capture and utilization technologies, and can be introduced at different life stages such as during manufacture or at end-of-life.”

Some examples of carbonation processes that will be explored and assessed include: CO2 injection, elevated CO2 exposure, mineral carbonation using recycled or waste CO2, industry byproducts used to replace cement and subsequent CO2 curing, as well as the potential for synthetic treated aggregates.

“All of these techniques need further understanding of the implications and potential for negative emission technologies such as carbon capture utilization approaches,” Panesar says. Another challenge for both new and

existing structures is ensuring that any change to the formulations of concrete – for example, using lower-carbon components or absorbing more CO2 during curing – doesn’t come at the expense of its required structural and material design properties, including strength and durability.

“For example, considering natural carbonation processes, the mechanism related to the potential for increased vulnerability of reinforced concrete elements to steel corrosion, concrete degradation and shortened service lives is fairly well understood.” says Panesar.

“For existing infrastructure, the situation becomes more complex because there is a need to account for and interpret the role of age-related cracking on the CO2 uptake of concrete, as well as in conjunction with other predominant degradation issues in Canada, such as freeze-thaw cycles.”

Finally, researchers will need to develop benchmarks and other standardized tools to accurately account for the carbon uptake in building materials.

WHILE THERE HAS BEEN PRELIMINARY WORK ON SEVERAL CARBON UTILIZATION APPROACHES, FEW HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED ON A LARGE SCALE. PANESAR AND HER TEAM WILL EXAMINE THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH SCALE-UP OF THESE STRATEGIES AND EXPLORE NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN EFFECTIVELY TURN BUILT INFRASTRUCTURE INTO A CARBON SINK.

“Currently, there is no harmonized measure of concrete carbonation and the differences in measurements and reporting add an extra dimension of complexity when trying to compare between different concrete formulations and/or CO2 uptake technologies,” says Panesar.

“Carbon accounting is critical to enable us to determine the relative environmental impacts of the various approaches and to be able to estimate or forecast the impacts of deploying these new technologies in the coming decades.”

One of the strengths of the new collaboration is that it provides a built-in pathway for new research findings to get translated into industry, as well as into new policies and regulations.

“As the national organization representing members and stakeholders across the green building spectrum, CAGBC can access industry expertise to help advance research and mobilize the sector to implement market solutions,” says Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council.

“We are proud to partner with the University of Toronto on a project that has the potential to significantly reduce embodied carbon emissions from the cement industry. The results will contribute to the collective effort to decarbonize construction.”

EXTREME RAINFALL

BILLION TO ONTARIO’S STORM AND WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS BY 2030: FAO REPORT

A report released by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) in January suggests that the cost to maintain the province’s public linear storm and wastewater infrastructure could balloon to as much as $6.2 billion by 2030 if more isn’t done to combat climate change.

The FAO’s Costing Climate Change Impacts to Public Infrastructure: Linear Storm and Wastewater report is the latest in a series of reports analyzing climate impacts on public infrastructure. It examines the impacts of more extreme rainfall on the long-term costs of maintaining public linear storm and wastewater infrastructure in a state of good repair. Ontario's stormwater assets of pipes, ditches and culverts, and wastewater assets of sewer pipes and sanitary force mains, are owned by the province's 444 municipalities and valued at $124 billion (all costs are in 2020 real dollars). Maintaining public infrastructure in a state of good repair helps to maximize its benefits in the most cost-effective manner over time.

In the short term, climate-related impacts from more extreme rainfall are projected to increase infrastructure costs by $700 million annually across the medium and high emissions scenarios, which would accumulate to $6.2 billion by 2030 in the absence of adaptation. This is a 27 percent increase in municipal infrastructure costs relative to the stable climate projection. Over the long term, additional climate-related costs will depend on the extent of global climate change.

In a medium-emissions scenario, where global emissions peak by mid-century, more extreme rainfall will raise the average annual cost of maintaining the existing portfolio of public storm and wastewater infrastructure in a state of good repair by $1.1 billion per year, totalling $88 billion over the century, in absence of adaptation.

In a high-emissions scenario, where global emissions continue rising throughout the century, these costs would increase by $1.8 billion per year, totalling $145 billion by 2100.

As extreme rainfall increases, unadapted assets will increasingly face capacity constraints, raising the flood risk to surrounding areas. The cost of flooding damages to households and businesses are also likely to be substantial.

AS EXTREME RAINFALL INCREASES, UNADAPTED ASSETS WILL INCREASINGLY FACE CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS, RAISING THE FLOOD RISK TO SURROUNDING AREAS. THE COST OF FLOODING DAMAGES TO HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES ARE ALSO LIKELY TO BE SUBSTANTIAL.

COULD ADD $6.2

EDUCATION & EVENTS

MARCH - APRIL 2023

Our education courses occur in an online forum with Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT). Working at Heights training takes place at the GVCA office, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. Visit our online calendar at www.gvca.org for times, or give us a call.

WSIB Health & Safety Excellence Program: Registration is always open for this incentive program. Earn $ in rebates!

Private Corporate Training: We offer private training that can be customized to suit your business needs.

Contact education@gvca.org for more information.

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