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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
Tuesday, M arch 2 5, 2014
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
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TRANSPORTATION Building the Roads to Prosperity
As the population of the province continues to grow, so does the need for new infrastructure, such as the West Regina Bypass (above). The new section of highway, which serves as the primary access to the Global Transportation Hub, will eventually connect Highways 1 and 11. Local, provincial and national governments are now exploring new means of funding ever-increasing infrastructure requirements.
GTH responsive to needs of transportation industry
With the vast majority of goods in Saskatchewan being moved by truck, semis must constantly share the road with smaller vehicles, making safety an important consideration for drivers of both large and small vehicles.
Building tomorrow, today By Ryan Hall For L-P Specialty Products Saskatchewan is a booming province. Everywhere you look, new construction is taking place and the foundations for tomorrow are being laid. With new opportunities arising each day, it’s an exciting time for everyone! However, with growth come challenges. As the population of the province continues to rise, so does the need for infrastructure expansion, which is on top of the pre-existing costs of maintenance and replacement. With the total bill running into the tens of billions of dollars, governments and municipalities are looking into new ways to bridge the infrastructure gap and meet the needs of today and tomorrow. This forward-thinking mentality meshes well with the goals of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association (SHCA), which is involved not only in the construction of new infrastructure, but also innovation and cost analysis. Working in such a wide range of areas allows the SHCA to have a solid grasp on the needs — and strengths — of provincial infrastructure and to accurately predict what could happen in the future. With that in mind, SHCA president Shantel Lipp is pleased with the shift towards a proactive approach saying, “Infrastructure is one of those things that doesn’t get a lot of attention until your water systems start to fail, or your bridges start crumbling or potholes start swallowing cars. People don’t really notice it until it becomes an issue or an emergency situation.” As the province and municipalities begin to embark on a series of projects, financing continues to be a key factor in planning. The growth of Saskatchewan has led to increased demand
being placed on the infrastructure, and the costs of meeting these challenges have simultaneously risen as well. In order to bridge the gap between their budgets and the needs of the communities, an increasing amount of attention is being placed on Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) for the solution they might provide. Overall, P3s provide a way for the federal government to manage the dispersion of money to municipalities, while also providing a measure of cost assurance as businesses bear most of the risk if a project runs over budget. However, there are drawbacks to this system as well. From the perspective of Saskatchewan industries, it can be hard for small and mediumsized businesses to compete with larger multinational conglomerates which have a greater pool of resources at their disposal. As a result, local businesses can be left out or forced into smaller, support roles. Furthermore, with P3s gaining in popularity, they may also start attracting more budget dollars which, as Lipp said, “can leave less funding for more traditional projects, once again resulting in a loss of business for the local industry.” Fortunately, P3s are not the only option available to municipalities when it comes time to decide on a funding strategy for their infrastructure projects. One alternative that is being considered by some is public bonds, which allow the general public to invest in a large project and become stakeholders. This helps to spread the cost out, though at this point interest is mostly on an exploratory level. Finally, while never popular, tax increases continue to be an option, though, as Lipp said, “Municipalities are starting to realize that taxpayers can’t be expected to bear all the costs of these infrastructure projects.” Overall, this marks a time of change for the
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heavy construction industry in Saskatchewan. The increased demand on existing resources and the need for expansion mean that, one way or another, projects need to be funded and completed. With this in mind, Lipp and the SHCA continue to advocate that all options be considered on a case-by-case basis, with municipalities making the best decision for themselves and their residents on infrastructure projects. That means making smart choices that balance the needs of the project and the community with the desire to secure federal funding dollars, something that isn’t always easy. “Under the New Building Canada fund, there is a push to consider P3s,” said Lipp, “but municipalities shouldn’t be pushed into bundling their projects just to obtain P3 funding. We remain confident that funding will still be available if they choose other means.” In order to help make sure that these projects do become a reality, Saskatchewan companies stand ready to help. As mentioned earlier, local businesses partner with larger multi-nationals in some P3 situations, and those relationships continue. However, the true strength of this sector arises when these small and medium-sized companies can compete and grow. Not only does this benefit the individual businesses, but the money invested back into the province has a positive impact on the bottom line as well. This is best illustrated in the contributions made by the heavy civil construction sector to the Saskatchewan economy in 2012, where this one area alone invested $6.9 billion back into the province. Supporting these numbers are the 46,000 jobs that are currently part of this industry, with the resulting $5.1 billion in provincial gross domestic product accounting for roughly seven per cent of Saskatchewan’s total economy or, put in another light, an economic impact equivalent to hosting 125 Grey Cups. Overall, this highlights how vitally important the small and medium-sized businesses of the heavy civil construction sector are to the province, and hints at what could be in the future. In the end, while any government investment in infrastructure is a positive for Saskatchewan residents, adopting a strategy that focuses on growing this local industry will benefit everyone involved. “By continuing to make decisions that support this sector,” said Lipp, “it will continue to grow and play an ever increasing role in moving Saskatchewan forward.”
Safety central to truck industry By Andrew Livingstone For L-P Specialty Products In Saskatchewan, 92 per cent of goods are moved via truck, and semis are common sights not just on the highways, but also on work sites, at warehouses and moving through major arteries in urban areas. Their omnipresence, and the complexity of the job that drivers are required to perform, makes trucking safety a paramount issue. “Obviously, when it comes to truck transport, there’s so many different safety concerns, and you’re dealing with either people’s safety or millions of dollars are at risk,” said Nicole Sinclair, membership services liaison for the Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA). “It’s a big deal because, if it’s overlooked, the consequences are huge. Also, as a heavy-duty industry where the public cannot help but be exposed to it because we all share the same roads, it is truck transport’s responsibility and the public’s responsibility to do whatever we can to make sure that those interactions are as safe as possible.” “Drivers are not just out there trying to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible — there’s so many things that, simply because the public doesn’t know, they don’t think about,” Sinclair said. “They follow all the rules [that the drivers of smaller vehicles] follow, but then there’s a whole another set of rules just for being on the road, and then another one for your hours of service, and then another one depending on what you’re hauling.” In order to promote safety standards and awareness, the STA offers training courses on various subjects, including Professional Driver Improvement, Fatigue Management and longer combination loads. Although a course like Professional Driver Improvement is not mandated by the government, Sinclair said that many companies require their drivers to undergo the training in order to create uniform expectations of safety in the industry. “It goes over a lot of things that are basic, such as how to properly handle sharing the road with all of these different kinds of users,” said Sinclair, “as well as the basic steps to take to be a professional truck driver, and to be courteous on the road and to really make sure everyone’s on the same page that way.” Sinclair said that such courses serve to improve standards in the industry beyond safety. “It goes over the image that we want to portray to the public — and that is another one of our focuses — really changing the image of what being a truck driver is,” she said. “Trucks are so complicated, and the regulations are so complicated, and it’s all just so complex that this is becoming more and more of a profession, and we really want that to translate.” Similarly, STA’s Fatigue Management course goes
beyond the obvious concern with reducing debilitation due to weariness and seeks to help drivers to navigate some of the more profound Nicole Sinclair challenges and complicated Membership Services Liaison regulations of their Saskatchewan Trucking profession. Said Sinclair, Association “Fatigue is obviously a big safety topic in the industry, more so now that things are coming to the surface such as sleep apnea being such a problem in our society. “The Fatigue Management course covers signs that you’re fatigued, and it runs hand-in-hand with the Hours of Service course, and hours of service is the mandated amount of time that truck drivers are allowed to be doing their job. It tells them when they can drive, when they need to stop, when they need to sleep and when they need to take a day off. It’s a very confusing topic, so we run the two hand-in-hand so that, first of all, people understand the regulation that’s controlling how much they work and therefore how much money they make, and why that’s in place.” Having played a role in instilling the appropriate standards and instructions, the STA follows through by rewarding safe driving through its annual Safe Driving Awards. “For every year of safe driving that you get, you get a different award and recognitions,” Sinclair said. “It’s just a really good way for companies, the Saskatchewan Trucking Association and the industry as a whole to recognize how important safe driving is and really celebrate it when it happens.” “When you’re in a big truck, you’re backing up to warehouse storage docks, you’re driving in all sorts of conditions with all of the other drivers that are on the road — there’s a lot of pressure there, and that’s a lot of hours logged on the road. To not get into an accident for even a year is a very big accomplishment, and our Safe Driving Awards are a way to celebrate that and another way of putting By Jessica Mees emphasis on the L-P Specialty Products safety that we think The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program is so important.” (SINP) is a made-in-Saskatchewan program that
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closer to where they load and ship goods,” said Richards. “Loblaws is one of CPR’s largest customers so, at that time they said, ‘Hey, we don’t want to be that far away from you. We want to be able to pick Bryan Richards up containers of President and CEO in-bound goods and Global Transportation Hub move them handily into our warehouse,’ and that started the discussion about them operating a warehouse nearby,” said Richards. “And then Loblaws recognized the opportunity to consolidate other facilities they had in Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Calgary, and developed a business case to build a massive regional distribution centre on the site, right close to CPR. And that really is what kick-started the whole discussion.” On January 2013, CPR officially opened its modern, efficient terminal. Loblaws had already opened a 500,000-square foot warehouse at the GTH in February 2011 and, by May 2012, had expanded it to encompass a million square feet. There are now several additional clients located at the GTH site. Emterra, the company that has been contracted by the City of Regina to process curb-side recycling, located its processing facility at the GTH. Consolidated Fastfrate (CFF), a long term CPR partner, also moved from its downtown Dewdney location and now operates a 10,000-square-foot cross dock facility at the hub. In 2013, Morguard Realty began construction of two LEED-certified multi-tenant buildings designed to meet clients’ specific
requirements. The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority is building a new warehouse at the GTH and SaskPower recently announced that it will be building a logistics warehouse complex there. There are also cell tower sites for both SaskTel and Rogers. As more tenants choose to locate at the GTH, it will have an even greater impact on the transportation industry in Saskatchewan. Said Richards, “When 75 per cent of the goods we produce in the province are exported beyond our borders, it’s really, really important for us to have an efficient and effective system to be able to support those producers in getting those goods to market. That’s the intent of the GTH — to enhance and improve upon those logistics and that transportation network and provide access to all of the transportation modes. It can also contribute to attracting new investment, new jobs. So, overall, it’s a solid contributor to the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth.”
GETTING YOU THERE
SINP addresses professional truck driver shortage began as a pilot project in 1998 and is operated under an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Success of the program is not only shown in numbers, but also by the many immigrants’ and their employers’ success stories. Westcan Bulk Transport, one of the largest commodity haulers in Western Canada, has achieved success in acquiring skilled workers through the program. “We endeavour to treat our international employees as we do our domestic employees; this is better received by both international and domestic as it leaves little room for preferential treatment one way or another,” said Chelsea Jukes, recruitment manager at Westcan. “We have invested a significant amount of resources into growing an internal knowledge base and ability to recruit internationally without the use of third parties; however we do partner with reputable third parties to streamline the workload and allow us to hire more strategically.” The company has been using the SINP since 2003 to hire both mechanics and truck drivers. “The professional truck driver shortage is severe and very real, and this program ensures we can broaden our recruitment and hiring initiatives beyond borders and go after the quality that exists around the world,” said Jukes. “The ability to source the quality candidates from around the world only makes the Canadian economy that much stronger and viable into
the future. The transportation industry, specifically, is a vital industry to Canada’s overall economy. You will be hard-pressed to find anything we consume or use that has not spent time on a truck. If we don’t have quality, skilled persons performing these vital occupations, the entire country will shut down.” Although many immigrants moving to Canada are following their dreams, it isn’t always easy. For Oleh Matiash, the adjustment has been hard, but worthwhile. “It is important to know English before you move here. If you don’t have good English, it can get you into trouble. Canadians have a different mentality; if you don’t know English, they might not understand what you are trying to say and you might not know they are trying to help you,” said Matiash. Originally from a small town in Ukraine, Matiash has come a long way. He now owns a Saskatoonbased construction company and has seven employees. Although he encourages others to follow their dreams, he is very adamant about how hard it is, and that other immigrants must prepare themselves for the move and expect to struggle at the beginning. Kirk Westgard, executive director of Immigration Services said, “From history, what I can tell you is that every industry in Saskatchewan has benefited from immigration to the province. The program will continue to attach people to the labour market. The need for skilled workers in Saskatchewan is a major concern for employers, and we help get those workers here to start working.” “We continue to see high retention rates with the applicants we bring in, with 87 per cent continuing to work and stay in Saskatchewan.”
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By Wendy Livingstone L-P Specialty Products “We call it ‘speed to operation,’ and we believe it is a critical element of our value proposition. We can provide the speediest turnaround available” — that’s how Bryan Richards, president and CEO of Regina’s Global Transportation Hub (GTH), terms the swiftness with which businesses can be up and running at the inland port terminal, once that business’s requirements have been established. “We quote that we are likely the fastest from concept to actual construction available. You tell us what you want to do, and we will get you set up and running faster than in just about any jurisdiction,” said Richards. The GTH, which lies adjacent to the western outskirts of Regina, was recently developed from open farmland and, as such, could be designed specifically to meet the needs of today’s transportation industry. “The road is almost dominated now by what we call a turnpike double — two 53-foot trailers connected together — and quite often you see a triple, with three trailers connected together,” said Richards. “That requires a special infrastructure; it requires a large turning radius, a lot more space and wider roads. We have the opportunity to make what we call a logistically superior operation, tuned-in entirely to the needs of big trucks as opposed to four-wheel cars.” The ability to expeditiously meet clients’ needs was enhanced even further last August, when the Government of Saskatchewan announced that the Global Transportation Hub Authority was being created, making the GTH Canada’s only autonomous and self-governing inland port authority. This allows for an even more streamlined procedure for businesses choosing to locate there, since, as an authority, the GTH can now create and oversee its own land-use guidelines. This reduces the amount of red tape for anyone planning to locate a business at the hub. “We issue our own permits, create our bylaws and building codes in alignment with the province, etc., and establish the type of rules that make sense for us and the operation. It’s much the same approval process [as with a municipality] but we operate as a single point of contact where, if the customer comes in and wants to establish a greenfield operation, there is a blank canvas to work from. I think it’s a bit of a unique opportunity, not only to Saskatchewan, but for the whole industry. We think it makes a real opportunity for not only transportation companies, but also anybody related to that whole supply-chain network.” The GTH’s journey to this pinnacle has been a fairly rapid one. The notion of the development began just over a decade ago, when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) planned to move its Regina terminal from the city’s downtown. “The key concept was, when CPR announced they were moving out there, some of their customers and others recognized the need to co-locate
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