Vancouver Island Construction Conference highlights

On April 27, 2018, in the peak season of a record-setting year for building permits issued on Vancouver Island, more than 250 members of the local construction industry gathered at the Victoria Conference Centre.

The Vancouver Island Construction Conference, née CCVI Capital Project Delivery Forum, has transformed from a dialogue between industry stakeholders to a traditional conference — complete with diverse breakout sessions, an esteemed keynote speaker and a closing reception for delegates and panelists to recap and wind down.

The power fell into the hands of the delegates, as industry members selected breakout sessions deemed most relevant to their role within the construction sector. Sessions covered hot societal issues like “Marijuana in the Workplace,” “Affordable Housing” and “Creating a Cultural Shift”, as well more industry-specific panels such as “Procurement & Contract Negotiations” and “Resolving the Inevitable Construction Dispute.”

Maynard Harry, founder of Indigenous Insight, and Drew Milton, a lawyer from Woodward & Co. LLP, spoke at the “Creating a Cultural Shift” workshop, discussing the importance of gathering Aboriginal perspectives on what to do

with land in British Columbia. According to Milton, the province acts as though the land solely belongs to British Columbia.

“There is more than one culture in every room, [and] we want to get the view of the entire room,” he said, adding that there are 203 First Nations communities in British Columbia alone, as well as more than 5,000 reserves in Canada. “Aboriginal leadership is evolving. These people are young, educated and socially motivated.”

Harry says Aboriginal employment is an issue, so he recommended opportunities for partnership.

“They can go to the CEO or president, follow their protocol, be respectful,” he suggested. “Approach them with something attractive to the community. Build trust and be patient.”

“Entrepreneurship is lacking in First Nations communities,” Milton added. “There must be equality in negotiations from the start.”

The “Affordable Housing” workshop featured speakers from Chard Development, Townline, BC Housing and Greater Vancouver Housing, discussing how the for-profit and non-profit sectors can work together to build affordable housing.

The panel covered topics such as financing programs; affordable condo projects; rental housing; challenges of funding; difficulties with marketing; and workforce housing. Chard Development discussed the uptick in stock — when a renter buys, they open up a rental for another renter. Meanwhile, Townline explained that a big mistake in creating affordable housing is the use of concrete largely due to the associated costs. BC Housing said they wanted to create more opportunities with different partners, while Greater Vancouver Housing talked about educating the public about density in Victoria.

Disputes can arise in most job settings, and construction is no exception. The “Resolving the Inevitable Construction Dispute” workshop addressed methods to identify and resolve disputes. Delivered by Tyler Galbraith of Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP, John Knappett of Knappett Projects Inc. and Ross McClean of Houle Electric Ltd., the workshop stressed the importance of trust and confidence in relationships when working together. However, putting aside one’s pride is equally important — especially for the sake of the project.

Factors such as ego, inexperience, indecision, errors, failures in performance, poor supervision or management and overinspection can lead to disputes between the parties. The panellists say to focus on the project winning. As well, sometimes it takes a different perspective — or person — to help resolve the dispute.

Since the legalization of marijuana on October 17, 2018, cannabis in the workplace has been a hot-button issue. N. Nima Rohani, lawyer from McConnan Bion O’Connor & Petersen, discussed having policies in place at workplaces regarding impairment from cannabis consumption.

“Work with your supervisors and management to ensure people are checking in on their workers, to ensure they’re not working while impaired,” Rohani said.

He also mentioned there is a lack of testing for impairment from cannabis. While there are tests that show if someone has cannabis in their system, it doesn’t pinpoint if that individual is actually impaired.

“One of our messages around this is don’t look for testing to be the magic bullet,” he said. “Looking at our requirements, we don’t look to a specific, clinical threshold for impairment. We’re talking about functional impairment.”

The Vancouver Island Construction Conference returns April 24, 2019 and April 16, 2020 at the Victoria Conference Centre. www.vicaconference.ca

74 Vancouver Island Construction Association 2019