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Editorial: Taking action in October

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock without your smartphone for the past couple of years, you know that there is a federal election coming very soon.

The construction industry has never been one to sit on the sidelines and wait for an outcome, but this year a particularly interesting campaign has been launched to stress the importance of investment in the country’s infrastructure to the current sitting Members of Parliament.

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has launched Construction4CDNs, which calls on its members to write their local MPs to stress the importance of four main issues: strengthening investor confidence; infrastructure planning; supporting innovation; and attracting a skilled and diverse workforce.

Under strengthening investor confidence, the CCA recommend that the government remove further regulatory delays to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

The association also asks that the government offer exemptions related to carbon taxes to the heavy construction sector for companies that adopt “green”
technologies.

For infrastructure planning, the CCA recommends that the Government of Canada commit to a 25-year plan for
infrastructure planning that defines the commitments of each level of government for battling the country’s massive
infrastructure deficit.

When it comes to supporting innovation, the CCA is requesting the federal government become a partner for “providing the necessary framework and investment to enhance industry-wide collaboration for innovation in the construction industry.”

The association has asked that this be done through the use of dedicated program funding and incentives designed to help businesses to embrace and access emerging technologies.

And finally, under attracting a skilled and diverse workforce, the CCA is calling on the federal government to increase funding for career and technical training programs – the association has requested that the government fund 1,700 student placements over four years in construction work-integrated learning programs.

The CCA has also requested the feds invest with the association in programs that promote the industry to new Canadians, women, Indigenous groups and other under-represented groups; as well as requested that the current procurement process remain the same.

So, just how much of an impact could the Canadian Construction Association’s membership have on the upcoming
federal election?

Well, it’s certainly significant.

The association is the national voice for Canada’s construction industry and
represents more than 20,000 member firms. The construction industry itself employs close to 1.5 million Canadians and generates approximately $140 billion to the economy annually.

So get your hard hats on and lace up your steel-toed boots, Members of Parliament. It sounds like you’ve got a lot of construction site visits coming up over the next few months. Because if there’s one thing many people in this industry respect, it’s a good work ethic. And standing on the sidelines with this crowd will definitely leave you feeling left out in the cold this October.

Want to learn more about Construction4CDNs?

Visit www.construction4cdns.ca