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On February 20, 2018, the government introduced Bill 194: Fairness in Procurement Act. This proposed legislation is to address concerns about “Buy American” policies at the state level in the U.S. These policies could impact Ontario-based businesses’ ability to participate in certain U.S. state and local level government procurement processes. The remainder of this article can be found in the Members Only section of the OGCA Website. Click here to continue. Members of CDAO and many others across the country are aware that the Quality of Documents has been a very real problem leading to endless problems on Tendered Projects. RFIs and Change Orders (COs) are a result of the failure to invest in the planning and development of the project documents.
Industry News
Ron Kelusky has been appointed as Ontario's Chief Prevention Officer effective March 12, 2018. TORONTO – Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx have awarded a fixed-price contract of $254.5 million to EllisDon Transit Infrastructure (EDTI) to design, build and finance the Stouffville Corridor Stations Improvement project, in support of the province’s GO Regional Express Rail (RER) program. Click here to read more… The Region of Peel is excited to announce that it will begin accepting electronic submission of bids through the bids&tenders™ platform starting March 26, 2018. Currently, the Region only posts bid documents on bids&tenders™ and the submission of bids remains in-person or by mail/courier. As the largest buyer of construction services in the Ontario municipal sector, the City of Toronto continues to take a leadership role to work, influence and progress change and is pleased to be hosting the Dig Safe: Construction Safety in the GTA, event on April 13, 2018, 9:00am – 12:30pm - being held in Toronto City Hall Council Chamber. The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is concerned by the implications on infrastructure spending from the federal government’s Budget 2018 announcement on Tuesday, while it supports the government’s recognition that the construction industry, like many other sectors, is facing significant labour challenges. Click here to read the press release. Over a year ago, Frank Zechner prepared an EBR application on behalf of the Municipal Engineers Association and RCCAO. Click here for a brief overview concerning the status of Municipal Class Environmental Assessment review. While the process has taken much longer than expected, a formal consultation process will begin on March 21st. Earlier this month, the Ministry advised us that it had posted a proposed guidance document pertaining to the Part II Order or bump up request process. If you have any questions, please contact: Andy Manahan English: Click here French: Click here
March 2nd was a great day for leadership, health & safety, and the League of Champions. During the 7th annual IHSA COR™ Update and OGCA Leadership Conference, three new Members and one Patron were inducted into the League. Members
Patron
We are also proud to recognize the Doug Chalmers Award winner, Dan Fleming. Dan is a committed League of Champions' ambassador, hailing from EllisDon Corporation. Congratulations again to Dan Fleming and all of the new inductees!
March 4-10, 2018 marked Women in Construction (WIC) Week. Individuals around the world also celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8th. What a great time to speak to young women about entering the construction industry! On March 6th, a female entrepreneur, doctor, pharmacist and the League of Champions' very own Tracey Mooradian, from Eastern Construction, spoke at the 259th Toronto Girl Guides' Career Night. The girls were insightful and inquisitive, asking Tracey several questions about her daily tasks and what it means to be safe in their everyday lives. Special thanks to Tracey for offering her words of wisdom. Let’s continue to highlight the positive contribution of women to the construction industry and within the realm of health & safety.
Mohawk College Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018 
Safety
OGCA and IHSA’s seventh annual COR Open House and Leadership Day conference event held on March 2, was a HUGE success, bringing over 258 members, owners, industry stakeholders, government, and sponsors to help celebrate Health and Safety in the construction industry.
Every year, thousands of Canadians are injured and harassed at work. Courageous is a free 1-hour broadcast created to educate workers about their rights. Our goal is to empower workers to have the courage to speak up when faced with harmful working conditions. 1 Register 2 Watch
The Safety Pass is aimed to provide a basic, consistent orientation training for workers entering a construction jobsite. There is a real need in the industry for this program. It provides each and every contractor the ability to communicate with their subs and workers about health and safety, while providing security that those workers have the basic knowledge required for a construction site. This does not remove the site specific orientation which is also required. Each worker who completes the 13 online modules will receive a certificate and won’t need to renew until 3 years from when they complete the program. Best part of all – IT’S FREE. This tool will not only reduce costs and increase productivity, it will lead to overall improvement of safe work practices on all construction projects. Without question, this is OGCA’s biggest initiative in 2018 and we continue to work with our members, partners, construction associations as well as labour across the province to promote the Safety Pass. We are extremely excited with our new partnership with SkillsPass, who have done a tremendous job in supporting OGCA’s initiatives. Our officially launch will be on April 2, so please stay tuned. The program is available to any Ontario contractor who is interested. For more information on how you can get your Pass, contact Lyndsy Miceli today at lyndsy@ogca.ca
“The Power of Safe Choices” is this year’s 2018 safety week theme. Safety isn’t something we can do alone. And while we each must make safe choices every day – on our way to work, in the office, on the job site or heading back home – the impacts of those choices affect us all. Host a Safety Week as a way to re-focus and re-energize your commitment to reducing injuries on jobsites. Send your event details to OGCA and you can WIN a prize. Whether your event is private or open to the public, let everyone know what you are doing to celebrate safety week. Please send your events to Lyndsy Miceli at lyndsy@ogca.ca 
Member News
Construction is underway at the site of the new headquarters for Wellspring Niagara in Pelham. Groundbreaking happened September 2017, where it was announced the $5-million 11,000-square foot facility would be built to service and support Niagara families dealing with cancer. Photo by Laura Barton, The Welland Tribune. Associate Partner News and Events
In January and February, Sherrard Kuzz ran 11 small-group workshops (20 attendees each) to assist clients to understand and apply Bill 148 in their workplaces. Their workshops focused on real-life scenarios, practical how-to exercises, policies, calculations and best practices. As demand for this workshop remains unabated, they’ve opened two new workshop dates: Monday, March 26 and Tuesday, March 27. As this is a small group workshop, space is extremely limited. Register early to avoid disappointment. Click here for more information and the link to register.
Legislative & Legal Updates
For the latest Ontario Legislative Report, please click here. Previous issues may also be found at the same link. Education & Events
Understanding (and Complying) with the New Obligations under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and Labour Relations Act, 1995 Update on Legal Marijuana and how that affects Construction – Norm Keith – May 9th Fit for Duty – Norm Keith – June 6th Calendar of Events
Registrations are now open for the upcoming OGCA A.R. Timms Memorial Golf Tournament, also known as the OGCA Past Chairman's Golf Tournament and Luncheon. Please join us on Monday, July 9, 2018 at Glencairn Golf Course in Milton, for an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Range balls, breakfast, lunch and raffle tickets are all included. Click here to register and click here to pay for one golfer or a foursome.
Incoming Chair John Dawson and his wife Christine have planned a terrific event which will leave you plenty of time to sightsee. We will be giving each guest a Hop On, Hop Off ticket to enjoy the sights. You can pick it up from any of the OGCA staff when you arrive at the hotel. John and Christine want to bring back the Team Building events that were so much fun in the past, so we have an entertaining session on the Friday morning. We have also invited author Eve Lazarus to give a talk on a forensic scientist named Inspector John Vance, who developed many of the techniques in use today in the world of policing and crime solving. Each attendee will receive a signed copy of her book. Please watch this space for more information and we hope to see you in Vancouver! We should have the registration form available shortly. Hotel Accommodations are now open for booking. Please contact the Four Seasons by calling 866-223-9333 and quoting OGCA 2018 AGM. Room cut off is August 23. |
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ONTARIO GENERAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 280 | Toronto, Ontario M9W 6A9 Tel 905-671-3969 |
Join us on March 15th (this Thursday) at Mohawk College! If you haven’t already RSVP’d, please contact Andrea by email at andrea@theLOC.ca. 
On March 2, at the COR Open House and Leadership Day Conference, David Frame, OGCA, Dan Fleming, EllisDon, Sean Scott, PCL Construction and Charmaine Freake, SkillsPass, provided attendees with an update related to the Safety Pass.
Mark your calendars for May 7-11 #safetyweek
Please join us from September 26 – 30, 2018 as we celebrate the 80th OGCA AGM and Conference. We are booked at the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel, located on West Georgia Street in the heart of downtown Vancouver.