Month: August 2017

VICTORIA, B.C. – The NDP Government is putting politics ahead of sound public policy by sending the Site C dam project to the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC) for a six-week review, said the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).

“Site C has already spent more than a decade going through independent environmental and regulatory reviews, with more than 150 binding environmental conditions imposed on the project. It was signed off by both the federal and provincial governments. Its environmental study alone was 29,000 pages – a stack of paper taller than an NBA basketball hoop,” said ICBA President Chris Gardner. “Site C has also faced 14 separate court actions and was upheld in every single one of them. At ICBA, we talk a lot about the need to ‘Get to Yes.’ On Site C, the NDP government needs to now ‘Stick to Yes.’”

NDP Energy Minister Michelle Mungall made the announcement today, calling on the BCUC to undertake a review of Site C and meet with stakeholders. ICBA intends to participate in that process.

“This review is redundant and irresponsible,” said ICBA Communications Director Jordan Bateman. “The focus should be on finishing the dam, not slowing it or stopping it. With 20 per cent of the work complete, and billions spent or committed, we need to finish the job. Judging Site C on ‘current’ demand – as outlined in the NDP-Green agreement – makes no sense given that demand in B.C. is expected to grow by 40 per cent over the next 20 years.”

ICBA, voice of B.C.’s construction industry, has been fighting hard to keep Site C workers on the job. Today, more than 2,400 men and women went to work on Site C.

“Workers and families in Fort St. John and other communities across B.C. are on edge over the NDP government’s opposition to Site C,” said Gardner. “But it isn’t just the economic future of the Peace region at stake. This action sends a chilling message to businesses and investors who are learning that in B.C., environmental and government approvals are not worth the paper they are printed on. Businesses looking to expand or invest in B.C. need to know that once they have met all regulatory requirements they can move forward with certainty and not have to worry about government changing its mind and reversing course.”

In recent weeks, ICBA has fought for Site C through its pink slip campaign, its poster campaign in Fort St. John, hiring a plane to tow a pro-Site C banner over the Throne Speech in Victoria, generating nearly 2,600 emails in support of Site C through www.get2yes.icba.ca, and releasing a list of B.C. cities where Site C workers hail from.

ICBA’s Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman were in Victoria yesterday to stand up for Site C workers and oppose the NDP-Green’s move to send the dam project to the B.C. Utilities Commission for review. Here are a few of our media clips from yesterday.

From Global BC:

Canadian Press: Construction will continue while the review is underway, but that provides little solace to the 2,400 people working on the project, said Chris Gardner, president of the Independent Contractors and Business Association. “They’ve got to be thinking that six months from now they may not have a job,” he said.

Times Colonist: “We’re very disappointed; 2,400 men and women in construction woke up today, went to that job site to help build a clean-energy project that will provide hydroelectricity for B.C. for over 100 years. The review is unnecessary. This project has been a decade in the making,” said Gardiner, who showed up at the B.C. legislature with 2,400 fake pink slips to illustrate his point.

Energetic City: “This review is redundant and irresponsible,” said ICBA Communications Director Jordan Bateman. “The focus should be on finishing the dam, not slowing it or stopping it. With 20 per cent of the work complete, and billions spent or committed, we need to finish the job. Judging Site C on ‘current’ demand – as outlined in the NDP-Green agreement – makes no sense given that demand in B.C. is expected to grow by 40 per cent over the next 20 years.”

Vancouver Sun: “The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association held a press conference outside the legislature with more than 2,000 mock pink slips to symbolize the workers who might lose their jobs if the government cancelled the project. “The review is unnecessary,” said association president Chris Gardner. “This project has been a decade in the planning, an independent panel took three years and reviewed the project, the federal and provincial levels of government both approved this project. The focus now should rightly be completing this project on time and on budget.

Calling all electricians! Are you new to the industry or need a refresher? Make sure you register for our FREE BCSA Orientation Course – “A Great Start” on September 8 in Burnaby!

We’re hosting a complimentary orientation session and breakfast for those looking to learn a bit more about the industry. You’ll also get the chance to speak to your local BC Safety Authority Safety Officers.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• An overview of permit types, when they are required, and how to obtain one
• Managing your relationship with BCSA through contact with safety officers and the website
• How to stay up to date with the latest changes in your technology
• How BCSA uses compliance and enforcement actions to level the playing field

Don’t forget to bring a laptop, tablet or cell phone with you so you can take full advantage of these tips.

While the breakfast is free, we require that you register in advance. Check out this breakfast and our full list of upcoming courses at www.icba.ca/training.

For the latest updates on our courses and events, make sure you subscribe to our newsletter at www.icba.ca/trainingnewsletter!

By Chris Gardner, President, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
(This op/ed first appeared in The Province on August 4, 2017, and is now free for anyone to publish.)

Bureaucrats aren’t known for their horror writing skills. But Delta’s report on what would happen to the Massey Tunnel if there was an earthquake should send chills down the spine of every driver in the Lower Mainland.

Imagine an ordinary weekday morning, with traffic on Highway 99 backed up, as usual, in both directions. Hundreds of vehicles are slowly trickling through the tunnel when the ground begins to shake – a 6.7 earthquake.

The tunnel, described in the report as, “a brittle structure in highly unstable/liquefiable soils,” buckles. The ground under it turns to mush. Power is lost almost immediately, plunging the structure into darkness.

Cars and trucks slam on their brakes, causing major accidents in every lane. The tunnel rocks upward, breaks free and starts moving downstream, pushed by the Fraser River.

Muddy river water gushes into the dark tunnel, trapping motorists. At this moment, an emergency pump is supposed to whir into action and “should” keep the water level low enough for people to escape during the following hour. “Should” isn’t a great bet.

One can only imagine the terror in what would likely be the final moments for many of these people. It’s a risk that motorists using the Massey Tunnel take every day.

If this was not scary enough, where is the other place you wouldn’t want to be in a car when the “big one” hits? The 80-year-old Pattullo Bridge, already on the verge of falling into the Fraser.

How did one of the largest cities in a G7 economy, a city considered one of the most desirable places to live in the world, end up with two major pieces of failing infrastructure? Two reasons: old-fashioned government neglect, and a relatively new, but increasingly fashionable, movement finding favor among activists: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone. 

To their credit, the previous BC Liberal government tried to address Massey. The tunnel is not safe, it’s not effective at moving people and it’s become one of the biggest traffic chokepoints in the country. Yet the Metro Vancouver mayors are fighting its replacement tooth and nail.

All the mayors have voted against Massey – except for Delta’s Lois Jackson, who has spent the most time studying and considering it. Jackson knows that, after 145 technical and scientific reports examining all of the options, a new bridge is the safest and most cost-effective. The environmental assessments are complete, more than 3,000 people attended 110 public meetings, and construction is about to start. So, what’s the problem?

The provincial government has changed hands, and the NDP-Green alliance is looking to kill the project under the guise of “working with” the Metro Vancouver mayors.

Yes, they want to work with those same Metro Vancouver mayors who can’t even manage their own TransLink infrastructure properly. The mayors have responsibility for two major bridges: the new Golden Ears and the old Pattullo. It’s failing at half its portfolio, yet the NDP give their opinion precedence.

In the mayors’ world, failure at TransLink is always someone else’s fault: ‘out-of-touch’ Ottawa, ‘anti-urban’ Victoria, chintzy taxpayers for not excitedly handing over more money to wasteful TransLink, or ‘selfish’ drivers who should just get out of their cars and take transit.

We need to build more infrastructure – not less. Metro Vancouver is growing. We need to invest in transit, in new roads and new bridges to ensure that we can move people and goods in, around, and through the region. It’s not about choosing one project over another, it’s about revitalizing our aging infrastructure and building a strategic mix of new assets so that businesses located in the region can compete and families living in the region can get around safely and efficiently.

As the NDP prepares to cancel the Massey Tunnel replacement, keep in mind two facts: the Geological Survey of Canada records more than 2,500 earthquakes in western Canada and off the B.C. coast every year. Metro Vancouver has at least a 30% chance of a major earthquake in the next 50 years.

Let’s pray our elected officials are not really prepared to roll the dice with people’s lives.

Providing exceptional customer service also leads to customer retention. Companies not only need to advertise, but must have strategies to retain business.  Ask yourself: how do I or my employees serve our customers? Are all customers the same?  If you want to improve this side of your business, ICBA’s brand-new Providing Exceptional Customer Service course is for you and your employees!

In this seminar, you’ll learn how to:

• Develop your customer engagement and experience strategy;
• Apply effective listening skills;
• Draw out what your clients really need, and how to add value;
• Work with difficult and demanding customers; (we all have them);
• Build strong and lasting relationships with potential and existing clients.

We’re bringing this course to Kelowna and Victoria in October, Burnaby in November, and Prince George in December. Check out www.icba.ca/training for a full course description and to register. While you’re there, take a peek at our full course list!

Not a member? Not a problem! We offer courses to members and non-members, though you’ll save on registration if you become a member with us.
If you’re interested in a private course, we would be pleased to bring the trainer directly to your office. Email our training team at training@icba.ca for more details on how we can bring this course or any of our other workshops directly to you.

ICBA continues to support projects to #Get2Yes and #Stick2Yes by filing an application to intervene in the Squamish Nation’s B.C. Supreme Court case against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The issue being raised by Squamish Nation is that the Province relied on the federal government’s assessment of Trans Mountain’s proposal and its consultation and negotiations with Indigenous communities impacted by the project. In the opinion of Squamish Nation, the Province cannot cede its obligations in this regard to the federal government. The Province took this position given the federal government’s responsibility for reviewing and approving interprovincial pipelines. In recent years, Ottawa and Victoria agreed that in such cases, having one environmental review and consultation process was simpler and more efficient for all parties: proponents, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders.

ICBA is not challenging the constitutional obligations that the federal or provincial governments have vis-à-vis Indigenous communities and ICBA recognizes that in some cases, the obligations of the Crown to Indigenous communities may in fact prevent some projects from moving forward. ICBA is simply asserting that project reviews and consultations take place in a timely manner so that infrastructure and resource development projects can be approved in a fashion that allows Canada and BC to get projects built and its resources to market efficiently. ICBA’s concern is that duplicative and overlapping reviews will result in confusion and conflicting proceedings that could paralyze major projects and cost our economy jobs and investment. In this case, since the federal government has jurisdiction over the Trans Mountain pipeline project, we believe it is appropriate that the federal government lead the review and consultation process.

The Application was filed by our attorney, Peter Gall, Q.C. and we are being joined in the application by the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA), the Canadian Iron, Steel and Industrial Workers’ Union (CISIWU), and the Canada West Construction Union (CWCU). Click HERE to read ICBA’s application to intervene.

ICBA CAST! Terrace’s Lucy Sager joins Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman to talk about the impact of the loss of Pacific Northwest LNG on northwest B.C., along with regular features #ComeOn and social media questions. And we debut our first-ever BC Liberal leadership race power rankings. Will Chris and Jordan agree on who is most likely to win the race to Christy Clark?

Change is constant in business, no matter the industry, and when it comes to changes in an organization, it can be stressful for employees and supervisors alike.

Our new Leading and Managing Organizational Change course will prepare you to manage organizational change and will teach you how to lead and mentor others through these changes.

In this seminar, you’ll:

• Understand the impact change and transitions have on you and your employees;
• Learn how to adapt to and be resilient to change, whether the change is from a people, process, or technology transformation;
• Develop approaches to managing and leading change;
• Use pragmatic tools to help you with anticipating and addressing resistance to change, engaging with stakeholders, and facilitating change.

Our first session will take place on October 11 in Burnaby; for more information and to register for this or any of our other upcoming courses, please visit icba.ca/training.

Our training team is also always here to help if you have any questions about this or any other course; email them at training@icba.ca and they will be happy to assist you.

Don’t forget, members of ICBA save on registration fees! If you’re not already a member, check out icba.ca/become-a-member.

ICBA Communications Director Jordan Bateman talked BC Liberal leadership race, Trans Mountain pipeline, LNG, and more with Jim Goddard on his show this week: