December 2018 - ICBA
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Month: December 2018

IN THE NEWS: ICBA Board Chairman Jim Bogusz Interviewed by BiV

by Jordan Bateman | Posted on December 12, 2018

Great Q & A in today’s Business in Vancouver with our ICBA board chairman, Jim Bogusz.

He tried to retire, but we (and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade) refuse to let him. “I thought I was retired, or at least slowing down.,” he said. “My two boards and startup project have me busier than ever before.” Darn right, Jim – we’re not letting you disappear into the Chilean wine region or some tropical vacation.

People like Jim do a lot for the construction industry and we greatly value his leadership.

NEWS RELEASE – NDP’s Massey Malaise Keeps Drivers Idling: ICBA

by Jordan Bateman | Posted on December 17, 2018

BURNABY, B.C.: The NDP Government’s Massey Tunnel non-announcement today will keep Lower Mainland drivers idling in traffic unnecessarily for years to come, said the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).

“This is about a government using its partisan lens to look at a practical problem – the NDP don’t want to admit the BC Liberals ever had a single good idea,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President. “Massey has undergone years of consultation and even had consultation about the consultation that was held. It’s time to build this bridge, get people out of traffic, and get our economy moving.”

The 10-lane Massey Bridge, cancelled by the NDP 16 months ago, was the product of a consultation process that took five years, nearly 150 technical reports, 35 meetings with regional authorities, and 110 meetings with municipal governments. “The NDP Government will shoot first and ask questions later on things like taxes, but won’t accept years of work on necessary infrastructure projects like Massey,” said Gardner. “The NDP’s handling of this project is a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money.”

The NDP’s own report acknowledges that reducing a new bridge to eight lanes will simply mean the same traffic delays 25 years from now as we see today.

“The South Fraser is growing in leaps and bounds, but the NDP refuse to acknowledge the need for new infrastructure to match. They talked the talk in opposition but don’t walk the walk in power,” said Gardner. “Whether it’s another delay on the Massey Bridge project or refusing to fund SkyTrain past Fleetwood or dragging their heels on new school construction, the is failing to invest in the infrastructure we need in our communities.”

Gardner also noted the NDP Government’s price tags don’t include a multi-million dollar markup for their preferred model of freezing out 85% of all construction workers in B.C. and handing over all construction contracts to the Building Trades unions that gave them millions in donations in previous elections. On the Pattullo Bridge, Transportation Minister Claire Trevena admitted the sweetheart deal will cost taxpayers at least seven per cent more – while other analyses show it could be several times that amount.

“By overpaying for construction on the Pattullo and Highway 1 projects, the NDP are running out of money for other critical infrastructure in Surrey and Delta,” said Gardner.

TRAINING THURSDAY: Online Courses and 2019

by Jordan Bateman | Posted on December 20, 2018

Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you can’t learn a few things! ICBA offers more than a dozen online courses that you can take on your own time and at your own pace. Plus, most of them offer Gold Seal Credits and BC Housing CPD Points!

Whether you’re looking for safety courses such as Confined Spaces Safety Awareness or Pipeline Construction Safety Training, or supervisory skills courses such as First Level Supervisor Training, we’re here to help. 

This year we added several more online courses to our lineup, including Working in a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace, Bear Awareness, and TDG Transportation of Dangerous Goods. We also have courses such as Construction Project Management, Construction Law, and Introduction to Construction Estimating.

Are you going for your Gold Seal Certification in 2019? It’s mandatory to take both the online and in-class portions, so get a head start and take the online course over the holidays!

When it comes to classroom courses, in 2019 we will continue to offer some of our most popular sessions, including Responsibilities of Joint Health & Safety Committees, Occupational First Aid Level 1, Supervisory and Management Skills, and many, many more. The training department adds new courses nearly every week all over BC; check out www.icba.ca/courses for the latest updates and to register for any of our upcoming courses.

The training department wishes you a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to seeing you at one of our courses in 2019!

NEWS RELEASE: ICBA Vindicated by Voters’ Rejection of Prop Rep

by ICBA Blog | Posted on December 20, 2018

Today’s announcement by Elections BC that proportional representation has been rejected by voters is good news for British Columbia, according to the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).

“The entire process was rigged by the NDP Government in favour of proportional representation,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President. “Gone was any real consultation with British Columbians or specific information on how these systems would work. Instead, the government developed a confusing question, rushed the process, lowered the threshold for approval, cut off any meaningful debate, and used the full weight of the government to get to the answer they wanted. It was rigged, unfair and a betrayal of our strong democratic values. The good news is that voters saw through the deception and the unfairness and ultimately rejected a questionable set of alternatives put before them by the government.”

In 2005’s electoral reform referendum, 61% of eligible voters turned out. In 2009, turnout was 55%. In ICBA’s view, the fact that barely 41% of B.C. voters made their choice known in this referendum reinforced that the government had no mandate to fundamentally change our democracy.

“No one knew how any of this was going to work,” said Gardner. “Premier Horgan and Attorney General Eby accomplished what they set out to do: suppress voter participation and rig the process to favour the system they wanted. What we were witnessing was the hijacking of our voting system by an activist government committed to radically changing our democracy. Fortunately, voters saw through all of this and voted to retain the system that for generations has fairly, and simply, delivered stable governments in B.C.” Continue reading “NEWS RELEASE: ICBA Vindicated by Voters’ Rejection of Prop Rep”