Month: June 2023

Congratulations Joe Geluch, president/CEO of ICBA member Naikoon Contracting!

Joe attended our ICBA Gala last month and won our big door prize: an NHL Winter Classic experience, including two tickets to the January 1, 2024, outdoor game at T-Mobile Park (the usual home of the baseball Mariners) in Seattle, where the Seattle Kraken will take on the Vegas Golden Knights.

Joe will also enjoy a night’s stay at the Hyatt Regency Seattle, and he won two jerseys to ensure he can cheer for both teams – presented by ICBA membership director Sanjeev Dhillon today.

What a way to kick off the new year!

Thanks to our incredibly generous sponsors, including Bet99, for helping make this happen. And congrats again, Joe!

June has been dubbed Move for Your Mental Health Month by the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, and for good reason. As the Financial Post points out:

“More than 8 in 10 Canadian men (81 per cent) surveyed believe physical activity has a positive effect on their mental health, based on new data from TELUS Health’s Mental Health Index. Yet, according to Canada’s most recent Adult Report Card, 88 per cent of adults are too sedentary.”

The Foundation’s website includes easy ways to add more physical activity, including:

1. Parking further away from places
2. Go for walking meetings
3. Walk during your kid’s sports warmups
4. Walk the dog
5. Go for a walk after supper

There’s more at the site – and remember, science shows that better physical health can help mental health.

Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 100 companies and more than 10,000 construction professionals better understand mental health. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.

ICBA Wellness isn’t just for B.C. and Alberta companies – we’ve partnered with Merit associations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia and helped them launch their own provincial-specific versions.

Merit Nova Scotia especially has done an amazing job, hosting events and sharing the message of breaking through mental health stigma on worksites.

Last week, one of their companies (Celtic Construction, a division of Bird) sent over this great testimonial:

“When we first implemented it in January (as an add-on) to our toolbox talks, our employees were reserved and quiet during the weekly chats. But the change in dialogue within the first six months is staggering. Our staff is now engaged and feel open to discussing their mental health. The program has been key to breaking these stigmas of mental health and has helped foster a relationship of communication. In this uncertain time, everyone can benefit from these chats. Thank you.”

Amazing!

Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 100 companies and more than 10,000 construction professionals better understand mental health. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.

This week, ICBA joined more than 120 other business organizations from across Canada to call on the federal government to prevent a work stoppage at the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert. These ports handle $500 million of cargo every day, and are a vital part of our national supply chain.

The letter is clear:

“We request the government’s active engagement with this bargaining process and that it be prepared to act to prevent a labour disruption. It is imperative that the federal government work with the parties to secure an affordable, stable, and efficient supply chain.”

Read the full letter HERE.

In 1972, with a population of 22 million, Canada built 232,200 new homes. Fifty years later in 2022, with a population of 39 million, fewer than 220,000 new homes were built. We have not been able to move the needle on supply in two generations. In fact, we’re losing ground.

In the June 2023 Construction Monitor — ICBA’s quarterly publication with information and statistics relevant to the B.C. construction industry — ICBA examines several recent housing reports and compiles statistics on the B.C. housing crisis.

According to a recent report by RBC, between now and 2030, Canada will need to build nearly six million new homes (or 830,000 annually) to meet demand – several times more than what we’ve achieved over the past five decades.

“How can we have any hope of reaching this level of new home construction?” asks ICBA President Chris Gardner in his introduction to the Monitor. “Four things have to happen: a dramatic reduction in the costs imposed by city halls; a wholesale change in the project approval and permitting process; commitments from all levels of government to be bold, and to act faster and work together; and an acceptance of the reality of densification by the public.”

For the full Monitor, click HERE.

ICBA has, and will continue to, been pushing for more mental health and addictions support in B.C. So when some comes along, it’s important to recognize the improvement.

Nanaimo News Now reported last week that Island Health is working towards improving mental health support for individuals facing moderate mental health and substance use challenges.

The plan is to collaborate with 11 private sector services, to assist an additional 1,500 people.

Patients will be able to access counseling either by self-referral or through their primary care provider. The expanded services cover a range of conditions such as anxiety, PTSD, and substance use triggers. The initiative includes a mix of non-profit and for-profit organizations, offering in-person and virtual care options.

Every little bit helps – and hopefully more help is on the way.

Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 100 companies and more than 10,000 construction professionals better understand mental health. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.