Month: August 2023

Recently, I was looking through research on the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s website, and came across this men’s mental health statistic I had never seen before:

“New fathers are susceptible to paternal postpartum depression. While up to 10% of men experienced symptoms within six months of their child’s birth, men are not often screened for postpartum depression.”

This is interesting and concerning. But it makes sense when you think of the life change a baby brings, along with the fatigue, wanting to support the mother, and then adding complicating factors for some fathers (such as custody and access when they aren’t together with the mother).

This is an area where more research is happening – but if you’re a new dad, be aware that this can happen, and watch for signs: anger, increase in risk-taking behaviour, irritability, low motivation, poor concentration, etc., and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

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.

Mental health is often pushed aside in a physically-demanding field of work like construction. High stress, long hours, and a relentless pace can contribute to issues like depression and anxiety. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

First, remember that it’s okay to take a moment. Whether it’s a short walk or a chat with a co-worker, small breaks can help alleviate stress. Also keep communicating. If the workload or a task is overwhelming, speak up – you’re part of a team, and teammates look out for each other.

Consider using relaxation techniques, such as deep-breathing, to manage daily stress. Or make use of your company’s Employee Assistance Program, or reach out to a mental health professional.

In construction, we prioritize safety. Let’s remember, mental well-being is an essential part of that overall safety, too. 

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.

Open shop contractors sponsor well more than 80% of all apprentices in the province

SURREY – The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) – for years the  sponsor of the most trades apprentices in British Columbia – is now the single biggest sponsor of Indigenous apprentices in the province, new statistics from SkilledTradesBC show.

The surge to number one among Indigenous apprentices highlights the leadership ICBA has shown in partnering with Indigenous-led companies, associations, and progressive unions over the past few years.

“ICBA has worked hard to be a partner for Indigenous construction leaders and companies,” said ICBA President Chris Gardner. “We are honoured that so many Indigenous workers trust us to sponsor their apprenticeships, and to help them enhance their skills and build their careers.”

Over the past two years, ICBA has partnered with Indigenous organizations to offer group benefits and retirement plans to their workers; offered skills training and professional development; and worked with ICBA members to enhance their understanding of Indigenous custom and culture through workshops and other training initiatives. ICBA has also adopted an Indigenous logo designed by award-winning Diitiidaht/Kyuquot/Coast Salish artist Carmen Thompson.

In all categories in B.C., ICBA’s total of 1,584 trades apprentices nearly doubles the second largest sponsor’s 890, and more than triples third place’s 508. And those are just the apprentices sponsored directly by ICBA – open shop contractors sponsor more than eighty percent (80%) of all apprentices in the province.

Costly and overly bureaucratic provincial government programs like Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) – which the NDP Government claims helps Indigenous workers, actually cuts them out of taxpayer-funded projects and limits work on CBA projects to just 15 per cent of BC’s construction workforce.

While ICBA’s apprenticeship numbers continue to grow, government impediments to getting more people into the construction trades – such as CBAs and long wait lists for apprenticeship courses – help explain the 15% decline in registered apprentices that was highlighted in a recent report by CIBC.

The CIBC report also underscored the acute shortage of skilled workers facing the construction sector, pointing out that there are 80,000 job vacancies in construction across Canada. “There is an historic labour shortage facing construction, which is also being squeezed by an aging workforce,” said Gardner.

The CIBC report notes that the average age of retirement in construction is 60 and this combined with the fact that 20% of construction workers are aged 55 or older. “Construction is literally heading over a demographic cliff, so contractors are focused on being more innovative, adopting new design and building technologies and training and upskilling their workers,” said Gardner.

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The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA), the largest construction association in Canada with chapters in B.C. and Alberta, represents more than 4,000 members and clients. ICBA is also one of the leading independent providers of group health and retirement benefits in western Canada, supporting more than 150,000 Canadians. www.icba.ca

Johnny Manziel, the former Cleveland Browns quarterback, is the focus of a new Netflix documentary, “UNTOLD: Johnny Football.”

The film explores Manziel’s meteoric rise as a teenage sensation, his journey from college to the NFL, and the personal struggles that nearly ended his life. Manziel’s story is filled with highs and lows, from his legendary high school career to his wild lifestyle off the field.

But this is really a story about mental health. Johnny tried to die by suicide, and his Bipolar Disorder and addiction issues derailed any chance at a comeback. He called it “direct self-sabotage.”

“When I got to Cleveland, I wasn’t in this head space to be able to just go play football,” Manziel told Insider. “I was struggling to get out of bed in the morning. I was struggling to fight thoughts and feelings that I had never really had before in my life.”

Money, fame, success – none of it matters in the face of decaying mental health. It’s an important lesson that all of us should consider: get help as soon as we need it.

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.

The following op-ed by ICBA’s Jordan Bateman first appeared in Business in Vancouver on August 16, 2023.

Just when you think you’ve heard of every possible red tape delay to building housing and critical infrastructure in British Columbia, a new, ever-more absurd government regulation comes along.

This time, it’s an empty hole.

Construction on a badly-needed, long-promised, $135 million middle and high school on Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain has been held up by an empty hole in a single tree.

The delay is caused by an overreaching policy brought in by the federal government—the result of regulations that stakeholders said would be a problem from the moment it was first proposed.

Last year, Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault created strict rules to further protect the Pileated Woodpecker, even though the bird is neither threatened nor endangered in Canada.

No one is saying woodpeckers shouldn’t be protected. But the old rules were working just fine.

Under the previous regulations, woodpecker nests were protected if they had eggs or birds living in them. This made sense and did the job of balancing the needs of the woodpecker with the community – as evidenced by the bird’s growing population. It was also in line with how most other bird habitat is handled.

But Guilbeault – over objections from industry associations representing agriculture, ranching, clean energy, and forestry – changed the regulation to say a Pileated Woodpecker nest, or a tree cavity that once housed a nest, had to be empty for three years before the tree could be removed.

“There really isn’t a lot of logic behind this decision,” Larry Thomas, environment manager at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, told The National Post at the time. “Populations are extremely good across [the woodpecker’s] entire range in North America.”

Missing from the regulations was much discussion on how exactly to prove how a cavity has been vacant for three years when first found. It’s not a hotel; a woodpecker doesn’t stop by the front desk and check out at the end of a season. So the federal rules demand landowners monitoring nesting sites for three years – a difficult task when cavities are often 50 feet off the ground.

Not missing from the rules: the threat of jail for six months and a fine of up to $4 million for anyone caught cutting a tree with an empty cavity before they can prove it wasn’t occupied for three full years.

For the fast-growing Burke Mountain neighbourhood, every further delay is especially frustrating. The school that had been first promised by the BC NDP in the 2017 election didn’t materialize that term. In the 2020 provincial campaign, Premier John Horgan re-promised it, saying it would be open by September 2023.

Alas, the NDP finally got around to budgeting for the project in 2022, and a new 2026 opening date was announced. This is now in jeopardy due to delays around a tree cavity that once held a Pileated Woodpecker nest, but is now empty.

This is precisely the kind of delay and red tape that frustrates builders – whether they are working on a school, a hospital, a clean energy project, or housing. It drives up costs by forcing expensive monitoring, permit applications and expert intervention, and slowing down the project – at a time where inflation is pushing construction costs higher every month.

Adding to the strangeness of the Burke Mountain situation is the fact that there are hundreds of kilometres of protected, forested parkland behind the neighbourhood. Needless to say, there are plenty of tree options for a woodpecker to pick from.

Under Guilbeault’s rules, it’s possible (and hopefully likely) the federal government will grant a permit to move the tree – with its empty hole – to nearby Harper Park, adding even more cost. It’s not cheap to move mature trees.

But as the days drag by with little action on the site, the families of Burke Mountain get antsy about yet another delay for their long-promised school. And taxpayers will be on the hook for all of it.

Somewhere, you can almost hear Woody Woodpecker laughing.