Author: Jordan Bateman

Desjardins, one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, is about to turn its back on Canadian energy workers after being pressured by environmental activists in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Rather than buckle to activists who have no interest in a fair and honest debate on our energy resources, Desjardins should stand up for Canadian jobs, Canadian energy and decisions made in Canada that benefit all Canadians. This is important – please make your voice heard. Tell Desjardins to support responsible resource development in Canada. CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO DESJARDINS’ CEO!

Desjardins, the biggest association of credit unions in Canada, announced recently that they are suspending lending to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline and reviewing whether they’ll ever fund another pipeline project. This would impact projects like Enbridge’s Line 3, TransCanada’s Keystone XL project and TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline.

Desjardins appears to have given into activists who oppose the Canadian oil sands and other resource development projects in Canada. In a  letter that included the signatures of 11 American groups, plus three from Europe, there are  demonstrably false facts – that the oil sands are “massively destructive” (they aren’t), that the pipeline “abuses” Indigenous people (it doesn’t), that it will make our iconic orcas go extinct (it won’t), that the current pipeline has too many leaks already (they don’t), and that the Fraser River will be damaged (it won’t).

Activists are threatening financial institutions as “priority targets” and threatening “significant reputational risks,” citing the SouthDakota Standing Rock protest model.

CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO DESJARDINS’ CEO!

Enough with the nonsense and lies and indeed the threats. It’s time for Canadians to push back. Kinder Morgan did the hard work to #Get2Yes –and now we need our governments and lenders to #Stick2Yes.

The National Energy Board undertook a 29-month independent review of the TMP and approved the project subject to Kinder Morgan meeting 157environmental and technical conditions during the construction and operation of the pipeline. Subsequently, the Government of Prime Minister Trudeau approved TMP as did the Province of British Columbia. The B.C. Government added another 37 conditions.

All Canadians can take comfort in not only the robust nature of the review of TMP but also in the 194 environmental and technical conditions imposed on Kinder Morgan by the Federal and Provincial governments.

The energy sector accounts for a significant part of Canada’s wealth and prosperity. More than 425,000 people support their families and communities by working in the oil and gas sector. The industry is the single largest private sector investor in Canada, forecast to invest $44 billion in 2017.

In addition, the energy sector annually contributes an estimated $15 billion to government revenues in the form of royalty payments, land payments and corporate and municipal taxes, ensuring all Canadians benefit from our responsible resource development.

It’s time for Desjardins and other financial institutions to stand up for Canadian jobs, Canadian energy and Canadian decision-making.

Make your voice heard – tell Desjardins to support responsible resource development in Canada and the men and women who depend on energy jobs to support their families and their communities.

CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO DESJARDINS’ CEO!

Change is afoot, and the ICBA training department is responding to it!

As of April 2017, WorkSafeBC’s changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations around Joint Health and Safety committees and Worker Health and Safety Representatives makes training mandatory. Anyone joining a Joint Health and Safety Committee is required to take at least eight hours of training. ICBA is pleased to be able to offer this training as part of our continued commitment to exceptional customer service for our members and the construction industry as a whole (remember, you don’t have to be a member of ICBA to take our courses!).

Participants will learn:

• How to use the OHS Regulation and WC Act to access health & safety requirements;
• How to explain the roles and functions of the Joint Committee and the Worker Representatives;
• How to perform an incident investigation;
• How to perform a formal site inspection; and
• How to:
  • Promote workplace health and safety
  • Assist in ensuring the health and safety program elements are implemented;
  • Conduct and participate in Joint Committee Meetings; and
  • Work cooperatively to address workers’ health and safety concerns.

Our first session is September 7 in Burnaby! Interested in taking this course or any of our other upcoming workshops? Check out the list at www.icba.ca/training.

Did you know that members of ICBA receive a discount on our courses? Check out www.icba.ca/become-a-member for more information about the benefits of membership with ICBA and how this affiliation can help you build your business.

BURNABY, B.C. – Petronas’ decision to scrap its plan to build the Pacific Northwest LNG terminal (PNW) is a tough blow for the B.C. construction industry, the president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) said today.

“We are deeply disappointed that PNW will not go forward, as it means thousands of construction jobs will not materialize,” said ICBA president Chris Gardner.

PNW would have created 4,500 construction jobs, 330 long-term operations positions, and up to $1.3 billion per year in government revenue.

“No jurisdiction does energy extraction in a better, cleaner, more socially responsible way than Canada,” said Gardner. “This is a significant lost opportunity that would have brought many benefits. Canada has to act faster to seize the opportunities that our responsible resource development industries can deliver.”

ICBA’s #Get2Yes web campaign included a PNW section, encouraging people to support the project. During the federal government’s approval process, close to 2,400 letters supporting PNW were sent through Get2Yes.ICBA.ca.

“Many of the job-creating projects we have been trying to #Get2Yes on are in jeopardy,” said Gardner. “PNW is lost. The Massey Tunnel replacement, Site C, and Trans Mountain pipeline are all facing stiff opposition. This is a chilling message to send to investors – why would anyone want to come to B.C. and put time and money into any major project?”

ICBA members work on virtually every significant construction project in the province, and would have worked on PNW. “Investment in major infrastructure and responsible resource development projects not only drive our economy but also provide jobs and opportunities for the more than 200,000 British Columbians who work in construction,” said Gardner.

Have you ever wondered how the ICBA training department chooses new courses? Each year, ICBA offers hundreds of courses and provides training for thousands of people across B.C. Our calendar is constantly updated, with new courses added several times a month. We are always searching for new and exciting presentation topics. These come in several different ways:

• Through suggestions from our students
• Requested by our members
• Following key trending ideas
• In support of new technology
• Courses that improve safety in the workplace

“Life-long learning is essential to existence. Continuous improvement requires continuous training, and companies today will only remain competitive if they have a highly skilled workforce,” says ICBA Vice-President Dr. Lindsay Langill. “Training one’s workforce is not only the correct thing to do, but is a good investment.”

New to our training calendar this year:

• Electrical Quality Management Systems
• Estimating with Bluebeam Revu and Document Control with Bluebeam Revu
• Arc Flash Safety
• Leading and Managing Organizational Change
• Responsibilities of Joint Health and Safety Committees, and many others!

Several new courses are currently in development and we can’t wait to tell you about them!

By the way, have you subscribed to our training newsletter to make sure you never miss a new course update? If you haven’t, make sure to subscribe at www.icba.ca/trainingnewsletter.

We’d love to see you in one of our courses, even if you’re not an ICBA member. Check out our full course calendar at www.icba.ca/training. Have a suggestion for a new course? Our inboxes are always open; email us at info@icba.ca.

The Conference Board of Canada released a new report this week, looking at the economic prospects of several Canadian mid-sized cities. This included Prince George, B.C.

Basically, they foresee very, very moderate growth for B.C.’s Capital of the North: 1.5% this year, 1.7% in 2018. That’s down from a 1.8% growth rate in 2016.

It also predicts 5% employment growth for PG this year, which will help after the city saw an 8.2% loss in 2015. Still, the unemployment rate will hit a seven-year high of 6.9%, before edging back down to 6.4% in 2018.

“Construction output will contract in 2017 following exceptional gains over the last five years,” the report says. This is mainly because housing starts will cool – 245 this year, 213 in 2018; way down from the 313 started in 2016.

“On the non-residential side, work continues on $440 million in Highway 97 improvements, including the widening of the Cariboo Connector to four lanes. Composed of 27 projects that started in 2007, the entire venture is expected to wrap up at the end of 2018,” the report says. “Meanwhile, construction on the new $44.3-million Kelly Road secondary school is anticipated to begin this fall, with completion slated between 2018 and 2019. The construction of the proposed beef processing plant also provides upside risk to the metro area’s non-residential investment outlook.”

Two other notes: here’s a year-by-year look at the GDP of three mid-sized B.C. cities. Note how Prince George lags Nanaimo and Chilliwack.

And, given the awful news this week that the Pacific NorthWest LNG project has been scrapped, this paragraph is especially rough:

“Some Good News for B.C.’s Important LNG Industry – Recent federal approval and local First Nations support of Pacific NorthWest LNG’s proposal to construct a plant on the northern B.C. coast is welcome news for the struggling mining and mineral fuels sector… This agreement is a welcome boost for an industry that has been hurt by lower global demand, increased competition from the U.S., and weak commodity prices.”

Sigh.

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!