CCA unveils new strategic plan, renewed vision.

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Canadian Construction Association (CCA) chair Chris McNally says the association’s recently unveiled strategic plan will be more provocative and work harder to unite the industry. Read more.

Delayed Payment – Survey Results & Comparison

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Late payment practices are an important issue for Nova Scotia’s construction industry and CANS has been lobbying the provincial government to enact appropriate payment legislation that would establish minimum norms for payment schedules. In an effort to substantiate our assumptions, CANS surveyed members in June 2015, December 2016, and again in February 2018 to solicit their feedback and help guide us on their behalf.

Click HERE to view the Delayed Payment Survey Comparison results, comparing respondents answers from the 2015, 2016 and 2018 surveys.

‘Superdense’ wood could revolutionize materials

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A homebuilder once told me Canadians are “the greatest stick-builders in the world.” It’s a good line, and understandable coming from a homebuilder. After all, most Canadian homes are built primarily of wood. Wood is probably the oldest building material in the world unless you count rocks and sod. What’s most amazing to me, is that after thousands of years of history, we are still looking for — and finding — new ways to use wood. Read more.

This robot tracks construction progress while the crew is home sleeping

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Tracking progress on any jobsite is extremely important for your schedule and budget.  But, as the project grows larger, tracking progress becomes that much more difficult.  How do you accurately determine the percentage of work that the subcontractors have completed across 10 stories and hundreds of thousands of square feet?

Read more.

 

Technology a key driver to future zero emission targets in Vancouver

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Vancouver is aiming for zero operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 from new buildings using high-tech solutions like Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the simplicity of Passive House design. Read more.

New Infrastructure funding sources step up in Canada

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A shrinking budget deficit is usually good news, but a drop in federal debt in Canada is raising concerns over delays in government efforts to funnel infrastructure money into projects. The country’s federal deficit is poised to drop by $1.1 billion, mainly due to government delays in keeping up with ambitious infrastructure spending pledges, says a report by the Parliamentary Budget Office. Only about half of the $2.9 billion budgeted for infrastructure in 2016-2017 actually got out the door. Read more.

Constructors mixed on new federal environmental assessment process

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Construction stakeholders offered cautious praise for the new federal environmental review process unveiled by Environment Minister Catherine McKenna Feb. 8, tempered by doubt and with a general caveat that it was too early for full analysis. Read more.

 

Feds move to include apprenticeship in infrastructure procurement policy

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New legislation has just been introduced supporting increased use of apprentices on infrastructure projects procured by the federal government. Recommended changes to the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act are included in Bill C-227 introduced by Toronto area MP Ahmed Hussen. Read more.

Daily Stats: Investment in New Housing Construction

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Investment in new housing construction in Nova Scotia (current dollars, unadjusted for seasonality) decreased 9.2 per cent in December 2017 compared to December 2016 to $60.9 million. Investment in new single-detached units decreased by 19.4 per cent to $33.5 million, while investment in apartment units increased by 18.7 per cent to $22.7 million. The relatively smaller semi-detached segment was down 37.1 per cent to $3.1 million with row housing construction rising 12.1 per cent to $1.5 million.  In Canada, new housing investment increased by 10.0 per cent over the same period to $4.7 billion. Read more.

Daily Stats: Nova Scotia Population Estimates by County

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Statistics Canada has released estimates of the population by county as of July 1, 2017.  Provincial population estimates for July 1, 2017 were released in September and updated to October 1 in December.  These population estimates should not be confused with Census counts.  Estimates of the population adjust for net undercoverage from the Census as well as incompletely enumerated Indian reserves.  The current estimates are still based on the results of the 2011 Census of the population. Read more.