the 2015 construction forecast issue€¦ · 2 gvca journal winter 2014 iso 9001 : 2008 registered...

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GRAND VALLEY CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION • VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 4 • WINTER 2014

The 2015Construction Forecast IssueMark Caseletto, VP & General Manager,Reed Construction

New safety programs on their way

CCInnovations aims to increase industry productivity

Featuring BNE Contractors: our profile lottery winners

GVCA Journal Quark-13_Layout 1 2014-12-15 10:25 AM

2 GVCA Journal WINTER 2014 ISO 9001 : 2008 Registered

www.aclsteel.ca519.568.8822

2255 Shirley DriveKitchener, ON, N2B 3X4


GVCA Journal WINTER 2014 3

The official publication of theGrand Valley Construction Association

WINTER 2014

Publisher: Martha George

Editor: James Raiswell

Contributors: Sandra ArthursLauren HasegawaBo MocherniakGreg MurdochYosie Saint-Cyr

Layout and design: Raymond Leveillememoproductions.ca

Photography: Joseph Paul Bergeljpbphotography.com

Advertising sales: Sandra [email protected] 519-622-4822 x129

Subscription inquiries and letters to the editor: [email protected]

GVCA Journal is published four times yearly bythe Grand Valley Construction Association©2014. All rights reserved. Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #42259531; ISSN 2368-2930; in Canadian Periodical Index.

GVCA Journal subscription is a benefit of GrandValley Construction Association membership andis included in membership fees.

Magazine Subscription:

Canada $28/yr (incl. 13% HST).US/International $32/yr (Cdn).

Return undeliverable addresses to:Grand Valley Construction Association,25 Sheldon Drive, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 6R8

© 2014 Grand Valley Construction AssociationAll rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by anymeans, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher.

Construction innovation group’sfirst presidentpromises practicalprogress

20 36

Construction forecast

Construction ahead

22

2628

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

LEGAL ISSUES

MARKETING& PROMOTION

HR MANAGEMENT

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

SAFETY INCONSTRUCTION

FINANCIAL FOCUS

SIGHTINGS

GVCA CALENDAR EVENTS

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

4468

10121416184242

CMHC forecastssteady growth in the local homebuilding market

Labour forecast 2015

32 Get safe(r),Ontario!

BNE Contractors:On track for growth

38P3s: here to stay

30

FEATURE ARTICLES

DEPARTMENTS



4 GVCA Journal WINTER 2014

What better time than now,then, to brush up on yourGold Seal certification? Any-one who knows me knowsthat I am a tireless advocatefor Gold Seal. I truly believethat it is the best certificationprogram for our industry—arecognized national standardcreated by construction forconstruction. Gold Seal certi-fication helps distinguish in-dividuals and businesses fortheir competencies, their

commitments to educationand professionalism. Thinkof it as a competitive edge—anew way to elevate yourself oryour company above the fray.

It’s important to rememberthat Gold Seal is valuable tonot only contractors and theiremployees. Owners and buyers are increasingly usingGold Seal certificationamong the criteria they use toselect a contractor for a job.They view Gold Seal certifi-

cation as proof positive of theskills and competences of thepeople and companies theyhire. They may even takethings a step further by regis-tering a project as a GoldSeal Project—as Maple Rein-ders and the City of Guelphdid in 2011 on the GuelphOrganic Waste Processing Facility. In a Gold Seal Proj-ect, a contractor works withtheir local construction asso-ciation and the Gold Seal

Certification program tojointly promote Gold Seal aspart of a construction project.The objective is to educatenon-certified workers aboutGold Seal Certification andto honour those who haveearned their certification.

Let’s make 2015 the year forGold Seal. It’s our industry’sdesignation and we should beproud to show off this impor-tant standard to everyone.

It is encouraging to me to see the forecast for growth in our regionnext year. All signs suggest that the Kitchener-Waterloo region willbe among the five fastest growing economies in the country in2015; the outlook for construction in this region also appears good.

Let’s Make 2015 the Year for

Gold Seal!Martha George, GSC

By and large, I can tell youthe news is good. Major buy-ers in the municipal, schoolsand hospital sectors plan tospend on construction nextyear. And let’s not forget theongoing value to our industryof the $800-million-plus lightrail construction project. Theexperts at the ConferenceBoard of Canada say that by

the end of 2014, our industrywill have grown by 11 per-cent. It’s expected to grow bya further one percent in 2015and a little more than fivepercent in 2016.

All that is exciting. But what’sdoubly exciting for me is theknock-on effect that theseprojects will produce. Youdon’t have to be an econo-

mist or an urban planner tounderstand that growthbegets growth. As more andmore major buyers in theMASH sector spend on tran-sit and other forms of infra-structure, more people willmove to our community anddemand new places to live,new schools, new shops andnew office buildings. That’sgood news for those of us

who make our livings in construction.

Our industry is cyclical.Everyone knows that. We’vehad our share of good timesand bad, but as I lookahead, I see positive signsfor 2015 and beyond. Let’scelebrate that and prepareourselves for what looks tobe a busy year.

Like Martha, I’m optimistic for what 2015 holds for our industry. If youattended the GVCA’s Economic Forecast event in November, youheard from a roster of public and private sector buyers about their plansto build in 2015 (and if you didn’t, see our wrap-up feature on page 22).

The DOMINO EffectGary Hauck, GSC


MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR



LEGAL ISSUES

Many owners insist on incorporating liquidated damage clauses into their contracts as a motivator for project completion within a specified time.

Deadlines for the completion of construction projects aregood for owners and contractors. The owner wishes to use thefinished product as soon as practical so that it may enjoy thebenefits of its investment. The contractor who allocates re-sources to a project wants to ensure those resources are earn-ing an appropriate return. A delayed project can erode profitsand prevent resources from being deployed elsewhere. REVIEW ALL CONTRACT

DOCUMENTS CAREFULLYIn contracts thatprovide for liquidateddamages it is importantto understand thoseprovisions dealing withrequests for extensionsof time to complete inthe event of interveningevents which interferewith timely delivery.Properly documentedrequests for extensionsof contract time andinsistence thatconsultants deal withthese request promptlygo a long way to avoidingdisputes over liquidateddamages charges andthe end of a contract.

What are liquidated damages and how are they set?Liquidated damages are defined as a genuine pre-estimate of the probable lossthat the owner would sufferfrom the late completion of a contract.

In order to be enforceable,liquidated damages must notbe a penalty. Liquidateddamages will be consideredto be a penalty if they are ex-travagant or oppressive in re-lation to the conceivable lossthe owner would suffer fromlate completion. If liqui-dated damages are found tobe a penalty, a Court will

compensate the owner basedon its actual losses.

The person arguing that liquidated damages are penalbears the onus of establishingthis point. Owners will notbe held to a standard of perfection as long as the esti-mated damage amounts arereasonable. Courts recognizethe utility and value of afixed pre-estimate of dam-ages because it saves the parties the time and expenseof proving actual damages.Many contractors prefer thecertainty of a fixed amount

of damages if they cannotcomplete on schedule.

Market forces help ensurethat liquidated damages areappropriately set. If the dam-ages are set too high, con-tractors will not bid on aproject or will inflate theirbids as a safeguard, which inturn will drive up the cost ofprojects. If liquidated dam-ages are set too low, a con-tractor may have an incen-tive to go over schedule ifthe prescribed damages areless than the accelerationcosts to complete on time.

A Primer

Liquidated damages


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Numerous events beyondthe control of the contractorcan interfere with the com-pletion of the contractwithin the specified time. As such, a contract with a liquidated damages clausemust include provisions forextending the completiondate in order for the clause tobe enforceable. In the eyes ofa Court, it would be unfair tocharge liquidated damageswithout a mechanism that allows for extensions of timefor events beyond the controlof the contractor.

A prime example of externalevents causing a contract totake longer to complete arerequests for extra work fromthe owner. Contract provi-

sions for the extension oftime to complete are asmuch for the benefit of theowner as the contractor inthat they adjust the comple-tion date and thereby pre-serve the owner’s right toclaim liquidated damages ifthe project is not finished bythe new completion date.

Requests to extend a con-tract completion date mustbe handled properly by anowner and its consultant. Anowner will lose its right toclaim liquidated damages ifthe owner or its consultantfails to respond to a contrac-tor’s request for an extensionwithin a reasonable time after receiving the request. Itis essential that the contrac-

tor knows the new date forcompletion because withoutthis information a contractorcannot adjust its scheduleand accelerate work if necessary. Liquidated damages must run from aspecific date. Without a specific date, they cannot becalculated and will not beenforced by a Court.

This article was written byGreg Murdoch, a partner atSorbaraLaw. SorbaraLawprovides guidance to clientsthrough all stages of the construction process. Greg can be reached [email protected] 519-749-4608.

LEGAL ISSUES

Extended completion dates andliquidated damages.

The loss of theowner’s ability tocharge liquidateddamages does noteliminate an owner’sright to claimdamages for latecompletion but thetest for latecompletion changesto proving areasonablecompletion date anddamages will bemeasured by actuallosses and not a pre estimate ofdamages.



MARKETING & PROMOTION

You might ask yourself whyyou would spend money ona photographer when youand your employees all carryperfectly good smartphonesthat are equipped with high-resolution digital cameras.The answer: because al-though anyone can take aphoto—in the sense thatthey can aim the camera atthe right object and press abutton—very few peopletake photos well.

Photos taken by amateurs using smartphones look justlike that. Lighting is oftenwrong, composition not

good, image occasionallyblurred. In other words, byasking your site super or project manager to take somejobsite photos for nothing,you got what you paid for.

A professional photographeris trained in taking excep-tional photos that will makeyour marketing content—websites, newsletters,brochures—sing. Yes, itcosts money to hire a profes-sional, but if you’re seriousabout showing off the bestelements of your company’swork, you need to spend the money.

Design is another disciplinebest left to the professionals.It’s one of those things, likephotography and content development, that anyonecan do, but few do well.That said, it’s not alwayspractical to use the servicesof a professional designer.Yes, you want his or her services for your new websiteor brochure, but maybe youdon’t for a letter, or an RFPresponse document.

For those times when you’regoing to take on design workby yourself, keep a few basicprinciples in mind. First,

keep the look clean and sim-ple. Resist the temptation tooveruse typographical for-matting such as bold, italicsand underline and pick sim-ple fonts that are easily read.Second, use headings andsubheads to guide the readerthrough the document.Help them get to the parts ofthe document they want toread. Finally, embrace whitespace. It’s ok to scale back on content and introduceempty space in the docu-ment. It actually makes thepage easier and more enjoyable to read.

Let’s face facts. It’s probably been a while since you last took a look at your company’s marketing materials. After all, you’re too busy running your business to worry about that kind of thing. If that’s the case, make a resolution to spend some time on your marketing materials in 2015.

You don’t have to spend a lot of time on this. You won’t have to spend a lot of money either. But as any good business leader knows, a bit of time and effort and cash invested wisely and inthe right places can yield exceptional dividends. We’ve come up with four tips that you need tofollow right now to make your marketing better in 2015.

WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING IN 20154

1Hire aPhotographer 2 Learn Some

Design Basics



MARKETING & PROMOTION

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One of the most importantthings your marketing ma-terial should do is promptthe customer to act. Eachof your pieces—brochures,websites, case studies—should offer a clear call toaction. Don’t make the mistake of assuming yourengagement with yourclient ends with handing off a brochure or directingthem to your website. Youalways want to be drivinghim or her to the next en-gagement. A call to actiondoes just that.

Calls to action don't have to be complicated. A simple“call us for more informa-tion” is a good one to include on your website, forexample. You can also invitethe customer to download abrochure, submit his or heremail address for follow upconversations, even request asample of your product, oreven ask for a quote for services. The sky’s the limit.Just remember to keep driving the customer towardthat next engagement and, hopefully, next sale.

A case study is a very power-ful tool and it’s one that’ssometimes overlooked inmarketing packages. Presented properly, the casestudy walks a reader througha particular challenge facedby one of your customers,shows the steps your company took to solve thatproblem, and even showssome of the lessons youlearned along the way.

The next time your com-pany finishes a particularlycomplicated build with

pressing deadlines, a tightbudget and strict quality requirements, consider drafting a case study. It’s acompelling way to show offyour exceptional work.

One last note on the subject:case studies are complexdocuments that must bestructured in a particularway. Unless you’re familiarwith how to write one, con-sider hiring a professional todraft the content for you. After all, you want this thingdone right the first time.

3 Make the Customer Act 4 Consider

Case Studies

...a bit of time and effort and cash invested wisely and in the right places can yield exceptional dividends.



The Value of Having

But in What Format?written policies

Companies develop policymanuals to help managersand employees run the organization. It is a methodto establish the managementrules and guidelines of theorganization.

As a company develops itspolicies, they become aframework for consistencyand fairness. Policies definemanagement's standards formaking decisions on variouspersonnel and organiza-tional issues. Clearly definedprocedures and standards,derived from polices that are

well thought out, express thecompany's intent to makeconsistent and even-handeddecisions.

They are developed in lightof the mission and objectivesof the company, and theybecome the media by whichmanagement documentsand communicates its plans,rules, intents, expectationsand business processes to allstaff. In addition, supervisorsand managers are morelikely to consistently applypolicies that are clearly communicated in writing.

An organization will usuallyhave an employee handbookbecause it already has a policymanual. The handbook sum-marizes your policies and ex-pectations to employees in avery simple way, in a style andformat that is easy to use. Thehandbook may reference thepolicy manual, but is not written in such a formal way.Usually, the statement thatforms the policies in the em-ployee handbook is derivedfrom the policy manual. Theemployee handbook usuallydoes not include informationabout supervisory procedures.

An employee handbook isa manual that consists ofseveral policies, which anemployer will provide tonew employees in order toacquaint them with theirnew company and its work-place policies. When distributing the employeehandbook (new or revised)to employees, it is highlyrecommended that the employer include a sepa-rate acknowledgementform to be signed by theemployee and returned forretention in the employee’s personnel file.

What is an Employee Handbook?

What is a Policy and Procedures Manual?

HR MANAGEMENT

On one hand, they are beingtold that having written poli-cies is a way of communicat-ing their organization's values, rules and practices to employees. On the otherhand, a number of lawyersare warning them that poorly

drafted policies could landthem in court. Well, thesepositions are not contradic-tory, but are both right?

Well-written policies canboth serve as an effectivecommunication device and

help you stay out of court,or at least give you a betterchance of preventing unnecessary miscommuni-cations or incidents.

Policies and procedures(standard practices) arestatements and guidelinesof how the business and employee relations will begoverned, and are directivesfor administrative practicesand controls that must beobserved. Moreover, a pol-icy lays out what manage-

ment wants employees to do, and a procedure describes how it should bedone. Procedures describeexactly how to carry out thepolicy and contain muchmore detail.

This commentary will helpyou understand the value of having written policies, as well as the difference between a policy manualand employee handbook,and if you should have oneor the other, or both.

Several personnel managers I've talked tohave told me that they are getting contra-dictory information concerning the useful-ness and value of having written policies.



No provincial, territorial or federal law requires an organization to have a policymanual or employee hand-book. However, there arecertain policies that are re-quired by law. Every organi-zation should have a published privacy policy, violence in the workplacepolicy, health and safetypolicies, and a written policyabout non-discriminationand harassment as well assexual harassment. Ratherthan have five separate poli-cies, these can be combinedin a comprehensive manualand summed up in the employee handbook.

There are benefits to havingboth an employee handbook

and a policy manual as well.Companies can cover im-portant general topics, suchas sexual harassment, in anemployee handbook, butleave other items that mightcause problems in employeehandbooks, such as progres-sive discipline guidelines, inpolicy manuals where theyare far less likely to createunintended contracts.

Sound employment policieshave a positive impact onemployee relations. A hu-man resources policy man-ual and an employee hand-book describe to bothmanagers and employeeswhat the company expects ofthem, what the companyworkplace policies and

benefits are, and preventmisunderstandings.

Employers can use a care-fully written policy manualand employee handbook toillustrate their commitmentto a positive work environ-ment and non-discrimina-tory employment practices.

Clearly, the scope and pur-pose of these two documentsare quite different. Becauseof these differences, employ-ers should not attempt to useone manual to serve bothpurposes.

This article was written byYosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., Managing Editor at HRinfodesk.com.

HR MANAGEMENT

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Are You Required to Have Written Policies?

Well-writtenpolicies can bothserve as aneffectivecommunicationdevice and helpyou stay out ofcourt.



A phablet is a smartphonewith a screen that is inter-mediate in size betweenthat of a typical smartphoneand a tablet computer(phone + tablet = phablet).In 2013, phablet sales accounted for one-quarterof all smartphone sales, andwith Apple’s recent launchof the large iPhone 6 Plus,this number is expected tokeep growing. Construction

professionals have beenstruggling for the past fewyears over whether theyshould deploy tablets suchas the iPad onsite due to thelarge screen size, or investin company smartphonesthat allow for better collabo-ration. The struggle is possi-bly coming to an end withthe introduction of phabletdevices that provide the bestof both worlds.

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGYTrends to WatchThis Year

Technology is evolving at an exponentialrate. Each year there are more impressiveadvancements than the last, and the timebetween a technology being born and itspractical application becomes ever shorter.

This truth is relevant acrossthe board, and the con-struction industry is cer-tainly no exception. To putthis in perspective, considerthe fact that it wasn’t untilaround 2008 that laptopswere beginning to be usedon jobsites. By 2010, smart-phones had quickly becomethe new hot topic, and by2012 mobile apps andcloud-based technologiesbegan taking the industryby storm.

Given the speed at whichtechnology is advancing inthe construction industry,slow adoption today couldmean a large technical divide tomorrow. It is impor-tant for leaders to under-stand emerging trends andevaluate them upon their introduction to the industryin order to maintain a com-petitive advantage. With thisin mind, here are some ofthe top emerging trends in construction in 2015.

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Device Convergence: Phablets to Replace Tablets



We are moving towardstruly paperless jobsiteswhere drawings, punch listsand change orders areshared from the jobsite tothe office using a suite of integrated cloud-based applications. While paper-less is not synonymous withthe cloud, the two mustwork hand in hand in orderto achieve a working system.

Simply deploying one ormultiple cloud solutionsdoes not equal going paper-less. The key to a truly pa-perless jobsite, or even justa paperless process, is com-plete adoption of the soft-ware. When software lacksadoption then the processgenerally becomes frag-mented with portions beingcompleted within the soft-ware and portions being leftuntracked and managed viascattered paperwork and un-recorded notes – defeatingthe purpose of cloud-basedpaperless solutions.

Some good first steps to-wards achieving a paperlessjobsite are cloud-based doc-ument management solu-tions such as Google Drive,Dropbox or Box, mobileapps that encourage digitalinstead of physical input ofdaily notes and the deploy-ment of tablets or companysmartphones onsite. How-ever, since proper roll-out iscontingent on full teambuy-in, before any of theabove ideas are attempted,it’s important to engage theteam, understand their cur-rent challenges and work tofind a solution that willsolve their biggest painpoints first.


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NFC is a secure form of dataexchange that allows data tobe transferred from physicaltags to NFC-enabled de-vices. The technologyis frequently dis-cussed in relation tomobile payments(tap to pay and payfrom a phone). Thistechnology was just re-leased as a part of the newiPhone 6 and is already pres-ent on many Android andWindows devices. As NFCbegins to grow as a popularform of data exchange,

expect to see many uses for it in construction, especiallywith materials tracking, prefabrication and workforce

management. For example, NFC canbe used to track pre-fabricated sectionsof large structures

as they arrive onsite.Tracking these prefabri-

cated materials can helpquickly identify if an incor-rect section has been deliv-ered, or if parts are missingprior to installation–savingtime and labour costs.

Near-Field Communications (NFC) to Gain Popularity

Augmented Realityand Wearables to Make BIMand VDC More Accessible

Augmented reality technolo-gies, such as Google Glass,allow the user to see a digitalimage beside or on top oftheir view of the world. Theuse of these technologies inconstruction has the potentialto make virtual design andconstruction and BIM moreaccessible onsite. Using GPSalready present in most aug-mented reality technologies,users could sync their loca-tion data to a BIM model. Indoing so, they would havethe ability to see the 3D vir-tual view of the constructionoverlaid on the real-worldview of the jobsite with the click of a button. An interesting area to keep aneye on are technologies thatmake BIM data easier to manipulate for non-BIM experts via one-click optionsand user-friendly design.

Truly Paperless JobsitesGoogle Glass

This article was written byLauren Hasegawa, astructural engineeringgraduate with a back-ground in concreterestoration and the Co-Founder of Bridgit.

Bridgit focuses on devel-oping mobile-first solu-tions for the constructionindustry that help relieveon-site pain points, suchas punch list manage-ment.

Lauren can be reached at [email protected] 647-400-9948.



SAFETYTALK:

SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION

Cold stress is more than just frostbite—although that can be a concern. It’s a serious issue thatcan lead to hypothermia and even kill. Those working outside for long periods of time are mostat risk of cold stress. The locations on site at which you work and the materials you handle canall contribute to cold stress, so it’s important to always be on guard.

One of the most common mistakes you can make about cold stress is to assume that it will occur only on the coldest days of the year. In fact, cold stress is entirely subjective. Someonewho comes from a warmer part of the world can feel cold stress even when temperatures arenear the freezing mark.

The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association published the following Safety Talk on coldstress in the November 2014 edition of its 2-Minute News. We’ve reprinted it here to give youthe information you need to know to stay warm and stay safe during the cold winter months.

Cold Stress

WIND CHILLThe wind accelerates heatloss. For example, whenthe air temperature is –30°C,• with 16 km/h wind

(a flag will be fully extended) your skin can freeze in about aminute

• with 48 km/h wind your skin can freeze in 30 seconds.

FROSTBITEThis means that your fleshfreezes. Blood vessels aredamaged and the reducedblood flow can lead to gangrene. Frostbitten skinlooks waxy and feels numb.Once tissue becomes hard,it’s a medical emergency.

Treatment• Get medical aid.• Warm area with body

heat—do not rub.• Don’t thaw hands and

feet unless medical aid isdistant and there’s nochance of refreezing.Body parts are betterthawed at a hospital.

HYPOTHERMIAThis means your core temperature drops.

Moderate symptoms• shivering• blue lips and fingers• slow breathing and

heart rate• disorientation and

confusion• poor coordination

Severe symptoms• unconsciousness• heart slowdown to the

point where pulse is irregular or hard to find

• no shivering• no detectable breathing• resembles death—

assume casualty is alive

Treatment• Hypothermia can kill—get

medical aid immediately.• Carefully remove

casualty to shelter. (Sudden movement canupset heart rhythm.)

• Keep casualty awake.• Remove wet clothing

and wrap casualty inwarm covers.

• Apply direct body heat—rewarm neck, chest, abdomen, and groin, but not extremities.

• If conscious, give warm,sweet drinks.

Winter’s upon us, which means that it’s soon going to start gettingcold. Really cold. Unfortunately, construction isn’t the kind of business that stops for a rainy day or when the mercury plummets.That means that you and your workers need to be aware of coldstress, how to keep it from happening, and how to treat it if it sets in.

Explain the DANGERS of cold stressWhen you’re cold, blood vessels in your skin, arms, and legs constrict, decreasing the blood flow to your extremities. This helps your critical organs stay warm, but you risk frostbite in your extremities.



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Identify ControlsHere’s how to control cold stress:• Wear several layers of

clothing rather than onethick layer to capture airas an insulator.

• Wear synthetic fabrics nextto the skin to “wick” awaysweat.

• If conditions require, wear a waterproof or wind-resistant outer layer.

• Wear warm gloves.• Wear hats and hoods.

You may need a balaclava.• Tight-fitting footwear

restricts blood flow. Youshould be able to wear either one thick or twothin pairs of socks.

• If your clothing gets wet at2°C or less, change intodry clothes immediatelyand get checked for hypothermia.

• If you get hot while working, open your jacket but keep your hat andgloves on.

• Take warm, high-caloriedrinks and food.

Recommendationsfor EmployersThe United States Centersfor Disease Control andPrevention recommendsthat employers take the following steps to protectworkers from the dangersof cold stress:• Schedule maintenance

and repair jobs in cold areas for warmer months.

• Schedule cold jobs for the warmer part of the day.

• Reduce the physical demands of workers.

• Use relief workers or assign extra workers forlong, demanding jobs.

• Provide warm liquids toworkers.

• Provide warm areas foruse during break periods.

• Monitor workers who areat risk of cold stress.

• Provide cold stress training that includes information about:- worker risk- prevention- symptoms- the importance of monitoring yourself andcoworkers for symptoms

- treatment- personal protectiveequipment

The United States Centersfor Disease Control and Pre-vention suggests that workersshould avoid exposure to extremely cold temperatureswhen possible. When coldenvironments or tempera-tures cannot be avoided,workers should follow theserecommendations to protectthemselves from cold stress:• Wear appropriate clothing.• Tight clothing reduces

blood circulation. Warmblood needs to be circu-lated to the extremities.

• When choosing clothing,be aware that some clothing may restrictmovement resulting in ahazardous situation.

• Make sure to protect theears, face, hands and feetin extremely cold weather.

• Boots should be water-proof and insulated.

• Wear a hat; it will keepyour whole body warmer.

(Hats reduce the amountof body heat that escapesfrom your head.)

• Move into warm locationsduring work breaks; limitthe amount of time outsideon extremely cold days.

• Carry cold weather gear,such as extra socks, gloves,hats, jacket, blankets, achange of clothes and athermos of hot liquid.

• Include a thermometerand chemical hot packs inyour first aid kit.

• Avoid touching cold metalsurfaces with bare skin.

• Monitor your physicalcondition and that of yourcoworkers.

Recommendationsfor Workers

For more informationon this and othersafety-related topics, seewww.ihsa.ca.



As we approach the newyear, and the holiday partiesthat go with it, the construc-tion industry has plenty tocelebrate. Not only did in-vestment in this sector sur-pass $300 billion in 2014—more than doubling its 2004total of $140 billion—but acombination of new and upcoming projects, as wellas continuing strong de-

mand, give us reason to believe this good fortune will endure into 2015.

The average annual growthrate in this sector will likelysit between three and fivepercent in 2015 and beyond.When you consider the federal government’s recentdecision to earmark $5.8 bil-lion over three years for theconstruction and renovation

of federally owned infra-structure projects, and the600 resource projects alreadyscheduled to be completedacross the country over thenext decade, this level ofgrowth appears to be wellwithin reach.

That said, there are defi-nitely challenges ahead.Canada’s construction industry is facing a severe

labour shortage—one thatwill have to be addressedsoon if the industry hopes toachieve its projected rate ofgrowth. Escalating housingprices will also affect con-struction trends. As morebuyers are priced out of theToronto housing market,communities like those inGrand Valley will have toadapt or risk losing out.

Looking forward to 2015—and beyond

While all signs point to a prosperous 2015, the construction industry must lay the groundwork for continued success in the years to come.

A Disappearing Labour Force

Over the next decade, approximately a quarter ofthe construction industry’sexisting workforce will re-tire, according to Build-Force Canada—a trendthat will result in a signifi-cant labour shortfall. Dur-ing this same time period,demand for constructionworkers is expected to growconsiderably.

At first glance, this mayseem counter-intuitive. Af-ter all, between 1976 and1999, a period of 23 years,the industry’s workforcegrew by 86,400 employees,according to the CanadianConstruction Association.In the 14 years that fol-lowed, it grew by a remark-able 580,000. Despite thisgrowth rate, industry unem-

ployment currently hoversat roughly eight percent,versus industry highs of 12percent. That means themajority of constructionworkers currently in theworkforce already have jobs.To fill the labour gaps likelyto open as retirement ratesrise, the industry will haveto look elsewhere.

Approximately 300,000 newconstruction workers will berequired by 2023, accordingto BuildForce Canada.While 167,000 of theseworkers will come from tra-ditional training sources,the rest will have to comefrom other industries,provinces and countries.

To attract out-of-provinceworkers, labour mobility

and migration legislationmust be improved. This in-volves changing the labourmobility provisions of theAgreement on InternalTrade, implementing a mo-bility tax credit or othersuch incentive, and harmo-nizing apprenticeship train-ing programs.

Immigration must also bestrengthened. Steps are al-ready being made in this re-gard with the new Expres-sion of Interest systemcoming in 2015. This newlegislation will make perma-nent entry into Canadamuch more responsive tolabour market needs—butthe construction industry re-quires a better answer to itsshort-term needs as well.With the recent announce-

ment by the federal govern-ment to curtail the ForeignWorker Program, this willlikely have implications onthe construction industry. Astronger Temporary ForeignWorker Program wouldlikely be that answer and, assuch, should be at the top ofthe industry’s wish list.

FINANCIAL FOCUS



As housing prices across thecountry maintain their hotstreak, home buyers are feel-ing the pinch. Toronto, forexample, reached a record-breaking average price of$546,303 in August—an 8.9 percent increase fromthe same period in 2013, according to the TorontoReal Estate Board—forcinga growing number of home-owners to flee the city in favourof more affordable areas.

Grand Valley is a notablebeneficiary of this migra-tion and, so far, the real estate industry is respond-ing to this rising demand.In 2014, it saw a record-setting level of housingstarts, with the $250,000-$300,000 price range beingthe most popular.

As building costs continue toescalate, however, develop-ers will be forced to adapt ifthey plan to meet the needsof today’s price-crunchedhomeowners. Canada Mort-gage and Housing Corpora-tion expects a decrease insingle-detached starts in theKitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area in 2015,largely due to the fact thatbuilding costs are too high tosell homes in the $250,000–$300,000 range.

Instead, developers will fo-cus on townhouses and con-dominiums. While thenumber of new housingstarts in these areas won’t bequite as high as the record-breaking pace they set in2014, townhouse starts willremain stable in 2015 and

condos are expected to remain strong in this areathrough 2016.

Since crystal balls don’t ex-ist, no one knows for certainwhat the future may hold.One of the concerns in themarket is that rising interestrates and debt load will re-sult in lack of affordability,and we could see the soften-ing of the market. Evenwith this possibility, 2015should see another stronghousing market. To ensure

this prosperity continues,however, industry stake-holders will have to work together today to preventthe potential damage thatinsufficient labour and soaring house prices willcause tomorrow.

This article was written byBo Mocherniak, national industry leader of the construction, real estate and hospitality practice atGrant Thornton LLP.

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GVCA’s Economic Forecast Event



“The results of our work will be tangi-ble,” says Pierre Boucher, CCInnova-tion’s first president. “Owners, archi-tects, engineers, manufacturers andsuppliers, builders and the society atlarge will benefit.”

Appointed to this position in August,Boucher had previously taken the leadto establish the Institute for Building Information Modelling in Canada(IBC) and other initiatives through theCanadian Construction Association(CCA) over the last 20 years.

In his experience, the construction industry could do a better job of invest-ing in and implementing advancedtechnologies and business processes. Hepoints to a recent report from the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics, which saidconstruction is the only sector that hasdecreased in productivity since 1964.

Boucher believes the Canadian construction industry is just as troubledas its U.S. counterpart.

“These are ongoing data that suggestwe need to do things better—equipourselves with the latest tools, and ifthe tools are not there, create them,whether they’re for scheduling, communication, sharing of data, or teamwork,” Boucher says.

He suggests that construction firmscould be doing more. For instance,software companies already offer computer programs to help contrac-tors identify and report project defi-ciencies. The challenge is to get businesses to use those solutions. “We have to push that within the industry so it becomes a commontool,” Boucher says.

Construction’s high-tech reluctancealigns with corporate Canada’s modusoperandi—an approach that holds theentire country back. Boucher notesthat the World Economic Forum(WEF) in September ranked Canada’seconomy 15th out of 144 in terms of

global competitiveness, down one spot from 2013, making for our worstshowing since 2006. Low levels of private sector R&D hamper our economic performance. So does thefact that governments are slow toadopt advanced technology.

Boucher has witnessed that first hand.Governments manage buildings andproperties poorly. “Many municipalgovernments don’t even have systemsto capture the assets they have, andthe maintenance programs required,”he says.

He adds that given Canada’s strong education system and stable economy,Canadian organizations should be further ahead with technology and innovation adoption.

Boucher calls on the industry to em-brace new ideas. He believes peoplenow entering the workforce are willingto do that. “I think the new generationis open to innovation,” he says. Youngpeople understand the need to com-pete not only here in Canada, but alsoaround the world in an increasinglyglobal race to win contracts.

Boucher adds that GVCA memberswho would like to take part should contact him directly for more information: 613-688-2485,[email protected].

Construction innovation group’sfirst presidentpromises practical

he new president of Canadian Construction Innovations (CCInnovations) says the organizationwill turn high-tech concepts into real products and services that contractors and developers can

use to save time, reduce costs and improve profits.T

progress.



Back in 2009, the Canadian Construc-tion Association (CCA) alongside Ryerson University and the NationalResearch Council investigated the stateof innovation in the sector. Their report,Roadmap to Research and Innovationin the Canadian Construction Indus-try—Towards a Change ManagementStrategy, was one of the driving forcesbehind the creation of CCInnovations,which aims to improve the use of tech-nologies and best business practicesamong Canadian construction firms.That report also revealed a number offacts about the construction market. A few salient points:

• The sector saw a big boost in eco-nomic activity between 1999 and2009, increasing from $49.1 billion to reach $74.9 billion. Constructioncame to represent 6 percent ofCanada’s gross domestic product(GDP). The industry has generated asignificant share of GDP since 1961.

• Productivity levels have, on average,improved across the full range ofCanadian businesses since the 1960s,but productivity levels in construc-tion have ebbed and flowed—anddipped noticeably in certain periods.

• Construction companies face numerous and equally challengingbarriers to innovation. In a survey,54.8 percent of construction-company respondents said lack offunding is the prime problem. Butjust as many (54.8 percent again)pointed to a lack of time. Fragmenta-tion of research (48.4 percent), cost(41.9 percent) and regulations andstandards (35.5 percent) rounded out the top-five difficulties.

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Construction Generates Economic Activity, But Productivity is Poor

Establish a Technical Council

Convene a group of construction ex-perts—including contractors, buildersand others—to guide CCInnovations’work. The advisory board will help en-sure the organization’s technology andbusiness-improvement projects speakto real industry needs.

Provide an Innovation-News Portal

“We want to create a one-stop shopwhere people can see what’s beingcommercialized,” Boucher says. Theweb resource will highlight construc-tion R&D updates. Armed with thisinformation, construction-companydecision-makers will be able to envi-sion how advancements might affecttheir businesses.

Diversify the Membership

CCInnovations counts among itsfounders and funders the CanadianConstruction Association (CCA), ClarkBuilders and Lafarge Canada. Boucherplans to help expand the list. The morecompanies that are involved, the strongerthe organization’s financial backbonewill be—and that spells additional re-sources for innovation projects, he says.

Three Steps Toward Construction Innovation

1 2 3

Pierre Boucher, president of CCInnovations, says this relatively new organizationplans to tackle difficulties the construction industry faces with respect to adoptingnew technologies and better business operations. He outlines three prime focusareas for CCInnovations in the near term:



The day began with a keynote addressfrom Mark Caseletto, vice-presidentand general manager of Reed Construction Data. Caseletto told theaudience that Canada ranks among thebest performing construction marketsin the world today, adding that expertsexpect our national construction market to grow steadily and healthilyfor the next decade. For a detailedsummary of Caseletto’s remarks, please see our companion piece, Construction Ahead on page 26.

Following Caseletto’s overview remarks,the discussion shifted to the discretespending plans of some of the major

local buyers of construction services.Purchasing authorities from the cities of Cambridge, Waterloo, Kitchener andGuelph, the Waterloo Region publicand catholic school boards; WilfredLaurier University, the University ofGuelph and Conestoga College each presented their estimations of construction spending in 2015.

By and large, the news they shared was good. (See below for a detailed discussion of each purchaser’s spendingplans.) Non-residential building, infra-structure renewal and expansion, transitand waste water and water treatmentwill be the drivers of constructionspending over the next 10 years.

The presenters’ remarks serve to supportwhat experts are already saying aboutour regional economy in 2015: that itwill be one of the fastest growingeconomies in the country in 2015.

Get ready, GVCA members!

hat’s ahead for construction in our region nextyear? That’s the question that GVCA helpedanswer on behalf of its members at a very special information session on November 12.W

Construction

FORECAST

“This year, we have seenan increase in newer

construction and largeradditions, and 2015’s

outlook appears similar.”– Hardy Bromberg, City of Cambridge



Economic Forecast: Region of WaterlooKen Seiling, chair of the Region of Waterloo, said that while populationgrowth was down in the region (typically the region attracts between8,000 and 9,000 new residents annually;2013’s total, however was closer to5,500), the region remains one of themunicipal areas in the country that experts suggest will grow healthily.

In terms of specific spending plans, Seiling said the region has about $1 million set aside for spending onsewer and water upgrades and plants.Over the next 10 years, its annual capital spend is expected to total $3.9 billion. That figure includes underground work, as well as construc-tion and renovation of new and existingbuilding assets. Two projects in particu-lar that could come on line in the nearfuture are the expansion of the region’swaste management centre, and construction of a new $73-million Grand River Transit garage.

Economic Forecast: City of KitchenerChief administrative officer JeffWillmer told the audience that the cityplans to spend about $40 million onengineering projects in 2015. Most ofthat money will be directed to new roadconstruction and re-construction of assets such as sanitary sewers, roads, water mains, bridges and storm water infrastructure. Some of the more note-worthy projects on the city’s to-do listinclude underground utility relocationsto support the light rail construction(valued at $6 million for a 10-kilometrestretch), the reconstruction of the Margaret Avenue bridge (with $4.5 million), and upgrades to the FreeportSanitary Pumping Station ($8 million).

Meanwhile, the city’s facilities manage-ment department has a budget of $2.5million to spend on construction in2015. Most of that money will be spenton several interior renovation andHVAC upgrade projects at City Hall. Finally, the city’s budget for constructionon active parkland increased by $2.1million for 2015. Planned projects include $1 million for grading and stormwater management work at the SouthDistrict Park and $1.4 million for the rehabilitation of Upper Canada Park.

Economic Forecast: City of WaterlooPurchasing manager Tracie Bell andher colleague Ron Ormson, directorof engineering and construction, gave a detailed summary of the Cityof Waterloo’s construction spendingplans for 2015.

The city’s capital budget is approxi-mately $68 million. The city expectsto allocate about 70 percent of that total to road, water, sewer andstormwater projects.

The balance of Waterloo’s capitalbudget will be spent on the followingbuilding projects:

• service centre expansion (estimatedconstruction budget of $10 million)

• various facilities energy retrofits (estimated at $3.5 million)

• Canadian Clay and Glass GalleryRenovations (estimated at$750,000)

• RIM Park indoor artificial turf (estimated at $600,000)

• WMRC Swimplex renovations(scheduled for winter and spring 2015)

• Waterloo City Hall solar panel ex-pansion (scheduled for spring 2015)



Economic Forecast:

Wilfrid Laurier UniversityMark Dettweiler, director of planning,design and construction, explained thatthe university has one major project underway, and several more planned.

Work is already well underway on theWaterloo Campus’s two-phase GlobalInnovation Exchange project. Phase 1sees construction of a new 215,000-square foot building to house theSchool of Business and Economics andthe Department of Mathematics. Thatproject has a $66-million constructionbudget, and is expected to be finishedin the fall of 2015.

Phase 2 is the Peters/Schlegel Buildingretrofit and renovation. The universityhas earmarked $10 million for the pro-ject’s construction budget, and the jobis expected to be tendered in fall 2015for construction in 2016.

Also planned for construction in 2015 isthe Brantford Athletic and RecreationCentre. The 148,000-square foot build-ing will include three gymnasia, a swim-ming pool, and a fitness centre. Built inpartnership with the YMCA, the build-ing has a $44-million constructionbudget. Phase 1 of project is currentlyunderway, while Phase 2 is in the finalstages of contract document preparation.

Economic Forecast: Conestoga CollegeCollege president John Tibbits ex-plained that the college has a numberof projects planned in the foreseeablefuture. It plans to spend between $10million and $20 million on work at its Cambridge Campus, between $3 million and $5 million annually atits Doon Campus, and $20 million to$25 million on a new Guelph site.

Economic Forecast: City of CambridgeCommissioner of planning and development Hardy Bromberg told members thatthe value of building permits issued by the City of Cambridge in 2014 is on trackto blow previous totals out of the water. Where totals for 2011 and 2012, for exam-ple, averaged around the $150-million mark, 2014’s annual construction value todate—that is, through October—is $341 million. Bromberg added that he expectsmore of the same in the city in 2015.

“The number of permits issued over the past four years is relatively consistent,” hesaid. “We found more emphasis on renovations, upgrades and minor additions in2011 and 2012. This year, we have seen an increase in newer construction andlarger additions, and 2015’s outlook appears similar.”



Economic Forecast: University of GuelphJohn Vanos, a manager with the univer-sity’s design, engineering and construc-tion purchasing centre, explained that heand his colleagues manage about 200projects worth a combined $275 million.

Over the next five years, he said theuniversity plans to spend anywhere be-tween $38 million and $53 million be-tween major projects, such as small andlarge new builds, and capital renewalprojects, which include upgrades andrepairs to existing building systems.

Notably, the university will spend lessmoney in each of the next five years onnew builds and more on capital renewalprojects. The reason for this, said Vanos,is that the university has a major energy-renewal project underway that will re-quire significant work on mechanicaland electrical systems, for example.

Economic Forecast: Waterloo Region District School BoardStephen Case, manager of purchasing,distribution and risk services at Water-loo Region District School Board, toldthe audience that the board plans tospend about $75 million in new construction and renewal work in 2015.

Projects include Westmount PublicSchool in Kitchener, which is underconstruction, four new schools at thetender stage: New Elmira RiversidePublic School in Elmira, New GrohDrive and Chicopee Hills PublicSchools both in Kitchener and New Vista Hills Public School in Waterloo; and 35 small to mediumprojects at various sites within the Waterloo Region.

Economic Forecast: WaterlooCatholic DistrictSchool BoardJeff Admans, manager of supplyand administrative services in-dicated that the school boardplans to spend about $12.5 mil-lion on three projects in 2015:additions and renovations tothe Holy Spirit and St. Anneschools in Cambridge and St.Aloysius in Kitchener, the totalvalue of all of which is around$8 million; additional facility sosupport full-day kindergarten atSt. Mark and possible St. Do-minic in Kitchener, whichcould be worth $500,000 com-bined; and capital improve-ments to various locations totaling $4 million.

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The GVCA’s Economic Forecast eventon November 12 led off with a keynoteaddress from Mark Caseletto, vice-presi-dent and general manager for ReedConstruction Data. Caseletto focusedhis remarks on the drivers of the globalconstruction market. His conclusion:Canada’s annual construction spendnext year will be the fourth largest inthe world—which is particularly impressive given our comparatively

small population—and will continue to be strong for the next 10 years.

Driving a great deal of that growth, ofcourse, will be major resource construc-tion projects. Here in Ontario alone,projects worth hundreds of millions ofdollars are planned or already in theground in areas such as mining, elec-tricity and oil and gas. The largestamong these include the Black ThorChromite Deposit mine in Kenora,

which is valued at $3.3 billion, and theEagle’s Nest mine (also in Kenora), valued a $1 billion. Work is alsoplanned or underway on such jobs asthe Eastern Mainline Pipeline Project,which begins in Markham and is valuedat $592 million, and the MarmoraPump Storage project in Mamora,which is valued at $660 million.

Additional transportation-sector projects—such as Toronto’s EglintonCrosstown LRT project ($2.2 billion),the Detroit River International Crossing($1 billion), and the Sheppard EastCorridor expansion of the TTC ($950 million) – will further contribute to growth in Ontario.

In part as a result of such activity,Canada’s real GDP growth in the nextthree years is expected to climb by between 2.5 and 3.2 percent annually.

eed Construction Data vice-president Mark Caseletto gave attendees at the GVCA’s Economic Forecast event some insight into forecast trends for our industry in the next two to

three years. And the news is good.R

aheadConstruction

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The forecast for other indicators ofgrowth, such demand for non-residentialstructures (up between 2 percent and 6.2percent annually), exports (up between3.6 and 4.5 percent), and the unemploy-ment rate (annual rates of between 6.3and 6.9 percent) is also positive.

Of course not all of the constructionwork to be performed in the short andmedium terms will be of the massive variety. Ongoing smaller projects—thekind of work on which many GVCAmembers depend—will matter too.Signs suggest that housing starts nation-ally are trending at a steady rate. Annualstarts in Ontario will dip slightly between 2014 and 2015, before growingagain in 2016. The national totals follow much the same pattern, as dostarts in the GTA and a number of othermajor urban centres.

Nationally, commercial constructionstarts are expected to trend upward ineach of the next three years—and muchthe same pattern is forecasted for com-

mercial starts in Ontario in particular.Demand for office buildings, as well ashotels and motels, is expected to in-crease. The outlook for mall and retailstarts is equally positive. Industrial startswill perform less well, but positivelynonetheless over the next two to threeyears, as will starts in the institutionalsector.

Overall, Reed Construction Data expects demand for non-residentialbuildings to rise by almost 33 percentbetween 2014 and 2016; demand inOntario is expected to jump by almost66 percent over the same period.

Finally, Reed’s forecast for engineeringprojects also appears strong. Spendingnationally is expected to crest $292 billion in 2014, before growing over$300 billion in 2015, over $319 billionin 2016 and $340 billion in 2017.Worth noting is the fact that Ontariowill be the second-largest market in the country for engineering projects—after Alberta.

Overall, Reed Construction Data expects demand for non-residential buildingsto rise by almost 33 percent between 2014 and2016; demand in Ontariois expected to jump by almost 66 percent overthe same period.

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In the most recent edition of its Con-struction and Maintenance LookingForward report, BuildForce Canadasuggests that construction employmentin Ontario will continue to grow overthe next 10 years. Indeed, the organiza-tion estimates that our provincial con-struction industry will need to recruitmore than 37,600 workers from othermarkets to meet local requirements.

According to the BuildForce report,construction work in the GTA will putthe greatest strain on the provincialconstruction workforce through 2023.While work in other regions of theprovince—the North and Southwest in particular—will flare up for brief periods and then fall quiet. Employersin our Central region will benefit fromsteady growth of between plus or minus

two percent over average annual rates.BuildForce estimates that a sharp jumpin residential construction will brieflytighten the labour market for suchtrades in the next few years, but on balance the market will perform consis-tently. The challenge for our employersis the push and pull factors that willdraw migrant construction workersaway from our region and into the various hotspots that flare up across the province over the forecast period.

“These changes leave the constructionindustry with a complex human re-sources planning challenge,” reads thereport. “Each Ontario region will havea mix of local, skilled trades working inother provinces and non-residents working locally. It will be important toattract or retain a net, permanent

Steady growth in our region,but competition for workersfrom GTA and Southwest.

ith all the construction activity planned forour region—and the neighbouring GreaterToronto Area—between now and the late2010s, don’t be surprised if your company

has a hard time finding local construction workers.W

Labour forecast

2015GVCA Journal Quark-13_Layout 1 2014-12-15 10:26 AM


addition in each market. Training andretaining all the workers needed locallyis a priority. Some of this new workforcewill come from the current populationof non-resident workers. At the sametime, the industry must recruit new con-struction workers from each regionalpopulation to fill the larger recruitingcomplement for retirements. All thismust be managed in the broader context of competing demands for con-struction workers in other provinces.”

Central Ontario: Growth Through2017, Competing for WorkersWith GTA and the SouthwestDemand for workers in our region willbe concentrated in the first part of theBuildForce forecast period. Specifi-cally, between now and 2017, whencyclical demands associated with majorengineering projects such as light railwill test the local workforce.

The other challenge for our area isproximity to two regional hot spots. According to BuildForce, “there is asmall surge in non-residential construc-tion in the Southwest, where highway,bridge and utility work is scheduledfrom 2014 to 2017. These projects addmore than 3,000 jobs, rising to a peakin 2017 and then subsiding. Thesegains coincide with a housing cycle,and labour requirements exceed theavailable local workforce in most tradesand occupations.”

Additionally, BuildForce expects the GTA to become a major hub ofconstruction activity through the early 2020s.

“Projects [planned between 2014 and 2019] include “The Big Move”improvements to the transit systemand the refurbishment of the Darling-ton nuclear facility. Again, the timingis uncertain, but these are among the largest engineering projects announced in Canada and their sizesmandate that work be spread acrossmost of the scenario period. In manycases, project plans suggest that activity will peak as late as 2019. Thisleaves the GTA with rising labour requirements and potentially tightmarkets late in the scenario period.”

Thus, employers may have to con-sider attracting new workers fromnon-traditional labour sources, orfinding new ways to convince workersto stay in our region.

Trades in DemandWhich trades are in demand? Build-Force says it’s those most commonlyused on commercial and industrialbuilding projects, since these are thesources of work that are most stableand less prone to the peaks and valleysassociated with big engineering proj-ects, for example.

Commercial activity is expected torise in all regions of the province, as isindustrial-sector activity. The com-bined strength of growth in thesecomponents is expected to offsetweaker and more cyclical demand forinstitutional projects. The market for

schools, hospitals and other such proj-ects was strong between 2007 and2011. BuildForce expects demand todecline through the early part of itsforecast scenario before rising in themiddle to latter stages as new infra-structure investment becomes a gov-ernment priority.

Those trades in greatest demand, says BuildForce, are boilermakers, construction millwrights, electricians,elevator installers, floor covering in-stallers, glaziers, painters and decora-tors, plasterers and drywall installers,plumbers, refrigeration and air condi-tioning mechanics, roofers and shin-glers, and tilesetters.

Does yourcompany pay livingwages?The GVCA recently threw its support behind the Living Wage policy, a socialinitiative that encourages employers to pay their workers enough money tocover their families’ basic expenses.

Living wages differ from community to community, and are calculated basedon a family of four with both adults working full-time, year-round at 37.5hours per week. The living wage includes expenses such as food, clothing,shelter, childcare, transportation, medical expenses, recreation and a modest vacation. It does not include retirement savings, debt repayment, home ownership, savings for children's education, or anything other than the smallest cushion for emergencies or hard times.

Waterloo Region's current living wage rate is $16/hour for employees that do not receive any non-mandatory benefits.

“Fortunately, most of the construction industry meets this living wage,” says GVCA president Martha George, “but if you know workers who do not (or those of your subs), it's time to step up to this (low) benchmark. We want our community to eradicate child poverty and that starts with living wages for parents.”



It’s steady as she goes as far as the re-gion’s housing outlook is concerned. Inits latest forecast for the local housingmarket, Canada Mortgage and HousingCorporation (CMHC) says housingstarts in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (KCW) area will remain at or around historical averages through2016. Guelph’s market is consideredslightly more volatile, yet nonethelessproductive.

In terms of the KCW market, CMHCforecasts 2,755 housing starts in 2015and about the same again in 2016.Many of the starts in those totals will

come from apartment buildings andother forms of multi-unit construction.Indeed, CMHC forecasts single-familystarts to hover somewhere between 700and 800 units through 2016. There areseveral reasons behind this trend. Thecost to build single-family homes is driving developers away from producingaffordable models. What’s more, devel-opers have a slight build-up of unsoldinventory, which is further causingthem to consider scaling back construc-tion next year and beyond.

All this is good news for condominiumand apartment builders. According to

CMHC, condominium starts will bestrong through 2016. Developers havealready snapped up most of the landalong the light rail route in anticipationof building new mixed-use towers. Condominium starts are already wellunderway and more are planned fornext year. As a result of increased con-dominium construction, rental apart-ment starts are expected to fall back.CMHC forecasts that the student-housing buildings already under con-struction and those few planned addi-tional projects will be sufficient to meetdemand in this market segment.

In all, CMHC is bullish about the KCWregion. The local economy is on track tosupport housing demand through 2016.Employment growth is expected to increase by two percent in 2015, whileestablished and start-up technology companies are creating new jobs.

Additionally, says the CMHC’s Fall2014 Housing Market Outlook,

Demand for new single-family homes won’t behigh in our area in 2015 and 2016, but Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation expects multi-unit towers to spring up along

the light rail line in particular.

CMHCForecastSTEADY GROWTH IN THE LOCALHOME BUILDING MARKET



“both residential and non-residential construction projects willcreate jobs in 2014 and in the years ahead, boosted by com-mercial and apartment construction near the LRT. In additionto greater employment in non-residential construction, manu-facturing employment is expected to continue to increase.”

Guelph: Starts Lower in 2015Although CMHC expects home starts to fall in Guelph in2015, it’s only fair to mention that 2014 was among the busiestyears for home starts in the city in a decade. Starts in 2015 and2016 are expected to float around the 800-unit mark, figuresthat are more in keeping with historic trends. Of those totals,slightly less than half are expected to come from the apart-ment and condominium segment.

Apartment starts will be lower in 2015 as developers try to selloff existing inventory before building anew. Yet there is an appetite for many residents to buy such units. Resale prices are growing at between four and five percent annually, which is causing demand for new multi-unit struc-tures. Empty nesters and students are also pushing demand for multi-unit properties.

According to CMHC, Guelph is well positioned for growth in2015, particularly as the United States economy grows and theCanadian dollar weakens. Such trends should help employersin Guelph’s manufacturing sector. CMHC also expects theconstruction sector to add jobs.

ConstructionInsurance & Surety Specialists

Kevan Thompson Industry Leader,

Vice President Construction

Phone: 519-650-6363 ext. 41552 Toll free: 1-866-578-6030

[email protected] www.cowangroup.ca

programs

surety solutions

management team

global capabilities

CONSTRUCTION



Yet more can always be done to improve the delivery and applicationof safety programs. Construction is aparticularly high-risk industry, andstubbornly accounts for about 30 per-cent of the traumatic workplace-related

fatalities in the province in a givenyear. It’s no secret that the Ministry ofLabour and its Prevention Office havetargeted our industry in particular toeffect real changes in the way healthand safety training is delivered byproviders and used by workers on site.

As many as three new safety training pro-grams and policies for everyday workerscould come into effect in 2015. And ifyou work in construction, you will un-doubtedly be affected by at least one.

ntario has one of the most advanced occupationalhealth and safety systems in North America. In2012, Ontario had the lowest allowed lost-time injury rate in the country, at 1.01 per 100 workers.O

Get Safe(r), Ontario!Three new safety training programs and policies could golive on Ontario construction sites in the next 12 months.

New safety trainingprograms in 2015.



Joint Health and Safety Committee Training

The Ministry of Labour last updated itsrequirements for specialized trainingfor joint health and safety committeemembers in 1996. Its new programand provider standards, which were released in May, have been created to promote the high quality and consis-tent training of certified JHSC mem-bers. When they go live, which is expected to be some time late nextyear, the new standards will includepart one training that would be genericto all workplaces where certified JHSCmembers are required, regardless ofsector, and part two training that would be sector-specific.

Part of the challenge with the existingJHSC standards was that many members stopped their training aftercompleting part one. That meant thatthe issue of dealing with many sector-specific hazards was largely ignored.The new part two training will focuson the concepts of recognition, assessment and control of hazards, and evaluation of the hazard controlsfor a minimum of six sector hazards,and those who complete part onetraining will be required to completeat least some of part two. Retrainingevery three years will be a new requirement of this standard.

Working at Heights

Everyone remembers the horrificswing stage collapse that occurredon Christmas Eve in 2009 andwhich killed four workers. Amongother things, that accident drew ahard line under the fact that fallscontinue to be among the construc-tion industry’s biggest killers. Tothat end, the Ministry of Labourhas released a new standard forworking at heights that will requireall workers who use fall protectionsystems to complete an approvedtraining program that meets the requirements of the working atheights training program standardestablished by the Prevention Of-fice. The standard aims to elevatethe importance of preventing fallsfrom heights, provide workers whomay be exposed to fall hazards withgeneral safety practices to worksafely at heights, give workers whouse personal fall protection equip-ment sufficient knowledge about itspurpose and use, and reduce thenumber of fall-from-heights inci-dents, injuries and fatalities.

The standard is expected to go livelate in the first quarter of 2015 orearly in the second. It will apply toanyone who works at heights with a particular focus on the needs of vulnerable workers. It will also offersupports and tools to help smallcontractors to come into compliance. www.knells.ca



The 2015 GVCASafety Group: Apply Today!

If your company has been sitting on the fence about whether to join theGVCA’s Safety Group, you’d better actsoon. Time is running out to registerfor the 2015 group. The GVCA is accepting applications only throughDecember 31.

There are many reasons why you’d joina safety group. The most obvious is tocreate a health and safety managementsystem that’s tailored to your company’sprecise needs. In turn, this helps reduce the risk of accidents and cut thepremiums you pay to the WorkplaceSafety and Insurance Board.

The other great reason to join: a poten-tial reduction in your WSIB premiums.Members that successfully completethe program may receive rebates of upto six percent on their annual premiums.

GVCA’s Safety Group has consistentlybeen among the top performers in theprovince. The 2013 group was thehighest scoring construction group inOntario. It earned a score of 5.84 per-cent out of a possible six percent—anda total rebate of $477,193 that wasshared among 54 members.

For more information about theGVCA’s Safety Group program, or to learn about Safety Group Lite—astreamlined, no-commitment version of the full Safety Group, but withoutthe rebates—contact [email protected] or 519-622-4822, ext. 120.

On the topic of getting safer,why not make2015 the year yourcompany gets the CORball rolling?

As most people know by now, CORis the Certificate of Recognition program that came to Ontario in2012. It is a nationally recognizedtool that employers can use to assess their health and safety managementsystems.

COR is already recognized as a standard for health and safety inother parts of the country, and ispoised to assume a similar role inOntario in the near future. Alreadysome major buyers of constructionservices such as Infrastructure Ontario and the Toronto TransitCommission require contractors tobe COR certified as a condition ofcontract. More owners are expectedto follow suit, and in the not-too-distant future, general contractorsmay start requiring their subtradesand suppliers to be COR certified.

Beginning in February, GVCA is offering its members two particularsupports to get COR certified. The first is a members-only training session led by an instructor from the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA), the agency thatadministers the COR standard in Ontario.

The second is a Program of Supportaimed at helping members workthrough the process of meetingCOR’s elements and, vitally, prepar-ing for the desk and site audits thatlead to certification. The Program of

Support will beled by EllalineDavies, the presi-

dent of Safety WorksConsulting Inc., and the

facilitator of the GVCA’sSafety Groups program.

“Our goal with the Program of Support is to get people movingalong the path to becoming CORcertified,” says Davies. “We want togive them the help and guidancethey need to be successful in this process.”

Getting COR certified is a big job,particularly for small to medium-sized companies that may not havethe resources to devote to the endeavour. Davies, who is a trainedauditor, wants to help make theprocess easier for such companies.

“If you’re a company that’s thinkingabout getting COR certification, I’drecommend you get on this trainnow,” says Davies. “COR is only going to become more widespread as the years pass, and if you’re at thepoint where you want to grow yourbusiness or find new clients, CORmay help unlock doors. I don’t thinkCOR is going away and the earlieryou start this process, the better offyou’ll be in the long run. After all,COR doesn’t happen overnight.”

If your company is interested in taking the GVCA’s COR trainingprogram and joining the Program of Support, act now. There are fewer than 20 spaces available formembers in each program, andthese spots will sell out fast.

For more information, contact theGVCA offices.

Get Certified


Mechanical Contractors Association Kitchener-Waterloo

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Chris Henderson, president and ownerof BNE Contractors Inc. joined thecompany as general manager in 2004.Prior to that, he worked for 10 years inthe automotive industry as the generalmanager of Plastico Industries wherehe built the business from sales of$125,000 in 1994 to $10 million in2004. Originally educated with a busi-ness degree in accounting, Hendersonwas looking for a position in a companywith the opportunity for succession.

Eckhart Reichenbach, originally a Stonhard salesman, left the business inthe late 1980s to start his own business.BNE was founded in 1991 and first oper-ated out of two chicken barns in Bam-berg, Ontario. By 2004 it had outgrownits mom and pop beginning. AlthoughReichenbach knew he had the rightstructure in place, he realized he neededto add some new key team members totake the company to the next level.

After initial meetings, the two men realized that the partnership would bea powerful. Each partner would bringcomplementary strengths to the table.Reichenbach was a great salesman and Henderson knew how to grow a company.

“You have to have good people to growa company so we had to do some major restructuring,” says Henderson.“Once we got going in a new directionwith key staff team members in place,BNE grew by 25 percent in 2005 andby 30 percent in 2006.”

“Reichenbach was always ahead of histime. He thought there was a better wayto maintain concrete flooring. He wentto the World of Concrete show in LasVegas in 1999 and he talked to manu-facturers there to find out if there was away to harden concrete and polish it.

Reichenbach wanted to provide clientswith alternatives to coatings becauseevery year facilities would have to recoattheir floors. It was expensive and re-sulted in excessive down time at plants.”

Manufacturers were working on a newtechnology. In 2001, Advanced FloorProducts in Utah was one of the firstcompanies to bring concrete densifiers to

herever he works, Chris Henderson has aknack for creating growth. When he joinedBNE Contractors in 2004, he put the company on a fast track to success, and

the business has been expanding ever since.W

“We are a very specialized company

with a great capacity tohandle jobs that are

a 9 or 10 on the scale of difficulty.”

— Chris Henderson, president and general manager of BNE Contractors

BNE Contractors

GROWTHOn track for

LOTTERY WINNER



the market which allowed concrete to bepolished. This system is called the RetroPlate System and remains a leading sys-tem in the market today. This new con-crete flooring system was cost effective,offered more resistance to abrasion, pro-vided elimination of dusting, was LEEDfriendly, required less maintenance andwas good for as many as 10 years.

“BNE Contractors were the first appli-cators to use the Retro Plate System inCanada and the second to use it inNorth America,” says Henderson. “Butyou still have to sell it to the industry.Really the beginning of convincingclients came in 2005 when ATS inCambridge called us in for advice.Their four-year old concrete floor wasfilthy, stained, chipped and peeling sowe did a 100 square foot test patch utilizing the Retro Plate System tech-nology. ATS was absolutely wowed. Wecompleted work on their 66,000-squarefoot concrete floor. It was a big job forus at the time. To this day we use thiscase study to sell our product.”

Since then, BNE has worked on somevery large jobs but none was larger thanthe $1-million restoration project at theFord Motors plant in Oakville. The com-pany removed quarter-inch epoxy in theplant’s aisles and polished the concretefloors using the Retro Plate System. BNEcompleted work on 195,000 square feetof concrete flooring over two years takingcrews in each Friday night and workingdouble shifts until Sunday night.

“We are a very specialized companywith a great capacity to handle jobsthat are a 9 or 10 on the scale of diffi-culty,” says Henderson. “We have donework all across Canada. With respect

to doing work in the United States wehave mostly partnered with US firmsin joint ventures, and conversely USfirms have partnered with us in jointventures for work done in Canada.”

Their hottest market for growth is retailas many store chains and shoppingmalls are converting to polished con-crete in their high traffic areas. Decora-tive stains are now being used regularlywith concrete polishing providing fur-ther flexibility in design for architects.

BNE has also started using a new prod-uct: a steel re-enforced trowelled epoxyfor heavy abuse environments. Theyrecently completed a project for Gold-corp in Timmins using this technologyon a mining shop concrete floor wheretrucks can weigh up to 250,000pounds. Interestingly this technology

was first developed for dairy milking fa-cilities as cows get very anxious duringthe milking operation; with the con-stant shuffling their hooves create ex-tensive wear to the concrete flooring.

Asked what he thought had con-tributed the most to their successfulgrowth, Henderson says, “we are a veryspecialized company which has done agood job of marketing to end users andwe tend to promote our company inpublications where our competitiondoes not. We gained the Ford job be-cause an executive read an articleabout us in Plant Magazine. Our com-petitive advantage is our people. Wehave some of the best trained profes-sionals in our industry.”

“Our strategic advantage is our qualityfor sure,” adds operations managerPaul Giangualano. “We have an ownerwho believes in continual investmentin our company. Consequently wehave a very large fleet of the latest andbest equipment at our disposal. We arehead and shoulders above our compe-tition in terms of what we leave be-hind. When issues arise, we go rightback to the customer and immediatelysolve them. I think this speaks to ourintegrity and reputation.”

BNE is expected to grow by 30 percentin 2015 and will reach $10 million insales in the next two to three years.

[email protected]



Marianne Micci-Fritz, surety develop-ment manager, commercial lines atCowan, provided attendees with back-ground on how P3s developed not onlyin Canada but also around the world,while Kevan Thompson, industryleader and vice-president constructionat Cowan, moderated the panel.

Infrastructure Ontario:Organizing PartnershipsDavid Morley, senior vice-president ofInfrastructure Ontario (IO), addressedthe importance of P3 projects in Ontario. Since its inception, IO has brought to market a total of 76 alternative financing and procurement projects with a capital value of approxi-mately $39 billion. As of March 31,2014, 37 of these projects had reachedsubstantial completion, with an approximate capital value of $10 billion.

“What we do the most is organize part-nerships,” said Morley. “Our role is towork with the client to develop the func-tional program and output specificationsfor the project. To do market samplingsand understand the best way to bring itforward to have a competitive biddingprocess. We want to create a level play-ing field and be reasonable people thatthe private sector can work with.”

Morley added that IO hires “budgetand design consultants to ensure projects will be well planned and thenwe take it through the RFQ and RFPstages. We also do a great deal of workin the risk management and risk allo-cation area, which is described in ourvalue for money analysis document.”

Bird Construction: Joint Ventures Can be Points of EntryPaul Raboud, vice-chair for Bird Con-struction Inc., brought forth a generalcontractor’s point of view. His advice tothose looking to break into the P3 busi-ness: form a joint venture with a part-ner who is experienced in the P3 mar-ketplace and has a substantial balance

ndustry members gathered at a special forum held by Cowan Insurance in Kitchener on November 18where an expert panel led a discussion on public-private partnerships (P3s).

P3shere to stay

P3’s essentially being a risk transfer

mechanism wherebythere is a significant

download of risk from the public sector

to the private sector.

I



sheet. Local knowledge and expertise is of great value in the P3 world andthat is what local general and tradecontractors are going to bring to thetable. Contractors also need to have the security requirements and the ability toline up the necessary financing.

“A joint venture is very much like amarriage,” said Raboud. “You have tohave a strong cultural and relationshipfit with your partner and determinewhat your appetite for risk is. You needto be closely aligned with your partneras to how decisions will be made andhow you will structure your joint venture. You need to do your due diligence.”

P3 projects are riskier, more compli-cated and more expensive to bid than conventional projects. Raboud estimates the cost of bidding to be approximately one half to one percentof the project’s capital cost—and success is not always guaranteed.

Gowlings: Legal Agreements Must be Wide-ReachingTed Betts, a partner at Gowlings and acertified specialist in construction law,focused on the fact that P3 projects arevery complicated and include a lot of different parties with contractualagreements. These agreements have to address every contingency thatcould arise and provide a process ormechanism for addressing that change.It is important to keep in mind that the work on the facility side of some of these projects can last for as many as 20 to 30 years.

Standardized contract documents,such as those created by the CanadianConstruction Documents Committeeand the Canadian Construction Association, can help all P3 partiessave a great time of time and troublewhen it comes to, for example, building joint-venture arrangements.

[email protected]

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Working at Heights Training New standard for

The Ministry of Labour’s Chief Prevention Officer has released a Working at Heights Training Standard. It lays out what each worker needs to learn when taking mandatory working at heights training.

IHSA’s Working at Heights—Fundamentals of Fall Prevention is a robust program that meets the purpose of the new standard. Learn to teach IHSA’s Working at Heights course yourself. Take our Working at Heights Instructor Workshop to become an IHSA-registered instructor.

Together we can stop falls from killing Ontario

workers.

Are you ready?We are.

s Chief Pr’urt Heights Ta

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Graphic courtesy Bird Construction Inc.



Guarantee Company of North America:P3 Securitization is ComplexDavid Smith, senior vice-president and head of Canadian surety for The Guarantee Company of North America,provided insight on P3 project securityfrom a bonding perspective. He said thatsecuritization of P3 projects has becomevery complicated particularly since theseprojects are getting larger and are takingplace over a longer duration.

The P3 performance bond—a productcreated in part by Smith—is not unlikea traditional performance bond that represents half of the contract value andguarantees completion of constructionby the contractor. The bond also has anadded liquidity component which issimilar to a letter of credit. With this liquidity component, the surety pays ondemand up to a specific amount—around five or 10 percent of the con-tract value depending on the amount ofsecurity the lenders are looking for onthe specific project.

IO recently announced that it will accept the P3 bond for build financeand design build bonds.

“If you are thinking of getting into thedesign build box of a P3 structure,” saidSmith, “you have to build your balancesheet, build your cash or align yourselfwith a joint venture partner that bringsthis financial strength to the designbuild team.”

Zurich Insurance: How Much Capacity is Enough?Rajiv Joshi, vice president, constructionfor Zurich Insurance Company, listedsome of the types of insurance servicesthat are available for P3 projects.

“One of the biggest issues facing the insurance community is having the ca-pacity to take on huge P3 projects thatcould be operational for 20 or 30 years,”he said. “As insurers, we have to decidehow much capacity we are able to putup. Most insurance policies on the op-erational side are one year and some-times they are negotiated for two years.”

Since many insurers do not write alllines of insurance, Joshi said he expectsit will be a major challenge for a brokerto underwrite all of the required lines of insurance for a P3. Claims manage-ment will also be challenge given thelong time span, so insurers need to get to a comfort level around the expectations for a P3 project.

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The P3 performancebond has an addedliquidity component that is similar to a line of credit.


ACL Steel Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Albrecht Reinforcing Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Altruck International Truck Centres . . . . . . . . . 41Aon Risk Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17AQ Group Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Ball Construction Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Battlefield Equipment Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Baywood Interiors Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26BNE Contractors Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Carrier Canada Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Conestoga Roofing & Sheet Metal Ltd. . . . . . . . 9Cowan Insurance Group Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Delta Elevator Co Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Gosse Masonry Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Grand River Contracting Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Haney Trading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Heavy Equipment Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Infrastructure Health and Safety Association . 40JDI Cleaning Systems Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Knell's Door & Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33K-W Cornerstone Paving Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

MCA-KW (Mechanical Contractors Association) . . . . . 35

Miller Thompson LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Mister Transmission ( International) . . . . . . . . 41MTE Consultants Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17RBC Dominion Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25RHC Design-Build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Staebler Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Strassburger Windows and Doors . . . . . . . . . . 39Tvan Excavating Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Victoria Star Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX


EDUCATION CALENDARJanuary 14Occupational Health and Safety Act Training

January 21Introduction to Lean Construction (B-Lean)

January 22Social Networking in Construction – One Gold Seal credit

January 23Gold Seal Examination

January 27 - February 17Entrepreneurial Leadership Series

February 4 & 11Construction 101 – Two Gold Seal credits

February 4 & 5Microsoft Project for Construction– Two Gold Seal credits

EVENTS CALENDARJanuary 171st Annual GVCA Curling BonspielWestmount Golf and Country Club

January 15 & 16Safety Group Meetings

January 22Leaders in Construction New Year Kick Off: Bowling and DinnerBoston Pizza Kingpin – registration required

February 17GVCA Annual General MeetingHall of Fame InductionBusiness Heritage AwardsHoliday Inn, Kitchener

February 19GVCA Annual Ski DayOsler Bluffs, Collingwood – registration requiredTo register, or request additional information please contact

[email protected] or call 519-622-4822 X120

Running a construction business is adifficult job at the best of times, butit’s doubly complex in today’s world.That’s why the GVCA has teamed upwith Conestoga College to offer acertificate program onentrepreneurial leadership inconstruction.

Designed for senior leaders in ourindustry, the four-day program offerspractical insights for dealing withrisks, building competitive advantage,and achieving strategic growth.

Participants will learn how theirleadership skills impact employees’motivation, team performance, andthe overall workforce satisfaction. You will also discover approaches fornegotiating partnerships and strategicalliances that facilitate access toglobal markets.

Spaces in the program are in shortsupply, so register today. For moreinformation, contact Martha George at 519-622-4822 [email protected].

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44 GVCA Journal WINTER 2014Victoria Star Motors, Mercedes-Benz Kitchener125 Centennial Road, Kitchener, ON N2B 3E9 Tel: (519) 579-4460 www.VictoriaStar.com
