TCA: COVID-19 has industry in ‘muddy waters’
|
|
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the construction industry in muddy waters and it could be years before things become clear, says John Mollenhauer, president and CEO of the Toronto Construction Association.
“Buyers of construction, architects, engineers and those of us who are in the business of bricks and mortar, we are in muddy water and it won’t be crystal clear how things should be interpreted for some years to come,” Mollenhauer told the Daily Commercial News recently.
“As we come out of this and we get back to work, we will have a lot to do to get through the mess. We’re trying to share information that will help our members because we should be preparing now for what will inevitably be muddy waters for the next five years. Sadly, there will be casualties in a pandemic of this scale, and I am not just talking in a health context, I’m talking financial health. We’re seeing the beginnings of it now. There just isn’t enough money to keep everybody whole.”
Mollenhauer said he wasn’t surprised by the Ontario government’s April 3 announcement to refine the list of essential services. Until that time, most construction sites were able to continue operating but now some will be shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.
|
|
CCA is championing the industry in Canada's fight against COVID-19
|
|
TCA membership includes a CCA membership, something we pay for on behalf of each of our members. The purpose of that strategic partnership is national advocacy, and COVID-19 makes CCA’s role arguably more important now than ever. Highlights of some of CCA’s successes on our collective behalf since this crisis began are attached for your perusal.
|
|
To see how CCA is supporting the industry during COVID-19,
click here
to read the complete summary of achievements so far or watch the
video here
.
Thanks again for all the support.
|
|
|
Ontario Extends Declaration of Emergency to Continue the Fight Against COVID-19
|
|
TORONTO ― On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and with the approval of the Ontario legislature, the Ontario government is extending the Declaration of Emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act for a further 28 days. This will allow the government to continue to use every tool at its disposal to protect the health and safety of the people of Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passed during a special sitting of the Ontario legislature and with the full cooperation of all parties, the Declaration of Emergency has been extended until May 12. The extension of the provincial declaration of emergency allows Ontario to continue to enforce current emergency orders, such as the closure of all non-essential workplaces, outdoor amenities such as parks and recreational areas, public places and bars and restaurants, as well as restrictions on social gatherings of more than five people, and prohibitions against price-gouging. A full list of emergency orders can be found on the
e-Laws website
under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
|
|
Expanding access to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and proposing a new wage boost for essential workers
|
|
The Federal Government established the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to support workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This taxable benefit provides $2,000 every four weeks for up to four months to workers who lose their income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CERB covers Canadians who have lost their job, are sick, quarantined, or taking care of someone who is sick with COVID-19, as well as working parents who must stay home without pay to care for children who are sick or at home because of school and daycare closures. The CERB also applies to wage earners, as well as contract workers and self-employed individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) and are unable to work due to COVID-19.
Additionally, workers who are still employed, but are not receiving income because of disruptions to their work situation due to COVID-19, also qualify for the CERB. This will help businesses keep their employees as they navigate these difficult times, while ensuring they preserve the ability to quickly resume operations as soon as it becomes possible.
The CERB is available to workers who meet all of the following conditions:
- live in Canada and are at least 15 years old
- stopped working because of COVID-19 or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits
- have not voluntarily quit their job
- had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application.
|
|
Province adds agri-construction projects as “essential services” under amended COVID-19 emergency regulations
|
|
The provincial government has introduced amendments to its emergency regulations to permit “construction projects that are due to be completed before October 4, 2020 and that would provide additional capacity in the production, processing, manufacturing or distribution of food or beverages or agricultural products.”
The changes, introduced last Thursday, are narrow in scope, indicating that the government is keeping a generally tight interpretation on which projects are essential, and which are not.
“In the face of the amendment, it will not in our view be possible to argue that a project should continue merely because it is being undertaken on the operations of an essential business,” Robert Kennaley of Kennaley Construction Law, wrote in an e-letter.
|
|
Ontario confirms accelerated work applies to non-health projects
|
|
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has clarified that its April 8 announcement that focused on extending work hours to permit accelerated construction of health care infrastructure also permits longer hours of work on other projects, suspending noise bylaws.
The original announcement stated, “Ontario is extending construction hours for essential construction projects, like critical projects in the health care sector, to 24 hours a day. Work on new hospital builds, expansions, and COVID-19 assessment centres will be able to continue any time of the night or day in order to help accelerate the construction of these important projects and enable employers to take additional steps to protect the health and safety of workers on these job sites.”
As explained in an article published online by
Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP
, the regulations that implemented the order, Regulation 130/20 under the City of Toronto Act and Regulation 131/20 under the Municipal Act, prohibited municipalities from regulating night-time construction noise not only for health care projects but also “any other construction activity between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.”
Ministry of Labour spokesperson Janet Deline confirmed April 14 that other projects besides health care builds can also now continue into the evening.
|
|
Aecon withdraws financial guidance as it weighs impact of slow downs, stoppages tied to coronavirus
|
|
Aecon Group Inc. has withdrawn its financial guidance for 2020 as it evaluates the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business.
The Canadian contractor joins a long list of Canadian companies to pull their 2020 outlooks — typically used by investors and financial analysts — as coronavirus creates considerable uncertainty throughout the global economy.
Aecon said March 31 it is currently weighing the impact of temporary slow downs or work stoppages on numerous projects across several regions “due to directives recently issued by clients and governments.” It also noted delays in the procurement processes for certain projects in the company’s bidding pipeline could lead to a slowdown in new contract wins.
“As we all contend with the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, the health, safety and well-being of our employees and their families is our top priority,” Jean-Louis Servranckx, the company’s president and CEO, said in a release “Our thoughts and gratitude are with all of the front-line workers whose efforts are ensuring the continuity of essential services.”
|
|
The Economy Under COVID-19: Notes from the Trenches - April 15, 2020
|
|
There are currently two crises underway simultaneously. The advance of the novel coronavirus is taking a terrible toll in terms of physical and emotional well-being. At the same time, job losses resulting from ‘social distancing’ are sending the economy into a tailspin. To fight on both fronts, governments are advancing rescue packages of never-seen-before dimensions. Every day, the tremendous number of factors in play reconfigure in a new way. These ‘from the trenches’ notes attempt to shed some light along a murky pathway.
- On the medical front, there are statistics on infection rates and mortality rates. Such data points are then held up against the figures that prevailed during the SARS and H1N1 outbreaks and the influenza scourge of 1918. On the business side, employment and GDP performances are assessed relative to what occurred during the Financial Crisis, the Great Depression and averages over of all recessions. There’s a lesson to be learned while swimming in this numbers-saturated sea: crises come and go, but statistics live forever.
- Add to the list of statistics a new one, the ‘compliance’ rate. The compliance rate is the proportion of the population that is adhering to ‘social distancing’. It’s a surprisingly high 90%. In initial ‘modeling’ about the spread of the disease, only 50% was the assumption made concerning the general population’s willingness to stay indoors to defeat this thing.
- ConstructConnect also has some new statistics, a ‘First Appearance’ series and a ‘Changed Status’ series. First Appearance figures track, on a seven-day rolling basis, the number of construction projects (mainly in the planning stage) that are newly discovered and inserted into CC’s database for information access by customers. On April 9, the First Appearance statistic for the U.S. was -26% month over month and -29% versus the same time last year. For Canada, the results were -40% m/m and -39% y/y. With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the flow of new construction projects has slowed from a cascade to a trickle. Changed Status numbers will be set out in the next ‘Trenches’ story.
|
|
TCA Resources on COVID-19
|
|
To access TCA dedicated Covid-19 Updates,
click here
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
