New CCA guide updates advice on bid conflicts
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The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has issued a revised guide to dealing with problematic contract conditions that focuses on collaborative solutions rather than provoking standoffs with owners, explains the association’s president.
An Association Guide to Dealing with Onerous Contract Conditions, released May 15, is intended to assist CCA partner associations during the bidding process.
CCA president Mary Van Buren explained the update was timely given that project bidding is expected to enter a complex new era as owners attempt to incorporate the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic into bid documents.
“One of our jobs is to advocate for fairness in contracts and this guide has been around for quite some time so we thought it was timely related to COVID-19 where we are starting to see some more onerous conditions and language,” said Van Buren.
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Government Proposes Made-in-Ontario Plan for Growth, Renewal and Economic Recovery
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TORONTO — The Government of Ontario has developed a made-in-Ontario plan for growth, renewal and economic recovery. This plan includes measures that would make it easier and faster to build provincial highways, major transit infrastructure projects and quality, affordable housing, while ensuring there are meaningful opportunities for community consultation and input.
As part of the government's plan, the province is proposing to accelerate key provincial highway construction and priority transit projects by establishing an exemption from the Hearing of Necessity process. Provincial Hearings of Necessity occur approximately 5-10 times per year on average for provincial highway projects. Each hearing adds months of red tape and construction delays for critical provincial infrastructure, costing up to five months for transit projects and up to 12 months for provincial highway projects.
"Communities need reliable transit, transportation and housing as a strong foundation for future economic growth," said Minister Mulroney. "These initiatives would create tens of thousands of new well-paying jobs, make our roads safer, reduce gridlock, and put home ownership within reach of many people across the province."
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Ontario contractors survey reveals how industry adapting to COVID-19
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The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) released survey results that provide insight into how the construction industry is adapting to safety guidelines related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The “Coronavirus Contractors Survey: Reemergence and Adaptation” is the third survey in a series of independent studies conducted by the OCS. Between June 16 and June 19, 2020, the OCS surveyed 200 Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (ICI) contractors from across Ontario.
According to the survey results, the top concern of contractors is the potential of a second wave of COVID-19, followed by the continued unease in ensuring the health and safety of their workers. Between Survey 2 (May 11 – 15, 2020) and Survey 3 (June 16 – 19, 2020), there has been a significant increase of concern with the ability to obtain skilled labour and supply chain disruptions. Minimal improvement has been found in supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus since the first survey in this series (April 22 – 29, 2020), with close to two-thirds of contractors still reporting a medium to high impact.
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Recession to impact most Canadian construction sectors for rest of the year: FMI
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FMI Corporation, a North Carolina-based construction industry consultancy and investment banker, believes the industry in both the US and Canada will experience recessionary conditions for the remainder of 2020 and possibly into 2021.
In its Second Quarter 2020 report, FMI projects a stable market (zero to 4 per cent growth) for health care, education, highway and street, sewage and waste disposal, water supply and conservation and development.
Overall, FMI anticipates the total “construction put in place” estimated for Canada will be $266,130 million in 2020 compared to $291,880 this year, a nine per cent decline.
The most severe declines will occur in power (-17%), amusement adn recreation and multifamily residential (-11%), and single family residential, office, and manufacturing (-10%).
FMI predicts some the Canadian recession will continue into 2021, with an overall 2 per cent decline for the year, before things recover with modest growth in 2012 through 2024.
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Gordie Howe bridge officials say second wave of COVID-19 won’t delay project
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Officials involved with the Gordie Howe International Bridge project are confident that should a second wave of COVID-19 strike the $5.7-billion, 2.5-kilometre bridge can still reach its completion date of 2024.
Despite a withdrawal by some subcontractors in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, all services are back on site and any delays have not interfered with the original timeline for construction of the bridge between Windsor and Detroit.
The 37.5-metre-wide, six-lane bridge, to last 125 years, is being built to ISO 14001 standard with heavy emphasis on lessening the environmental impact.
The two ports of entries, where Canada and U.S. customs facilities will be located, are being designed to meet LEED Silver rating. Bridge LED lighting will be energy efficient.
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Citizen Care Pod: Smart Screening at Work and Play
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As the global pandemic descended on North America, passionate conversations ignited the creation of a modular, ready-to-use solution for COVID-19 screening and testing that would allow communities to reopen.
A multi-disciplinary team of industry leaders led by
Citizen Care Pods
Corporation, WZMH Architects and PCL Construction collaborated with Insight Enterprises and Microsoft to bring the Citizen Care Pod from concept to completion in less than a month.
A true demonstration of the entrepreneurial spirit during the coronavirus pandemic and a unique opportunity in the design and construction industry, the partners came together to develop a prototype without solicitation by a client, but with an end user in mind – citizens across the world.
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Exclusive Discount for TCA Members
on publishing Certificates of Substantial Performance (CSPs) in the Daily Commercial News (DCN)!
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All certificates and notices published in the
Daily Commercial News (DCN)
are a flat fee of $300 (plus tax). Special Affinity Pricing of $200 per certificate is available to all ConstructConnect subscribers and TCA members.
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Click on the image for more details.
**IMPORTANT: To apply the discount, please
mention the offer at the time of order placement.**
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TCA Resources on COVID-19
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To access TCA dedicated Covid-19 Updates,
click here
.
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