The eGlance
September 17, 2020
Consulting Engineers of Ontario has become the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Ontario (ACEC-Ontario).  
Driven by a strategic priority to strengthen our identity and branding, our Board of Directors unanimously supported a resolution to change the name, and this was confirmed by the membership at the September 15th Annual General Meeting. The new name better identifies us as an industry association representing engineering firms. It aligns our organization with the national-level association (ACEC-Canada) and the naming convention used by the vast majority of our provincial counterparts across Canada. This conveys unity, strength and consistency to our stakeholders. The new name and brand dovetail with the newly articulated mission and vision for the association found in our 2020-2023 strategic plan: 
 
MISSION: To promote and advance the business interests of our Member Firms and the value of the engineering work they do.
 
VISION: Our Member Firms prosper and are recognized for their influence and fundamental contributions to the social, environmental, and economic welfare of Ontario.
 
The new identity and branding are also intended to foster growth for ACEC-Ontario. More engineering firms will join and engage with us because their success will be enabled by our leadership in policy advocacy and risk management, and we provide access to key knowledge sharing networks and relevant support services.
 
The new ACEC-Ontario identity and branding changes will be introduced over the coming weeks through our website, social media channels and other communications. We can now be found at ACECOntario.ca.
COVID-19 in Ontario
Ontario reported 313 new cases of COVID-19 on September 14th, bringing the total number of known cases in the province to 44, 817. This has been the highest single day increase in COVID-19 cases since June 7th. Health minister Elliott has reported that 78% of these new cases have been traced to three regions, with 112 in Toronto, 71 in Peel Region and 60 in Ottawa.

Currently, the province has decided to put a “pause” on further removing any COVID-19 related restrictions. Read more.
The Conference Board of Canada Wants Your Input
Has COVID-19 impacted your organization’s student hiring and training plans? Are you interested in how work-integrated learning can help your business during Canada’s economic recovery? If yes, the Conference Board of Canada would like to know about your recruitment and training needs.

The Conference Board of Canada in partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) is leading a research project to assess the state of work-integrated learning in Canada.
SNC-Lavalin Appoints New Chair
The board of directors for SNC-Lavalin has elected William “Bill” L. Young, P.Eng., as its chair. He took on the role yesterday, replacing Kevin G. Lynch, who served as chair since 2017.

Young is also chair of Magna International and corporate director for Intact Financial and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). A professional engineer by training, he began his career with Imperial Oil in Western Canada as a chemical engineer before moving into consulting, management and corporate strategy.

“SNC-Lavalin has moved swiftly over the past year to implement a new strategy,” he says, referring to the firm’s objective to refocus its efforts in global engineering services. “As chair, I see my role and the board’s as providing governance oversight and acting as a high-performance sounding board to management in the evolution of this strategy.”
GHD Launches Wastewater Testing Service for COVID-19 Detection
ACEC-Ontario's Member Firm, GHD, is collaborating with laboratory group Eurofins to test wastewater for purposes of early COVID-19 detection and outbreak reduction.

Part of a growing global trend, the new service will allow public health entities, utilities and facility operators to test and monitor their wastewater to detect the presence of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The intent is to detect local infections, including asymptomatic people, before an outbreak occurs.

The wastewater testing program is non-invasive and can be deployed across municipalities, schools, manufacturing facilities and a wide range of buildings with minimal disruption to day-to-day operations. Continue Reading.
Catherine Karakatsanis of Morrison Hershfield Appointed to the FIDIC Board of Directors
ACEC-Ontario wants to continue the congratulations to Catherine Karakatsanis, M.E.Sc, P.Eng., FEC, FCAE of Morrison Hershfield. Catherine has been elected to the board of directors of FIDIC - International Federation of Consulting Engineers. A round of applause for Catherine as she represents our industry and country on a global level.
Adjudication, Virtual Dispute Resolution in Overdrive
On Oct. 1, 2019, prompt payment and adjudication under the Construction Act came into force in Ontario, which became the first jurisdiction with legislation that combined prompt payment and adjudication in addition to traditional lien legislation.

Since then, other jurisdictions have moved to adopt similar legislation — including the federal government for federal infrastructure projects — and the Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act received royal assent in June 2019. Read more.
IO issues RFQ for new Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre
Infrastructure Ontario has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for teams to design, build and finance (DBF) its Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre redevelopment project in Ajax, Ont.

The public-private partnership (P3) project represents a consolidation of the existing main site in Oshawa, Ont., and multiple satellite locations into a new, purpose-built facility on 5.6 acres of land donated by the town of Ajax at 1465 Harwood Avenue North. As such, it will support care for children with physical, communication and developmental needs across Durham Region, although three of the satellite clinics will still continue to operate, to reduce extensive travel times for some clients and their families. Continuing reading.
New Delivery Models See Uptick
NEW infrastructure delivery models such as alliance contracting, as well as bidders looking for relief in time and money from COVID-19, are just two trends in procurement and contract structuring that lawyers who practise in the construction and infrastructure sectors are noticing.

Alliance contracting — akin to the integrated project delivery or progressive design-build infrastructure delivery models — involves a single contract between the project owner/financier/commissioner and an alliance of parties that delivers the project or service.

“There’s beginning to be a trickle of projects using the alliance model, sometimes called the IPD — integrated project delivery — or progressive design-build,” says Doug Younger, chairman of the Infrastructure Group at Aird & Berlis LLP in Toronto. Read full article.
Government Priorities Shift with COVID-19
In June, the Ontario government announced the infrastructure developments it had in the pipeline: 37 public-private partnership (P3) projects comprising 17 civil (such as transit, subways, highways), 16 health care, three community safety and one children’s treatment centre. Twenty-four of the projects are currently in procurement.

“The message today is clear, our government is moving from shovel-ready to shovels in the ground,” said Ontario Minister of Infrastructure Laurie Scott in a news release announcing the projects. This “signals to the infrastructure sector that Ontario remains committed to major infrastructure projects including subways, highways, health care and community safety projects. This is stimulus that will create jobs and contribute to the economic recovery of our province.”

The emphasis on economic recovery is timely given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy — and lawyers are seeing governments invest in infrastructure in part to provide stimulus, even while some projects may be halted or delayed. Read more.
Does your firm have an interesting article or news that you want the Ontario Engineering world to know about? Please have 'your people' talk to 'our people", email us at mwest@acecontario.ca.
Association of Consulting Engineering Companies | Ontario acecontario.ca
Association of Consulting Engineering Companies | Ontario | acecontario.ca