December_18

December 18, 2009

Provincial HST Report Released

The provincial NDP government released a report this week on what impact a harmonized sales tax system would have in Manitoba.

If the HST was put into place, the report suggests the average family would be on the hook for an extra $161 a year in gasoline costs, $63 more for entertainment and $30 more for personal services such as haircuts. Under the HST, services that are currently not subjected to the provincial sales tax, such as fuel, books, haircuts, taxis and parking, etc., would be taxed at the 12 per cent HST rate.

The government report did identify the tax savings to the business community at $510 million a year, with $267 million of those savings to benefit the construction industry.

“What this report seems to suggest is that the construction industry simply puts $267 million in its jeans post-HST, when in fact savings like this show up in reduced project costs which are passed on to public and private owners,” WCA Executive Vice-President Ron Hambley said.

The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce has been one of the HST's biggest advocates, saying it's necessary to keep businesses competitive with other provincial jurisdictions. The Chamber recommends a number of offsetting exemptions in the form of tax credits and reductions, not unlike what's being done in B.C. and Ontario, to reduce the burden on consumers.

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Contractual Issues On Government Projects

The Ontario General Contractors Association (OCGA) is reporting some issues with projects that are financed in part by Federal Infrastructure Stimulus programs. At the heart of this issue is the insistence on the part of the federal government that the March 31, 2011 deadline is a firm one and that Federal dollars will not flow for work undertaken after that date.

OCGA is reporting seeing project tender documents containing penalty clauses that require the GC to pay (damages or make up the shortfall) if the project is not completed by March, 2011 when Federal funding ceases.

The Canadian Construction Association is bringing these concerns forward to the Minister responsible and will inquire about projects in Manitoba that may or may not be in this situation. If you are aware of a project like this, please let Ron Hambley at WCA know ASAP at rhambley@winnipegconstruction.ca

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Premier Delivers State Of The Province Address

Premier Greg Selinger delivered his first state of the province address last Thursday at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, maintaining the "flat-is-the-new-up" mantra he used to describe the Manitoba economy in his throne speech two weeks earlier.
Selinger's 15-minute speech to local business leaders featured little to no new announcements, with the Premier noting Manitoba's stability in the face of a recession this past year and modest projected growth for next year as positives, particularly when compared to other struggling provincial economies across the country.
Selinger once again highlighted ongoing commercial and institutional infrastructure projects as keys to stabilizing the economy, while also stressing the importance of growing Manitoba's skilled workforce through continued immigration and apprenticeship programs.
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Winnipeg Council Approves 2010 Capital Budget

City council approved Winnipeg's 2010 capital budget this week by a vote of 13-3, allowing the $431-million plan for spending on infrastructure improvements and equipment purchases to go ahead.

The budget includes more than $50 million for regional roads in Waverley West, $20 million for new bike-and-pedestrian trails, $8 million for improvements to Assiniboine Park and $3.5 million to buy a police helicopter. Council also voted in favour of allocating $290,000 of that funding towards building a square in Transcona.

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Construction Industry Minimum Wage Increase

On January 1, 2010 both the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional wage rates and the Heavy Construction wage rates, established under the Construction Industry Wages Act, are increasing. The new province-wide rates apply on construction projects anywhere in the province.

"This increase maintains the new province-wide schedules established in June of 2009, ensuring construction minimum wages rates are the same for rural and urban construction regardless of where a building is being constructed," said Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard.

For a list of the trades and their respective increases, Click Here.

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Manitoba Construction News Launches Online Service

Your No.1 source for upcoming project information is officially off-and-running at its online home, www.ManitobaConstructionNews.ca.

With this offer, WCA members gain access to an “exclusive” listing of pre-bid projects and reports, enabling them to create their own customized searches based on value, category, and proposed construction schedules.

To receive Tips and Tricks on this and other WCA Online products, please attend one of our next Online Training Sessions. A sign-up form is available here or contact the Construction Information Services Team at (204) 774-2431.

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Complimentary Offer For WCA Members!

As an integrated member of the Canadian Construction Association, the WCA is extending a limited time offer to its member organizations in 2010. This new offering features a complimentary binder complete with 24 popular CCA/CCDC standard guides and documents, and will be made available free of charge to members early in the new year.

Register here before Dec. 31, and your complimentary binder will be available for pickup at our offices at 290 Burnell Street once delivered from the CCA in January/February 2010.

The binder contains the following selected CCA & CCDC documents:
CCA 1 – 2008 Stipulated Price Subcontract
CCA 27 - 1997 A Guide on Construction Environmental Management Planning
CCA 28 - 2009 A Guide to Improving Cash Flow in the Construction Industry
CCA 50 - 2003 A Prime Contractor’s Guide to Project Financing and Payment Security
CCA 52 - 2008 Joint Venture Guide
CCA 61 - 2008 Risk of Pre-purchasing Equipment and Materials for Construction Industry
Guide 2005 Banking Guide for the Canadian Construction Industry
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CCDC 2 - 2008 Stipulated Price Contract
CCDC 3 - 1998 Cost Plus Contract
CCDC 9A - 2001 Statutory Declaration
CCDC 9B - 2001 Statutory Declaration
CCDC 11 - 1996 Contractor's Qualification Statement
CCDC 18 - 2001 Civil Works Contract
CCDC 20 - 2008 A Guide to the Use of CCDC 2 - 2008 Stipulated Price Contract
CCDC 21 - 2000 A Guide to Construction Insurance
CCDC 22 - 2002 A Guide to Construction Surety Bonds
CCDC 23 - 2005 A Guide to Calling Bids and Awarding Contracts
CCDC 40 - 2005 Rules for Mediation and Arbitration of Construction Disputes
CCDC 41 - 2008 CCDC Insurance Requirements
CCDC 43 - 1998 A Guide to the Use of CCDC 3 - 1998 Cost Plus Contract
CCDC 48 - 2002 A Guide to the Use of CCDC 18 - 2002
CCDC 220 - 2002 Bid Bond
CCDC 221 - 2002 Performance Bond
CCDC 222 - 2002 Labour and Material Payment Bond

We hope you will take advantage of this additional membership benefit!

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New Minister Addresses Workplace Safety Improvements

The Honourable Jennifer Howard, Manitoba's new Labour and Immigration Minister, acknowledges the efforts, commitment and accomplishments over the past 10 years by government, employers, workers and prevention organizations towards improved occupational safety and health in the province.

View the release in its entirety at the Safe Work Manitoba website here.

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Fines May Increase For Workplace Safety And Health Violations

Maximum fines for workplace safety violations would increase substantially under proposed legislative amendments in Bill 4, the workplace safety and health amendment act, introduced by Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard earlier this month.

“These amendments will substantially increase the fine levels under the act to better reflect the serious nature of violating laws that protect workers,” said Howard. “Higher maximum fines increase their deterrence value and send a message that serious safety and health violations have serious consequences.”

The full government release can be read here.

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New Regulations Regarding Gas Furnaces And Boilers

New regulations under The Energy Act that establish minimum energy performance standards for replacement residential and small commercial gas-fired furnaces and boilers sold in the province of Manitoba have been enacted.

Effective December 31, 2009, most new replacement furnaces will be required to have a minimum efficiency of 92 per cent. Comparable standards of 82 and 80 per cent are established for replacement hot-water boilers and low-pressure steam boilers respectively. For further information, including a "Questions & Answers" fact sheet, visit Green Manitoba's website here.

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WCA Education

BUILDING SUPERVISORS FOR TOMORROW

Beginning January 2010

In response to the data collected and requests of the construction industry, Winnipeg Construction Association along with the Manitoba Construction Sector Council have developed and designed a Supervisor Training Program for experienced construction workers moving into or aspiring towards leadership positions.

"Building Supervisors for Tomorrow" has been designed to prepare first time supervisors for their journey into management. Understanding how busy people are juggling work and family, this program has been developed in module size chunks, with each module running anywhere from four to 12 hours depending on the topic. This delivery system is more flexible than any other program currently offered. It's affordable and upon completion of 80 module hours, a certificate will be earned and awarded. Click here to register.

ONLINE ORIENTATION SESSION

WCA Online Planroom & Manitoba Construction News Online

Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 9-10:30 a.m.

Location: WCA - 290 Burnell St.

Description: This session will introduce you to the new Manitoba Construction News Online pre-bid service, as well as all aspects of the Online Planroom. This includes installation, project lists, plan viewing, specs and addenda, online booking, document searching, running bulletins, keyword search and self bidding.

Also receive instruction on the Plan Viewer, which features measuring and counting tools, printing options and tricks. This session will also show you how to use and edit reports, set up a quick launch button and export information into a spreadsheet.

The Online Planroom gives WCA members access to obtain full plans, specs and addenda for over 1,800 projects per year–24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Click here to register.

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Industrial Capacity Utilization Rates

Canadian industries operated at 67.5% of their production capacity in the third quarter, down marginally from 67.7% in the second quarter. Capacity use in the construction sector edged down from 70.5% to 69.7%, a reflection of reduced output in both residential and non-residential building construction. Read more.

Non-residential Permit Values Soar in October

The value of building permits rose 42.4% in October to $2.7 billion. Intentions increased in every component of the non-residential sector in October. In the industrial component, the value of building permits doubled to $709 million.

This was the third consecutive monthly increase, fuelled by higher construction intentions in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. After four monthly consecutive declines, the value of institutional building permits increased 50.9% to $904 million. The gain was largely attributable to educational institution projects in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and British Columbia. Ontario had an increase in the value of permits for medical buildings. Read more.

Federal HST Harmonization Approved

Bill C-62, the Provincial Choice Tax Framework Act, was debated and passed by the House of Commons on December 8-9. The Bill is now before the Senate Finance Committee and should be approved quickly when Parliament returns in late January. Bill C-62 amends the Excise Tax Act to implement a harmonized value-added tax framework in Ontario and British Columbia.

Read more.

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WCA Membership Renewal Time

Membership renewal time is upon us, and that means you've likely received your membership renewal invoices in the mail, complete with details on some new program offerings for 2010. It is our sincere hope that you find value in our association offerings and renew your membership.

If your company contact information requires changes, please complete the Buyers' Guide form with your updated information and fax it to (204)783-6446 by Feb. 1, 2010, in order to have the changes reflected in the WCA Membership Directory and Buyers' Guide.

It is imperative that you notify the WCA offices of any changes within your company, including contacts, emails, addresses, etc. so that we can keep our database and directories up-to-date.

If you would like to discuss membership renewal further, please call our Member Services/Education/Gold Seal Administrator, Kelly Thiessen, at 775-8664 or e-mail: membership@winnipegconstruction.ca.

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Reminder: Don't Forget To "Seal The Deal"

CCDC Copyright Seals are required to be used with the printed electronic versions of CCDC documents. Failing to do so could risk a potential breach of contract later on in the proceedings.

A Copyright Seal’s application is a representation that the document has not been changed from its original form, with the exception only of additions or modifications as may be set forth in supplementary conditions.

A Copyright Seal must be used on all CCDC documents to be executed from printed electronic versions. For example, if there are three copies to be executed, such as one each for the contractor, the owner and the consultant, each copy must first have a Copyright Seal before being signed. A printed electronic CCDC Document with an affixed Copyright Seal is equivalent to an original CCDC hard-copy document.

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ProEst Takeoff 2009

Perform tasks 50 per cent faster and save thousands on printing costs with Digital Takeoff Technology. This is an innovative software solution that revolutionizes the way construction companies perform takeoffs. Instead of using paper plans and manual methods or a digitizer, ProEst Takeoff allows estimators to perform takeoffs using on-screen digital plans and a mouse. The ability to view two plan sets at one time makes it easy to toggle between job specifications and the actual takeoff. And grid patterns, with best fit rotation, ensure quick material calculations.

Find out more about ProEst Takeoff 2009 HERE.

Download Free Trial: Can ProEst Takeoff save your company time, space and money? Download your free trial to find out: http://proest.com/wca

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Holiday Break: