March 5, 2010
Manitoba Building Permit Numbers - January
Permits valued $122.2 million in January 2010, according to Statistics Canada figures released yesterday. That was a 14.8 per cent improvement over the $106.5 million issued in December 2009.
Much of the gains were attributed to the residential side, which saw a 20.2 per cent jump from December. The non-residential side, however, saw a 5.5 per cent drop in permit values, but still rang in at $21.3 million.
That $21.3 million figure was down from the $39.1 million worth of permits issued in January 2009, but high levels of tendering activity in December suggest permit numbers will rebound quickly.
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Province Projects Deficit For 2009-10 Fiscal Year
Manitoba's projected 2009-10 budget rings in at a deficit of $555 million, only slightly better than the original projection of $592 million.
The projected final tally was released yesterday in the province's third quarter report, which looks at the government's finances from April to December. The full report can be viewed here.
Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk noted the budget shortfall is a result of reduced overall revenue and unexpected costs from battling the H1N1 flu virus last fall and spring flooding.
In 2009, the value of Manitoba non-residential permits increased by 18.9 per cent, led by increases in institutional (91.6 per cent) and industrial (25.5 per cent). The full economic outlook and highlights package can be read here.
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Apprenticeship Figures For Manitoba Released
Apprenticeship Manitoba recently released figures regarding apprentice participation in 2009. For a full list of the trades and their respective apprenticeship numbers, Click Here.
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WCA Curling Bonspiel
On Friday, February 26th, 22 teams of WCA curling aficionados invaded the Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg for the annual WCA curling bonspiel.
Team Construction Safety Association of Manitoba, consisting of Jordann Martens, Sean Scott, Lance MacMaster, and Darrin Oryniak took home top spot.
Thanks to the generous sponsors and donators who made this a great event for all involved!

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Skills Canada Young Women's Conference Seeking Volunteers
On April 8, 2010, Skills Canada will be hosting their annual Young Womens' Conference for Grade 8 girls at Red River College.
Skills Canada is seeking women tradespeople who might be interested in being a mentor for the day. The mentors would spend the day with approx 8-10 girls in a conference-like setting. The event will consist of exposing young women to careers in skilled trades.
A questionnaire for those interested in being a mentor can be accessed here.
For further information, contact
Maria Pacella, Executive Director of Skills Canada Manitoba, via e-mail at
mariapa@skillscanada.com
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WCA Education

BUILDING SUPERVISORS FOR TOMORROW
Location: WCA - 290 Burnell St.
Description: 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 for further details!
ONLINE ORIENTATION SESSION
WCA Online Planroom & Manitoba Construction News Online
Date: March 24 from 9 to 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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CCA Pleased to See Continued Commitment to Infrastructure
CCA is very pleased to see the federal government follow through on the second year of the infrastructure stimulus measures from the Economic Action Plan.
“The federal government has recognized the importance of infrastructure and maintained its investment in development and renewal. The much needed spending announced last year provided stimulus to the Canadian economy through investments in infrastructure, college infrastructure, green technology, as well as new incentives to help in retraining Canada’s unemployed,” said Michael Atkinson, President of the Canadian Construction Association.
For a complete rundown of the federal budget's impact, click here .
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March 2011 Budget Shaping Up to be 'Critical One,' says CCA
By March 31, 2011 the federal government says it will cease funding any infrastructure stimulus projects and its stimulus measures will have run their course. CCA would like to see a commitment to stay with infrastructure programs and possible future ideas for such programs beyond 2011. It also hopes to see some kind of language to protect stimulus funding for projects slated to wrap up by March 31, 2011, but which may not be complete. Read more.
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Warning to Those Bidding on Infrastructure Stimulus Projects
The CCA has posted a cautionary note for contractors bidding infrastructure stimulus programs introduced in the January 2009 Federal Budget that must be completed by March 31, 2011 (e.g. including the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund and the Knowledge Infrastructure Program). We encourage you to read
CCA Bulletin on Stimulus Program Deadline.
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Upward Trend in Employment Since August
Since August, a number of industries have increased payroll employment. The construction sector has increased by 19,300 (+2.4%) over this 4-month period. During the first 10 months of the economic downturn, it had shed 61,200 jobs. Read more.
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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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