Editor’s Note
Billion Dollar Boom
I
recently travelled to Surrey to visit a friend and discovered the city landscape has changed dramatically since my last visit (guessing more than five years ago). Not surprising especially with Surrey’s recent building boom. More than a billion dollars worth of development permits were issued by the city in 2011, most of that growth coming from institutional projects. One of those prominent projects is the new RCMP E Division headquarters. The 820,000 square foot facility will be the largest RCMP complex in Canada, bringing together more than 2,700 personnel to provide more efficient and effective policing services for the community. For our profile, I spoke with Scott Jacob of Jacob Bros Construction. Scott along with his two brothers joined forces four years ago to create a company specializing in heavy civil and commer-
cial building projects. Working together, they have capitalized on their combined areas of expertise to build a successful business. This issue is also our annual focus on the open shop sector. With the next B.C. provincial election coming up, many in the construction industry are concerned. ICBA examines the impact of a likely NDP win as well as rising municipal fees. Merit Canada’s president reports on the open shop progress nationally. A number of other features round out this summer packed issue including steel, skills training and engineering. In our engineering section, experts share insights on total building commissioning, mapping innovations and performance based analysis. With the outlook for construction activity improving, finding skilled labour is top of mind.
Read about a new blended apprenticeship training program, the continuing importance of safety training and how to address the demand for skilled labour. Finally, the VRCA has announced its Awards of Excellence silver winners. This year’s winners once again highlight the talent and innovations in the industry. Make sure to read about all the winners in our Nov/Dec issue.
Cheryl Mah Managing Editor
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