ROADBuilder Summer 2023

BuildForce report frames Canada’s construction labour shortage

Clearing the way for Ontario’s steel index

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Chief Executive Officer

MICHAEL Mc SWEENEY

And so we’ve arrived at the midpoint of 2023. I’ll admit, it feels like I was counting in the new year only a month ago, but here we are, already at the start of what promises to be another busy summer season. The last six months have certainly been a blur, but I imagine that’s because the first half of 2023 kept me and the team at ORBA nothing short of busy.

There is much to talk about since our last issue of ORBA’s ROADBuilder magazine. Off the top, I am proud to say the 98th Annual ORBA Convention and Annual General Meeting was among our most successful yet. After a brief hiatus due to the pandemic, we were able to return to a live, in-person format that attracted over 500 members and partners to the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The Convention Planning Committee did a fantastic job in carrying out three days of insightful presentations, interactive forums, product and service showcases, networking, entertainment, and ample opportunities to reconnect face-to-face, which, I’m sure you’ll agree, was long overdue.

Message from the Chief Executive Officer

The turnout for this year’s convention was tremendous and we are proud to have hosted leaders, innovators, and experts from across the industry. ORBA is also thankful for participation from leaders across the Government of Ontario, including the Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation; John Fraser, Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party; the Hon. Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education; the Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance; the Hon. Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure; Phil Verster, President & Chief Executive Officer of Metrolinx; and Michael Lindsay, President & CEO of Infrastructure Ontario, among others. It would take more than this column allows to list all the honoured guests who joined us. Nevertheless, their engagement is a positive sign that ORBA is on the government’s radar and a respected partner in its plans.

Becoming a more vocal and influential industry advocate has kept our calendars full. And in 2023, I am proud to say that the ORBA team has been successful in ramping up our efforts to get in front of the province’s key decision-makers and make our members’ concerns, issues, and needs heard. On the topic of Ontario’s labour shortage, for example, we have partnered with allies such as the Residential & Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario, the Ontario Sewer & Watermain Construction Association, the Canadian Construction ››

Association, and the Ontario Construction Association to raise the call among governments for actions that will bring more skilled labourers into Ontario. Similarly, we have been in multiple industry consultations ensuring ORBA members are heard on key advocacy issues including provincial tendering, health and safety, and environmental initiatives.

One of the biggest wins in 2023 has been the opportunity to sit down with Premier Doug Ford and Minister Caroline Mulroney in March to discuss our industry’s concerns regarding contract models and project risk management, and our desire to get to a place of greater trust and collaboration. I am happy to announce that, from that meeting, Minister Caroline Mulroney established a ministerial working group with ORBA to solve the problems that we see on today’s job sites.

This is a strong step forward, and the fact we are also in greater consultations with the Minister of Finance regarding our industry’s needs and priorities shows that ORBA has a prominent seat at the table. As we strengthen these relationships, we intend to provide members with greater insights and perspectives into the issues, developments, and projects ahead.

The fact ORBA is top of mind among our political partners is promising. And as we move forward, we will keep that momentum going by getting ORBA front and centre among municipalities through more events and campaigns. Our

goal, as always, is to balance our internal focus on members with being a visible and influential presence in the Ontario transportation infrastructure community.

We have a strong team to realize that goal. This year, we welcomed several team members to their new roles, including Xin Chen, Head of Finance; Guru Missar, Director of Communications and Digital Branding; and Jasvinder Singh, Director of Membership and Events.

All told, ORBA is moving forward with a right-sized team committed to growing the association in the coming years. They will be guided by a renewed strategic plan focused on strengthening our relationships; holding ORBA more accountable for setting and achieving key performance indicators; and championing greater diversity, inclusion, and equity internally and among the industry at large. Importantly, we are moving ahead with a strategic vision that ensures ORBA is member-focused and client-driven, and that we are providing a solid value proposition for every one of our members.

ORBA has engaged a new executive director who will start August 1 and take over from me as CEO when my term ends on November 1, 2023. I am proud of what ORBA has accomplished over my temporary stay, and eager to see how our refreshed team and strategic vision take shape. There will always be obstacles in our path, but I am confident that this association is in good hands.

Director, Policy and Stakeholder Relations ANDREW HURD

S

pring is always a very busy time for the industry and so it is with your association. Over the past few months, we’ve seen welcome movement on the advocacy front thanks in no small part to the commitment and expertise of our members.

2023 budget keeps Ontario moving

At the top of ORBA’s priority list in our pre-budget submission and Queen’s Park conversations was continued strong investment in transportation infrastructure funding. We have been strongly supportive of the unprecedented levels of funding we’ve seen over the past five years from Premier Ford’s government. With the March 23 introduction of the provincial budget, it was clear that ministers Bethlenfalvy and Mulroney heard the industry’s capital needs and backed up those needs with increased funding. The budget’s title, Building a Strong Ontario, does just that with an almost $100 billion capital plan for highways, bridges and public transit over the next decade. $27.9 billion of that is devoted to highway and bridge rehabilitation and expansion representing an increase of $2.8 billion from the projections in last year’s budget. The $70.5 billion announced for transit over the next decade is an increase of $9 billion over 2022 projections.

The MTO budget for 2023 is $3.2 billion, an increase of $300 million from 2022. This robust funding will support much-needed projects such as Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass and the new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph, enable the future widening of Highway 401 in Eastern Ontario, and increase road winter maintenance primarily for roads servicing northern communities. Transit funding this year is pegged at $7.5 billion, further enabling the expansion and service enhancements of this government’s muscular transit plan.

ORBA was also pleased to see significant investments in recruitment and training, including $224 million for a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund and enhancing the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program with an additional $25 million. Coupled with the recent announcements on mandatory technical courses in our schools and enhanced apprenticeship opportunities, these investments will help position the province’s construction workforce to build the critical infrastructure necessary for the continued success of Ontario.

ORBA’s lobby day generates momentum

Over March 27 and 28, more than 25 senior representatives from ORBA/OAPCmember companies descended on Queen’s Park for our lobby day and reception. The ORBA executive conducted meetings on March 27 with Premier Ford, Minister Mulroney, and the leader of the official opposition, Marit Stiles. March 28 saw our representatives conduct 35 meetings with the leaders of all political

parties, ministers, MPPs, senior minister’s office and ministry officials. ORBA effectively delivered the message that we are the voice of Ontario’s transportation infrastructure industry as we outlined our 2023 priorities, including:

• strong capital investment with early tendering as a priority;

• helping our members deliver projects for the public through project, material, and labour risk reduction; and

• more municipal use of provincial materials indices and recycled materials in the construction of transportation infrastructure.

The reception at the end of the day provided an additional opportunity to engage in a more casual setting and saw attendance from an even greater number of MPPs and staff. A huge thank you to all ORBA and OAPC representatives for representing the industry so well!

HTA provision on snow plow safety introduced

The Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act 2023 (Bill 91) was introduced in early April and granted Royal Assent on June 8. An ORBA initiative that we have consistently championed is a prohibition on dangerous driving around snow plows. Schedule 15 of the Bill includes a prohibition on passing plows working in echelon formation on multilane highways. After much discussion with MTO, we’re pleased to see this new provision codified in the Highway Traffic Act. We also look forward to highlighting it alongside the enforcement community during safe winter driving campaigns.

New MTO steel index imminent

As part of our risk reduction efforts, ORBA initiated an approach to MTO regarding the creation of a steel index to compliment the ministry’s existing fuel and PGAC indices. After working closely with MTO coupled with advancing this initiative at the political level, we were pleased to see a draft specification posted for comment on MTO’s Technical Consultation Portal (TCP). Read on through this edition of ROADBuilder to learn more details in a featured interview with ORBA’s first vice president, Andrew Weltz, who was instrumental our efforts to see this initiative through.

Updated 127 rates published

In April, the Ministry of Transportation published updated OPSS. PROV 127 equipment rental rates on the MTO Technical Publications website. As in years past, the ORBA

127 Rates Sub-committee met extensively with MTO to discuss the rates prior to publication. One-third of the rates are updated annually. Across all rate groups, the average increase is 24 per cent.

Final words

This column also marks a milestone for me personally as I will be pursuing an opportunity outside ORBA starting in July. Leaving such a fantastic organization is never easy. It has been an honour to work for ORBA for the past six years – an association and an industry filled with great people. I want to offer my profound thanks to the ORBA Board of Directors, the Ontario Asphalt Pavement Council, CEO Michael McSweeney and all ORBA members and my staff colleagues for their guidance and support. I eagerly anticipate looking on as ORBA reaches new heights going forward.

Framing Canada’s construction labour shortage

It’s little news that the Canadian construction industry is in the grip of a years-long labour shortage. Thanks to a 2023 report from BuildForce Canada, however, sector stakeholders have a more up-todate view of how severe that shortage has become and what can – or already is – being done to curtail its impacts.

BY MATTHEW BRADFORD

©iStock

According to Statistics Canada, Ontario’s construction labour force contracted by 8,100 workers between 2019 and 2021.

BuildForce’s report reframes the immediate need for skilled tradespeople across the construction sector, including the transportation infrastructure, both to keep up with growing activity and replace exiting workers. In Ontario alone, the study says construction companies will have to recruit approximately 118,900 workers if it hopes to keep pace with sector demands as nearly 18 per cent of the current labour force (82,600 workers) prepares for retirement.

And while the study goes on to note the industry will be successful in attracting nearly 88,400 recruits, the remaining 30,500 will likely need to be recruited from the workforces of other provinces, or from other industries where workers with the skills the industry needs have been displaced, as well as through enhanced promotion to underrepresented demographics (e.g. newcomers, women, Indigenous, etc.) and through the direct recruitment of individuals from abroad.

Ontario is not alone in its skilled labour needs. As Bill Ferriera, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada, noted during his presentation at ORBA’s 2023 conference, jurisdictions across Canada are also looking to replenish their ranks. ››

Ontario’s total construction employment is expected to rise to a peak of just below 468,000 workers in 2028, an increase of 32,900 over 2022 levels.

“What we saw last year is not unique to Ontario,” says Ferriera. “Ontario is certainly one of the most impacted markets, but we saw a drawdown in unemployment rates across the country.”

The labour crunch is a result of converging factors. There are the usual

suspects, such as workers retiring en masse and tepid interest in the trades among younger generations. Then there are more recent factors, including fast-growing demand across all construction sectors, particularly in residential housing, which is becoming a significant pull factor on the industry.

“Historically, while the infrastructure transportation sector has been able to draw in a set number of individuals on an annual basis, there’s no guarantee that we’re going to be able to continue to do that in the future as all industries are experiencing similar retirement rates and aggressively recruiting younger workers,” says Ferriera. “That means the competition for talent will become extremely competitive and employers will need to look beyond traditional recruitment channels to find the workers they will need to keep pace with construction demands.”

It doesn’t help that Canada’s current demographics are not in the industry’s favour. BuildForce’s report indicates the share of the country’s labour force aged 65 and over rose from 15 per cent in 2012 to 19 per cent in 2022, with many in that cohort already in or nearing retirement. Meanwhile, a further 20 per cent of the population is now between the ages of 50 and 64, while only 16 per cent of the population is 15 years old or younger. That means over the next 15 years, more individuals will retire

than there are young people available to replace them.

Shortening the gap

The labour shortage has been a persistent challenge, but the construction industry has not stood idle. In recent years, employers and industry groups have ramped up their efforts to draw more talent to the trades through awareness campaigns, training and educational initiatives, or collaboration with public sector allies to create more visible and accessible career pathways.

Certainly, creating pathways for young people and newcomers into construction is among the most effective strategies. And today, initiatives such as BuildForce’s Construction Career Pathways, the Canadian Construction Association’s Talent Fits Here program, ORBA’s Road Building Academy, the Ontario Construction Careers Alliance, and the Canadian Apprenticeship Service are working diligently to make those connections.

“Those heightened industry recruitment efforts are seeing success,” reports Ferriera. “The industry has been quite aggressive for more than a decade now in promoting careers in the trades, and governments have also been paying more attention to the issue and lending their support, which is also nice to see and is making a difference.”

The proof is in the numbers, he adds.

According to BuildForce’s labour report, the industry has successfully increased its number of young workers under 25 by 7 per cent since 2019. The percentage rate of women entering the industry is also on the rise, with the number of female apprentices rising to 666 in 2021, compared to 498 just a few years prior.

“It’s still a small share, but we have been seeing those percentages grow over time. That speaks well of the

marketing the industry has been doing, but also the work being done among industry advocates and governments to try to change the perception of careers in the skilled trades,” says Ferriera.

“Overall, we’re starting to see a positive sea change when it comes to attitudes towards skilled trades,” he adds. “That is going to lead to some additional recruitment, but not yet to the levels required to address the retirement of those Baby Boomers and Generation Xers that we anticipate seeing over the next ten to fifteen years.” ››

There are certainly some optimistic trends concerning labour recruitment. Yet, as BuildForce’s report rightly points out, completely addressing the industry’s labour gap will rely on extended efforts to engage demographic groups that have been historically underrepresented in the field. That not only includes women and workers from Indigenous communities, but also the newcomers who are coming into Canada in increasing numbers.

As BuildForce states: “New federal immigration targets, announced in November 2022, call for the addition of 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and a further 500,000 in 2025. These new targets should support further growth in the core working-age group of 25 to 54 years and may help moderate labour market pressures over the next decade. They will also require domestic industries to improve their recruitment of newcomers to supplement their traditional domestic recruitment programs.”

Immigration undoubtedly remains a key driver of population growth. Nevertheless, says Ferriera, there appear to be disconnects when it comes to linking those new arrivals to opportunities in construction.

“We know that newcomers now make up 27 per cent of the overall labour force in Canada today. In the construction industry, however, they represent under 20 per cent. That indicates we are not getting our share of newcomers into the industry, and that’s something that we have to do a better job of if we’re going to be able to keep pace and ensure that the acute shortages we saw last year don’t become chronic,” says Ferriera.

Moving forward, industry players will be compelled to find more effective ways of connecting with newcomers, enticing them into the trades, and creating workplaces in which they feel welcome and empowered. To that end, employers can begin by forging greater relationships with newcomer settlement organizations (e.g. COSTI) while governments can go further in making it easier to source and place new arrivals in construction roles.

“We need a policy environment that supports bringing in individuals with construction experience, because there’s no point in trying to convince, say, a doctor who just arrived in Canada that they should consider a career as a carpenter,” says Ferriera. “That might work on the odd occasion, but it’s much better to bring in individuals who have construction

experience and want to work in the construction industry. Those are the kinds of individuals that we need to ensure are also coming into Canada in numbers sufficient to meet the needs of the workforce.”

At the turning point

There is plenty of work to be done in Canada. Between postpandemic backlogs, Canada’s net zero transformations, the urgent call for more housing, the Doug Ford government’s ambitious transportation infrastructure agenda, and a wealth of nationwide construction demands, the need for skilled talent isn’t likely to fade any time soon.

“It’s a really good time to be in construction,” agrees Ferriera. “There’s a significant volume of work already out there, but we need to find the people who will take it on.”

Certainly, as the labour shortage intensifies, industry players across the sectors and all levels of government will need to continue –and accelerate – their strategies for engaging and retaining the people that will keep their teams intact.

Matt Bradford is an industry writer for the Canadian construction industry. He can be reached at mirbradford@gmail.com.

Diversity, equity and inclusion in construction

Efforts are underway to address the labour gaps in the construction industry. While many solutions require time to yield results, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusivity in workplaces, whether in the field or office, is a strategy that can have a more immediate impact. Lisa Laronde, president of RSG International, is recognized as a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the industry. She understands the benefits of prioritizing DEI principles within her organization and the broader industry. At the 2023 ORBA convention, she emphasized the significance of ensuring a welcoming and equitable sector for everyone, particularly as employers increasingly turn to underrepresented demographics to address labor shortages.

According to Laronde, having a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial for success in today’s world. Younger generations are particularly interested in working for employers who prioritize inclusivity and diversity, often prioritizing such workplaces over higher salaries.

Laronde further explains that focusing on DEI extends beyond providing equal opportunities and preventing

harassment. It entails nurturing a culture where all employees feel heard, and their values and beliefs are genuinely respected at all levels. It also involves taking meaningful steps to support their lifestyles, cultures, and well-being.

Prioritizing DEI requires effort, but organizations that commit to this journey benefit by becoming an “employer ››

of choice” for a wider range of talent. This diverse talent brings new perspectives, innovative ideas, and diverse skills necessary for competing and thriving in today’s competitive industry.

“A diverse workforce allows you to engage with a broader customer base. Each municipality has different stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, and we are seeing partnerships

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with international companies that have different cultures and languages. To effectively collaborate with them, you need diversity within your team,” Laronde adds.

However, changing the culture and achieving DEI goals is a gradual process that requires continuous effort. Organizations can take small but significant steps to initiate this ongoing journey:

Establish a DEI committee: Formalize the DEI journey by creating a committee responsible for identifying and addressing ways to make the organization more inclusive, accommodating, and empowering for everyone.

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Address unconscious biases: Recognize any unconscious biases that may influence hiring decisions. This includes examining how job advertisements are written and diversifying the candidate pool to avoid favouring individuals who resemble the existing team. “We tend to hire people who look like us, talk like us, and act like this,” says Laronde. “It’s helpful to take a step back and see where those unconscious biases lie – whether that’s in how we advertise jobs or who we choose as candidates – and change or stop them altogether.”

Embrace education: Seek guidance from DEI specialists or companies experienced in DEI initiatives to gain a better understanding of what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean within your organization and the communities you serve.

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Assess employee experiences: Use employee engagement surveys or informal meetings to gauge the experiences of your workforce and identify areas for improvement to create a more inclusive work environment.

Lead by example: Ensure that the company’s leadership actively demonstrates and supports the DEI mission. It is not enough to make promises; management must deliver on creating a respectful and inclusive workplace free from harassment and discrimination that starts with senior leaders. “It’s not enough just to say that, yes, we will provide a respectful and inclusive workplace that’s free of harassment and bullying and discrimination. Management has to make sure that it actually delivers on that,” says Laronde, adding, “All it takes is a few bad examples to discourage people from even considering careers in construction, and we can’t afford to do that anymore.”

Take gradual steps: The DEI journey progresses in incremental steps. Start by defining DEI within your organization and then implement small actions that build momentum.

Communicate achievements: Celebrate and share even the smallest DEI milestones with your team through various communication channels such as newsletters, meetings, and emails. Highlight these achievements at company events to demonstrate progress and encourage further engagement.

Where to start

DEI is not just a buzzword but a transformative culture change that has tangible benefits for organizations. It enhances their ability to attract and retain talent and conduct business successfully in a diverse landscape. Prioritizing inclusivity and creating welcoming workplaces for all Canadians is not only the right thing to do, but it also creates a positive and lasting impact.

“You can’t force this on anybody, so you need to start slow. Pick one or two things you want to do and move forward from there,” offers Laronde. “For example, we started with adding a gender-neutral bathroom, which I thought was going to be an easy one, but ended up drawing a lot of pushback. Now, I have to laugh because there’s a lineup to use that bathroom because it’s a nice, inclusive and private place.” That small action, she continues, has helped nudge the team forward into other positive changes. “Adding that bathroom created a really positive culture that everybody now expects. Today, the ideas and suggestions are flowing. Our DEI vision is working. We’ve moved on to sustainability, we’re trying new things with recycling, and we’re looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint.”

“It’s these small victories that add up,” she adds.

Matt Bradford is an industry writer for the Canadian construction industry. He can be reached at mirbradford@gmail.com.

CASSIE CAMPBELL-PASCALL

OLYMPIC CHAMPION AND WORLD CHAMPION

BY LARA HENRY

Cassie Campbell-Pascall on consistent leadership and finding the right path

A three-time Olympic champion and eight-time world champion, Cassie Campbell-Pascall is the only Canadian team captain to have led her team to two Olympic gold medals. Following her retirement from hockey, she turned to broadcasting, taking a position at Hockey Night in Canada and becoming the first woman to provide colour commentary on the Saturday night broadcast. Campbell-Pascall has become a trailblazer for women in sports as well as making it her mission to build relationships with organizations that are focused on improving the lives of everyone in her community. She devotes much of her time to partnerships with Ronald McDonald House, the Scotiabank Girls Hockey Fest, and now with the analytics department of AWS (Amazon Web Services) and the NHL.

She is a member of the Board of Directors for the new Hockey Canada Board and has raised millions of dollars for Ronald McDonald House Canada among other charities. In 2016, Cassie’s contributions were recognized with an appointment to the Order of Canada.

On February 7, 2023, the second day of ORBA’s conference opened with a keynote address by Cassie Campbell-Pascall where she drew on decades of personal, athletic and professional experience to share her insights into consistent leadership and finding the right path for you and your business.

Our Way

It’s not surprising that there seems to be a general level of anxiety in the world these days. We’ve been through three years of COVID and we’re not even sure how to process that or what it means to be on the other side. We may be questioning what we are doing, what path we’re on, and whether we are being effective and consistent as leaders and in our personal lives.

I think we are all looking for the right path. Depending on the day, it may feel as if our path is going this way, then that way, then straight, then backwards. While there may not be one correct way of doing things, there is a correct path, and the correct path is just trying to be consistent. It’s showing up and doing the best that you can do in the given moment.

We learn the most about ourselves when we embrace challenges. That’s what creates a change in a direction that we need to go and helps us find our path.

I went through a period where I was the management consultant for our national women’s hockey team. It had gone through a tough time where we weren’t winning and the expectation, of course, when you play for Team Canada is that you win gold. Then COVID hit, and the athletes were training while not knowing if they were even going to the Olympics. Everything was changing and events were being cancelled. The path was unknown. So we came up with our path – a path leading to the Olympic games. And in case you’ve forgotten, we won those games. ››

The players of the national women’s team came up with a slogan, Our Way Feels Like Family, with five points outlining what Our Way meant to them. When they started to get off the path, they could simply look at each other and say Our Way, and everyone would know what it meant.

Perspective

One of the great things about playing for a national women’s team and even going on to be national broadcaster as a female in hockey is that you have to have the ability to learn from challenges. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to learn from COVID, but I know that someday I will. And one of the things I learned through playing is about perspective.

When you play for Hockey Canada and you play for our country and you go to

Our Way Feels Like Family

1 Our way creates an environment where we can have fun, feel safe, grow, learn, work as a cohesive unit in accomplishing our goals and get better every day.

2 Our way is being united in our commitment to the iterative process that this year will be.

3 Our way is being and playing consistently – showing up every day with a purpose and great habits.

4 Our way is embracing the ups and downs and staying committed and patient with our game plan.

5 Our way is unstoppable.

When it seemed things were getting a little tough or there was no path to follow, the team could go back to what Our Way meant. If someone was having a bad day and needed a little pickme-up, all you had to do was tap them on the shin pads and say Our Way.

a world championship or Olympic games and you do not win, you feel like you are not welcome home because the expectation in this country is gold or bust. That’s the expectation; that’s the pressure that we face.

I remember the very first Olympics for women’s hockey in 1998. We lost, finishing second. Our men’s team finished fourth. The next day I had a drug test and it ended up being the best day of my life because I ran in Susan Auch, a great Canadian Olympian from Winnipeg, Manitoba, two-time silver medalist plus a bronze medal in speed skating. She was my hero.

She looked at me, gave me a big hug and said, “Cass, congrats on the silver medal last night.” I looked at her and said, “Susan, it’s not like a speed skater where you get a time and you get to stand on the podium and see your flag. It doesn’t work that way for us. We lost. We lost the last game.” And she looked at me and said, “Cass, how many people in this world don’t get to be Olympic athletes, and how many Olympic athletes don’t get a chance to be medalists.”

And that’s the truth. Some people win and some people don’t. But we can learn from any challenge given to us by learning about perspective. What do we need to do a little bit differently? How do we make ourselves and our teammates just a little bit better? As an athlete, we embrace challenges because that’s where we’re going to learn the most about ourselves. That’s what creates a change in a direction that we need to go. That’s going to help us with our path.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ELIMINATES STRESS AND ANXIETY

Cassie Campbell-Pascall’s four rules of eliminating stress through communication:

1. Eat your crow while it is young and tender. Apologising means that you value the relationship. By saying sorry you start effective communication and get the ball rolling in a positive fashion.

2. Avoid thoughts of special entitlement no matter who you are.

Finding your path is about being a contributor. Start your day believing that you are going to make a contribution that day. If you can’t do that, make someone else believe that they will make a contribution that day. Because then you’ll have made a contribution.

I am the first Canadian hockey captain to lose a world championship in 2005. We lost 1-0 in the shoot out. I came home to find that on the front page of the Toronto Star and other newspapers across the country was the ugliest photo of me ever taken. In the photo, we had just lost and I was wiping some tears from my face.

My dad was so angry he cancelled his subscription to the Toronto Star. And I said, “Dad, isn’t it unbelievable? Women’s hockey is on the front page of the newspaper.” I called my husband and told him about the ugliest picture of me ever taken, and he said, “Cass, I hate to tell you, but it’s not just on the front page of the Toronto Star.” It was across the country. Women’s hockey – we made it! ››

Even if you’ve been in the company for 30 years, the best idea in the company can come from the person who just started that day. Leaders show that everyone’s thoughts are welcome. They want input from people around them. If you’re feeling entitled, you won’t get all the information that you need to hear.

3. Don’t be a one-upper. Are you really listening to what someone is saying or are you thinking about what your response is going to be? We need to listen and to hear.

4. Spend less time finding the blame and more time fixing the problem.

If we focus solely on the problem, we’re going to take a wrong turn and go in the wrong direction. But if we focus on solution-based, consistent leadership, we will go in the right direction, get on the right path, and give ourselves the best chance to succeed.

Remember this was my last Olympic year and I knew it. I cut that picture out and put it in my wallet. When I was going for training and I knew it was going to be a tough day, I would put that picture in my stall. And that was my challenge in sport. Like my challenge in the first Olympics for women’s hockey where we were expected to win gold gave me perspective, this one gave me motivation. I didn’t want to feel like that again, standing on the blue line listening to the wrong national anthem as the wrong flag was raised to the rafters.

So embrace challenges. They’re not there to kill us though some days it feels that way. They’re there to somehow make us better, and if we approach it that way, it can turn into something positive.

Opportunities

I’ve been in broadcasting now for seventeen seasons and it’s been such a blast. I remember my very first experience on Hockey Night in Canada on October 14, 2006. When

I was a player, I worked for TSN and I would dabble in some of the women’s hockey coverage they had when I wasn’t playing. Then all of a sudden I’d finished my career and Hockey Night in Canada called me. I hadn’t studied broadcasting or worked my way up, I just started on the biggest and greatest sports show that this country has ever seen.

On my first day on the job it was the battle of Alberta. They used to tape the interviews in advance, and my very first interview was with Craig MacTavish. I was nervous, and when I started the interview, I couldn’t remember his name. His immediately leant over and said to me, “Cass, it’s two hours until the game and I have time. We’ll just do this again. It’s no problem.” We did the interview, everything went well, and it aired.

On my second day on the job, I travelled to Toronto where the Calgary Flames were playing the Toronto Maple Leafs. Harry Neale got snowed in the night before and couldn’t make the game. They asked me to stand in for him and

be a colour analyst on Hockey Night in Canada. So there I was with Mr. Bob Cole calling the game in Toronto. Mats Sundin got a hat trick that night, scoring his 500th goal in overtime. Mark Giordano scored his first two goals ever in the national hockey league. It was an incredible game. And I called a goal before it happened.

This was an opportunity that I almost didn’t say yes to, and it led to 17 years broadcasting. I could have said no that day because it felt too much out of my comfort zone. You just never know. The greatest opportunities tend to just hit you right over the head and you need to jump in and take them no matter how big or how small. That’s about being consistent; that’s about finding your path.

Contributing

Finding your path is also about being a contributor. I’ve had mornings where I get up and wonder how I am going to get through this day. We all have them. Other mornings we get up and we feel like we are going to solve the world’s problems.

The important thing is that at some point before you start your day, you need to believe that you are going to make a contribution that day. If you can’t do that, make someone else believe that they are making a contribution. Because then you will have made a contribution.

Leadership is about recognizing when we are not going in the right direction, then working together on finding solutions.

It could be a little thing – a card or a note; an invitation for coffee; a compliment or acknowledgement of a job well done. Little words like thank you, please –all those are signs of appreciation and making people feel like they are making a contribution.

Finally, leadership is about recognizing when we are not going in the right direction, then working together on finding solutions. That’s leadership, that’s consistency, that’s about finding the path.

©Shutterstock

Lara Henry is a communication specialist and editor of ROADBuilder.

96th ANNUAL ORBA CONVENTION

Building on Strong Foundations: Leading Ontario’s Transportation Future

The Ontario Road Builders’ Association’s 96th Annual Convention and AGM brought together industry experts, prominent researchers, policy leaders, and the best minds in the road building industry on February 6 and 7.

With the theme Building on Strong Foundations: Leading Ontario’s Transportation Future, the convention delivered a wide-ranging and insightful program for the road building industry as it begins reshaping Ontario’s transportation future.

MARIO

VILLENEUVE was elected as president of ORBA

Mario Villeneuve spoke about his priorities as president including a sustainable and inclusive road building workforce, more transparent and effective highway maintenance contracts, more environmentally sustainable industry practices, the need for a road to the Ring of Fire and further improvements to Highways 11 and 17.

Champion and trailblazer

CASSIE CAMPBELL-PASCALL and survivorman LES STROUD delivered the two keynote addresses.

Key political leaders spoke on the road ahead

Minister of Transportation

Caroline Mulroney

“Together with ORBA, our government is building long-overdue transportation infrastructure that the people of Ontario can rely on for today and generations to come.”

Minister of Education

Stephen Lecce

“The number one way by which we can create value for your industry is making sure that the next generation of graduates in the province are talented, capable and ambitious young people who are ready to embrace opportunities in the skilled trades.”

Minister of Finance

Peter Bethlenfalvy

“I still think you’ve got to look down the road, pun intended, to building infrastructure because these are productive assets. These are real assets – they will help move people; they’ll help move goods to market.”

Minister of Infrastructure

Kinga Surma

“This past November, the government and Infrastructure Ontario shared our market update which includes 39 projects in pre-procurement and active procurement totalling more than $35 billion in estimated design and construction costs.”

Interim Ontario Liberal Leader MPP John

Fraser

“Climate change is also a big problem. It’s immediate too. It forces us to change the way we build everything. Because we’re not just building for today, we’re building for tomorrow.”

Toronto City Councillor Brad

Bradford

“There are no silver bullets to our transportation challenges. I remind people all the time that mobility is access to opportunity. But it’s not a single bullet; that’s not how we’re going to fix it. It’s thousands of points of innovation.”

MTO, Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario leaders provided updates

ORBA members have demonstrated real resilience and have continued to build Ontario, says Infrastructure Ontario CEO & President Michael Lindsay. “We ARE listening.”

spoke about the learning process of adopting progressive design-build contracts, but affirmed, “This is the right place for us to be as an industry.”

to outgoing ORBA president, KEVIN MACHEJ of Dufferin Construction Company and outgoing OAPC Chair DOMINIC CRUPI of the Crupi Group.

Deputy Minister Doug Jones and ADMs Jennifer Graham Harkness and Eric Doidge led their teams in providing MTO capital program, technical and operations updates to ORBA attendees.

Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster

Clearing the way for Ontario’s steel index

Rising material costs are posing a challenge for players across the construction sector. That includes those in the transportation infrastructure space where the escalating price of steel is making it increasingly difficult to plan ahead. In response, ORBA and other industry advocates are hoping the introduction of a steel index provides some relief.

BY MATTHEW BRADFORD

The proposed steel index imposes a 10 per cent price threshold on steel prices.

As it stands, Ontario does not currently have a mechanism to deal with the hyperinflation of key construction materials outside of fuel and performance graded asphalt cement (AC). Through the introduction of a similar mechanism for steel, industry advocates hope to change that in 2023.

“There is usually a gap of several weeks (or sometimes months in the case of municipal work) between bid submission, award, mobilization, and shovels in the ground. Within that timeframe, the price for key materials may have changed,” ORBA stated in its February 2023 pre-budget submission to MTO.

With regard to steel, ORBA’s submission says, “Key materials indices serve as transparent mechanisms to ensure fairness for all parties and take some of the risk out of the process. Our members are strongly of the view that a steel index would provide more certainty, help to reduce risk in contracts and ensure fairness for all parties.”

The proposed steel index takes its cues from the existing PGAC index. It imposes a 10 per cent price threshold on steel prices, meaning owners would reimburse contractors if the difference between the submitted bid price for the item and price at the time of purchase is higher than 10 per cent, and contractors would reimburse owners in the event the price decreased over that 10 per cent.

”The idea behind the steel index is that it insulates us against price increases over that 10 per cent. So if there is a major change that drives the price of steel up, this will serve as a remedy,” says Andrew Weltz, Vice President, Eastern Canada at BAUER Foundations Canada Inc. and incoming ORBA president. ››

The steel index would provide more certainty, help to reduce risk in contracts and ensure fairness for all parties.

Weltz has been among the team championing the creation of a steel index within Ontario. He explains that the plan calls for the index to be based on the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) which was found to best reflect what is being observed across the North American market. While there is recognition that steel is imported from all over the world, there is a consensus that the IPPI is the best route.

“Collectively, when we set out on this initiative with the MTO, we agreed that ‘If you’re looking for perfection, we’ll never get there.’ What we need to be aiming for is something that will soften the blow, and we believe this is the strongest approach,” says Weltz.

A rising concern

There is a strong appetite for the steel index. Fluctuating steel prices have been a source of frustration for many in the field. And while prices are beginning to recover, ongoing economic fluctuations and supply chain disruptions such as the RussoUkrainian War continue to fuel inflationary costs. All told, there remains demand for a tool that can provide some degree of protection for contractors in an industry where steel is an essential component of the job.

“Steel is a major component of a lot of what we do. It’s used to reinforce our concrete and is a key component for our bridge builders,” notes Weltz, explaining, “What we saw as a result

of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, however, is an increase in the price of steel by nearly two-and-a-half times. This increase is crippling the companies who were buying steel.”

Moreover, inflationary material prices can increase bid prices for public contracts which fuels further inflation. This leads to higher costs for project owners who, in turn, may have more difficulty making good on their public transportation infrastructure projects and associated economic benefits.

A question of timing

With the steel index nearing its arrival, the focus is now on deciding when it should be applied.

©iStock

As Weltz explains, “We need to have it tied to the time at which the company is paying for the steel and when the price fluctuation actually occurs. The question is, when would that be? When the steel is installed in the bridge? When the steel is made?”

It’s a tricky question, he admits, noting, “When you have a job that’s several years long, you buy all the steel at the beginning but install the last piece of steel in the final year. That’s not necessarily the best time to try and capture steel prices because you purchased it years earlier. So, the last step is to get down into the minutia of this index and determine exactly when we crystallize that price.”

Narrowing in on the timing is key. And given all the factors, Weltz suggests that the ideal time to apply the index appears to be when the material is made: “That’s the easiest time because there are quality control documents that help verify when the steel was made. The MTO is always looking for transparency, and those are probably the most transparent documents to work with.”

Widespread adoption

The creation of a steel index is a significant step. The next, however, will be encouraging its adoption among project owners and their contractors. Promisingly, Weltz reports that feedback from Ontario’s municipalities has been generally positive, given the understanding that reducing project risk benefits both contractors and their clients.

“Look at it this way – if I, as a contractor, change my bidding price to reflect the possibility of steel going up, then the general contractor might do the same thing. And if we all guess on the high side, which we would do to avoid that risk, then the ministry will end up paying – and in a sense, overpaying –for risks that might not come to fruition,” says Weltz. “This steel index eliminates the possibility of them overpaying and gives them surety that they pay for what they receive.”

The advantages will extend to communities as well. By taking some of the risk out of transportation infrastructure projects, municipalities will make more

effective use of their tax dollars while potentially going forward with more projects.

That is, of course, if contractors are on board with the steel index themselves. As it stands, using the index will be an optional mechanism for contractors. That’s why Weltz says it’s important that project bidders make their choice clear from the start to avoid participation by default. “The general thought is that if they don’t opt out, they will have opted into it as a result of doing nothing. So it’s important for contractors to understand the spec and know that if you’re not opting out, you have to make that official.” Similarly, it’s important to understand that contractors must make that decision for every item.

The steel index is ready to make its debut in Ontario. And while it will take some time for the benefits to take shape, ORBA and its partners are confident that the mechanism will introduce much-needed stability for project stakeholders during increasingly unpredictable times.

Without a mechanism to account for these fluctuations, contractors bidding on projects are left to make their best estimates as to what their material prices might be well before they make their purchase.

ORBA Hall of Fame

Ted Arscott received ORBA’s highest honour as the 2022 ORBA Hall of Fame inductee. Co-founder of Roto-Mill Inc. in 1979, Arscott joined the ORBA Board in 2003 and stayed on as an active director until 2020. He immersed himself in the development and support of the Association during his time on the Board and ORBA members and the industry have benefited greatly from his commitment and generosity.

“It is truly a personal honour to be a member of the Ontario Road Builders Hall of Fame,” said Arscott.

Ministry of Transportation Awards

Dufferin Construction Company won the 2022 Asphalt Paver of the Year Award for work conducted on Contract 2022-2014 (Highway 403 from Wilson St. to west of Jerseyville Rd. in Hamilton).

Dufferin Construction Company was also named the winner of the Concrete Contract of the Year Award for Contract 2019-3015 (QEW from Fairview St. to Lakeshore Rd. in Burlington).

Vincent Gangaram of Dufferin Construction Company accepted the Asphalt Paver of the Year Award from Deputy Minister of Transportation Doug Jones and ORBA president Mario Villeneuve.

Ryan Farrish of Dufferin Construction Company accepted the Concrete Contract of the Year Award from ORBA president Mario Villeneuve and Deputy Minister of Transportation Doug Jones.

Mark Rivett, Lafarge Canada Inc. Ted Arscott, Roto-Mill Inc.

ORBA Awards

Kiewit-Dufferin received this year’s ORBA Transportation Infrastructure Innovation Award for their Rapid Bridge Reconstruction (RBR) at the north side of Highway 417 in Ottawa. The chosen method allowed the project team to successfully complete the project in record time, causing minimal impact on traffic and the public.

Peter Kiewit Sons ULC received this year’s ORBA Community Leadership Award for their various community involvement activities during the construction of the Kingston Third Crossing which amounted to over $10,000 in charitable donations given and over 80 service hours offered by team members.

Routly Safety Awards

Milestone

Amico Infrastructures Inc.

2,273,852 person-hours without a lost-time injury.

Category 2

Beamish Construction Inc.

275,041 person-hours without a lost-time injury.

Fuhrscher Installations Inc.

24,876 person-hours without a lost-time injury.

Rob Cornell & Terence Yang accepted their Transportation Infrastructure Innovation Award for their Kiewit-Dufferin Highway 417 Ottawa Mid-Town Bridge Project presented by Kevin Machej.

Mauro Mastronardi & Dan Steinke pictured with Kevin Machej received the Milestone Award for Safety.

Kori Hayward received the Routly Safety Award Category 2 on behalf of Beamish Construction Inc.

Paul Schertzberg from Fuhrscher Installations Inc. received the Routly Award Category 1

Kevin Machej presented Jonathan Panneton from Peter Kiewit with the 2022 Community Leadership Award for their Kingston Third Crossing project.

ORBA Transportation Infrastructure Innovation Award

ORBA Community Leadership Award

ORBA Scholarship Recipients

ORBA was pleased to award three scholarships at its 96th Annual Convention. This year’s recipients are all inspiring women and we congratulate them on their achievements

Imandra Mudalige of George Brown College

Camille Baril of the University of Ottawa

Nicole Simmons of Queen’s University

Ontario Road Builders’ Association ready to move on Ontario budget

BY MICHAEL M c SWEENEY

ORBA has long held confidence in the Ford government’s commitment to transportation infrastructure. And following the Ontario 2023 budget announcement in March, I can safely say that our faith is well-placed.

Announcing the “most ambitious capital plan in Ontario’s history” was a bold move for the government, but the numbers add up.

To see $100 billion in funding allotted for highways, bridges, and public transit works over the next years is encouraging, to say the least, as is knowing $27.9 billion has been earmarked for critical highway rehabilitation and expansion projects. These are clear signposts that the province is holding true to its promise of “Building a Strong Ontario.”

ORBA was particularly interested to see vital transportation infrastructure projects take the spotlight in the province’s capital planning. This includes the building of the new Bradford Bypass, which will connect Highway 400 in the County of Simcoe and Highway 404 in the York Region; the new Highway 413, which will connect commuters across Halton, Peel, and York regions; and the new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph, among other much-needed works.

At the same time, we are excited for our members to begin work on widening Highway 401 in Eastern Ontario and

twinning the QEW Garden City Skyway Bridge, and to continue to work with First Nations in the north with the budget’s additional $5 million for the Winter Roads Program.

Make no mistake, these are no small investments. They are, however, the level of investment Ontario needs right now to ensure a safe, reliable, and sustainable transportation network — especially as Ontario prepares to welcome 5.6 million more people over the next 25 years.

Moreover, these robust investments will keep our members busy and our industry thriving, creating jobs and economic growth that will ripple far beyond our industry alone.

Of course, we need people to make these projects happen. BuildForce predicts that nearly 72,000 additional construction workers will be required to make good on the government’s infrastructure capital plan.

This is why ORBA’s pre-budget consultations included recommendations to enhance and better support key provincial and federal employment programs that get skilled individuals into the transportation infrastructure industry.

We’re happy to see those recommendations reflected in Ontario’s plans to make significant investments in recruitment and training, including $224 million for a new capital stream of the Skills Development Fund and $25 million in funding to enhance the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

Coupled with the recent announcements on mandatory technical courses in our schools and enhanced apprenticeship opportunities, these investments will help position our regional workforce to build the critical infrastructure necessary for the province’s continued success.

All told, OBRA thanks this government for its ongoing support and unprecedented transportation infrastructure funding announced in its most recent budget. For our part, ORBA and its members are equally committed to getting to work on our collective goal of keeping Ontario moving.

These opinion columns are excerpted from monthly columns published online through a partnership between ORBA and Metroland Media.

Nearly everything you purchase arrives at a retail outlet by truck on

Ontario roads

BY MICHAEL M c SWEENEY

I recently had the opportunity to travel along Highway 401 from Toronto to London. Being from Ottawa, I don’t usually drive this stretch of the 401, but on this day, I was attending an event and was on the roadway by mid-afternoon.

I was escorted to London by an armada of freight trucks that were most likely making their way toward the WindsorDetroit border crossing with a payload of goods.

According to the Ontario Trucking Association, four out of five of the busiest land crossings between Canada and the United States are in Ontario, with more trade flowing between Windsor and Detroit than through any border crossing in the world.

The freight trucks that you see on roads and highways are taking goods produced right here in Ontario and making their way to American markets. Goods also make their way from Mexico and the United States to grocery stores, automobile manufacturers, and home improvement outlets across the province.

Our road network is vital to Ontario’s economic competitiveness. Ontario’s provincial government is right to focus on increasing public transit. However, remember everything you purchase arrives at a retail outlet by truck.

You can’t deliver car parts or fresh produce on the GO Train. Having an effective transportation network is key to Ontario’s jobs and investment strategy. The Ontario Trucking Association estimates over 90 per cent of all consumer products and foodstuffs are shipped by truck, either solely or in part.

Getting consumer products to their destination puts 200,000 trucks on Ontario roads on any given day. The economic vitality of the province relies on the delivery of goods and services over our road network to compete in the fast-paced business world.

Having 200,000 trucks on the road with daily commuters is a recipe for congestion. Congestion costs the GTA alone $11 billion per year in lost productivity and adds to the cost of goods, and creates carbon emissions.

The GTA needs new infrastructure to help move people and goods, or the region will quickly become overwhelmed. A new 400-series highway and transitway like Highway 413 will significantly reduce travel times for all drivers in York, Peel and Halton Regions.

There are a few undeniable truths. Our province’s population will continue to grow, more and more vehicles will be travelling on our highways, and trucks will continue to use our road network to deliver goods and services.

Highway 413 will be a catalyst to help Ontario’s economy, reduce travel time for GTA residents and reduce greenhouse gases produced by gridlock. We must begin to build the necessary transportation infrastructure today, so we can be ready to meet the growth challenges of tomorrow.

These opinion columns are excerpted from monthly columns published online through a partnership between ORBA and Metroland Media.

ROAD BUILDING ACADEMY

ORBA is delighted to proclaim the triumphant completion of the 2023 Road Building Academy. The event, which took place at the state-of-the-art BMO Institute for Learning (BMO IFL) in Toronto, was an unprecedented success, reinforcing ORBA’s commitment to nurturing the growth of the transportation infrastructure industry through quality education and skill development.

The Academy’s curriculum is designed to touch on four essential areas: Management and Leadership, Business and Professional, Technical and Safety, and Law and Legal Matters. This comprehensive approach ensures our attendees receive a well-rounded education that benefits their development as industry professionals.

The 2023 Road Building Academy, marking the 16th annual event of its kind, featured an array of 27 enriching courses. We were delighted to bring back eight popular online courses from previous years, along with the introduction of five innovative new courses, thoughtfully crafted to encompass the most pertinent topics in our industry.

The Academy’s focus on real-world applicability continued to be a standout feature of this year’s program. Course materials and discussions were designed to directly translate to the challenges and opportunities professionals face in

today’s dynamic transportation infrastructure landscape. This emphasis on practical knowledge and skills is a cornerstone of ORBA’s commitment to industry education.

Moreover, the Academy provided a unique platform for networking and collaboration among industry professionals. Attendees had the opportunity to share experiences, challenges, and insights, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. This collaborative environment enhanced the learning experience, while also strengthening the bonds within our industry.

As we reflect on the success of the 2023 Road Building Academy, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated Education Committee. Chair Geoffrey Stephens from Capital Paving Inc., Debara Bailey from Powell Contracting Ltd., Cam Becker from Steed and Evans, Mike Deckert from FLO Components Ltd., Charles Quenneville from Platform Insurance Management Inc., Sina Varamini from Engtech Consulting Inc., Amma Wakefield from the Asphalt Institute, Andrew Weltz from BAUER Foundations Canada Inc., and Cameron Wood from Roto-Mill Inc. – your invaluable contributions have been instrumental in shaping this successful event. As we look to the future, we remain excited and committed to fostering the growth and success of our industry’s most valuable asset – its people.

ROAD BUILDING ACADEMY 2023

World class instructor who set a great pace and modified it depending on how well the class absorbed the information provided.

Working as a group during the modules

helps you see how others process and see things differently. Instructors were great.

WORLD-CLASS INSTRUCTION LEARN FROM THE BEST

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

Dear ROADBuilder magazine readers,

We want to express our sincere gratitude for your continued engagement and loyalty. Your support has made ROADBuilder magazine a vital voice within Ontario’s road-building industry, and we are grateful for your part in this journey.

Your opinions and feedback matter greatly to us. They help us continue to improve, evolve, and provide you with the best possible content. As such, we would truly appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes to complete our reader survey.

By sharing your thoughts, you can help shape the future of ROADBuilder magazine. Tell us what you love, what you want more of, and what we can do better.

Thank you in advance for your invaluable input. We look forward to continuing to serve you and the road-building community.

Click here to take the survey or scan the QR code below.

MEMBERS’ GOLF TOURNAMENT

• August 31, 2023

FALL GALA

• October 21, 2023

In Memoriam: Brian Barrett

Mark your calendars and save the date for extraordinary upcoming events that you won’t want to miss!

SCAN TO SEE ALL OF OUR EVENTS!

Hall of Fame Inductees Reunite

ORBA CORNER

This remarkable assembly of industry leaders, each bringing their unique experiences and accomplishments, encapsulates the legacy of ORBA and its esteemed Hall of Fame inductees.

The world lost a titan of kindness and a beacon of leadership with the passing of Brian Barrett on December 25, 2022. Fondly remembered as a loving family man and an accomplished professional, Brian’s legacy is one of unyielding commitment and immense generosity.

Brian spent nearly four decades at Steed and Evans, rising to the helm as president. He also led the Ontario Road Builders’ Association as president in 1995. His retirement in 2006 marked a transition to a focus on community involvement and cherishing time with his beloved family.

On April 30, 2023, a well-attended Celebration of Remarkable Life was held at Westmount Golf & Country Club, Kitchener, Ontario. Friends, family, and industry colleagues gathered in tribute to Brian, sharing stories and reviving cherished memories that imbued the afternoon with his enduring spirit. Though Brian has passed, his legacy lives on in the hearts and memories of those who knew him.

L to R: Robert Taylor, McLean Taylor Construction Limited. Known for his innovative leadership and unwavering commitment to industry excellence, Robert was inducted into the ORBA Hall of Fame in 2017. Russel M. Cox, Cox Construction Ltd. His impactful contributions to the industry earned him the honour of being an ORBA Hall of Fame inductee in 2009. Charles Lawrence, Huron Construction Co. Ltd. His strategic foresight and dedication to the construction industry led to his induction into the ORBA Hall of Fame in 2009.

(1943 – 2023)

SPOTLIGHT ON NEW MEMBERS!

A.L. BLAIR CONSTRUCTION

Since 1932, A.L. Blair Construction has produced and delivered high-quality aggregate products to clients across Eastern Ontario. Originating in Moose Creek, A.L Blair Construction efficiently serves the local aggregate market with an emphasis on environmentally conscious practices, all while maintaining the highest standards of customer and employee satisfaction. https://alblairconstruction.com/

BIRMINGHAM CONSULTING INC.

For over 10 years and counting, Birmingham Consulting continues to be the information technology service provider of choice for results-oriented businesses across Southern Ontario. https://www.birmingham.ca/

CBCL LIMITED

As an employee-owned firm, we are committed to creating a positive and lasting impact on people and our planet by providing world-class multidisciplinary engineering and environmental consulting services. Since 1955, CBCL has focused on making meaningful global contributions. With experience in over 100 countries, our multi-talented team creates innovative solutions for our clients that positively shape tomorrow. https://cbcl.ca/

ELVAAN EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS

Elvaan Equipment Solutions And Trenchless Utility Equipment is known for providing the highest quality of new construction, utility & heavy equipment from best global brands. HDD machines and trenchless equipment to a variety of industries. From Oil and Gas to Construction, Telecommunication, Mining, and Utility – Elvaan Equipment Solutions And Trenchless Utility Equipment has made its presence felt in several sectors across categories. The services, solutions, machine parts & technology that we sell, service, and rent is used for both residential and commercial projects. https://elvaan.com/

FAST TRACK EQUIPMENT

Our mission is to provide innovative quality equipment and services to the painting and wood finishing communities. We are committed to improving the lives and livelihoods of these professionals by providing them with effective, efficient, ergonomic equipment that will propel them to be more profitable. https://fastrackequipment.com/

GRIFFIN DEWATERING

Griffin offers dewatering and water treatment services for a wide variety of applications. Deep expertise allows us to develop and implement the most effective solutions for any groundwater challenge. https://griffindewatering.com/

GROUNDBREAKING FOUNDATIONS INC.

Founded in 2018 from a passion for creating engineering solutions at cost effective prices, the Groundbreaking team has grown in our passion and skills to continue to provide fullservice options to our clients. https://www.groundbreakingco.ca/

J-AAR PAVING

Through hard work, innovation and initiative, the company has grown into a multi-service organization. J-AAR Excavating Limited, road building, site servicing and earth moving contractors, AAROC Aggregates Inc., providing aggregate, topsoil, custom crushing and recycling for a broad range of clients throughout Southwestern Ontario and AAROC Equipment providing heavy equipment sales, service and rentals. https://johnaartsgroup.com/

LIEBHERR CANADA

Liebherr Canada was founded in 1973 to facilitate sales, marketing and after sales of selected Liebherr products in Canada. Today, the company is primarily engaged in the following products: Earthmoving machines, material handling machines, mobile and crawler cranes, cargo handling cranes and mining trucks. In addition, Liebherr-Canada Ltd. is responsible for domestic and commercial refrigeration products for the Americas and supports all other Liebherr products and technologies within Canada. https://www.liebherr.com/en/can/start/ start-page.html

MARK’S COMMERCIAL

As the business-to-business division of Mark’s, we are Canada’s largest supplier of bulk wholesale industrial and corporate workwear and footwear, as well as PPE, safety gear and uniforms. It is our mission to work with forward-thinking organizations to keep Canadian workers warmer, drier, safer and more comfortable. We do so through the use of leading-edge technology and innovation that will contribute to an accident-free future and the ultimate goal of bringing workers home safe … every single day. https://www.markscommercial.com/ en-ca/

SITECH EASTERN CANADA LTD

The team at SITECH Eastern Canada Ltd. understands how to apply Trimble technology to effectively solve some of the biggest challenges you face on the construction site. We’ll help you leverage Trimble systems for your entire fleet of heavy equipment and we’re your local experts for Trimble Connected Site® solutions. https://www.sitech-ec.ca/

SRIPATH TECHNOLOGIES

Sripath thrives on the challenge of confronting long-standing issues facing the bitumen and asphalt industry, and then engineering additive solutions through research, innovation and testing. Sripath has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide range of innovative additives, such as: rejuvenators, oils, and polymers to enhance the performance of bitumen for paving and roofing applications. https://sripath.com/

TRIMBLE INCORPORATED

Trimble is an industrial technology company concentrated on helping the world work better. Our technology enables jobs to get done more precisely and accurately so you can build, construct, grow and move the things we need to live our lives and build future communities. https://www.trimble.com/en

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY!

Joining ORBA is an investment in your company and in the future of road building. Get inside access to exclusive events, continuous education, sponsorships and exhibitions. Have an impact on government and contribute to a great industry.