b'AS A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION REPRESENTING CLOSE TO 1,000 FIRMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PERSPECTIVES AND ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS, AND WE HAVE FOUND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS TO GET OUT AND MEET WITH MEMBERS FROM COAST TO COAST. KEN LANCASTLEonline collaboration, increased use of webinars and the lessonsFor instance, by 2020, about 11 per cent of bridges in Canada learnedwith the desire to have that more traditional memberwere rated as poor or very poor. Also, a significant portion of engagement. Were deciding what the best use of our resourceslinear water infrastructure was more than 50 years old, and can be. about 20 per cent of the national network of water, sewer and Labour Market stormwater pipessome 86,533 kilometreswas reaching the The ongoing shortage of skilled workers is a top issue thats onend of its useful life.the minds of every member. Obviously, advocacy remained anIn 2022, the federal government committed $150 million important role for MCAC throughout the past year, with muchtowards the Canada Green Buildings Strategy and the Codes of the work and emphasis being on the skilled worker shortage inAcceleration Fund, with Natural Resources Canada leading the our industry. Across the country, members are all experiencing amove to decarbonize Canadas buildings sector by 2050. A recent significant labour crunch, and many of our advocacy efforts havereport titled Toward a Canada Green Buildings Strategy indicates been targeting this issue, says Johnston. that the top priorities reported by professionals in the buildings Supply Chain & Economy sector were the availability of more capital through incentives, At the beginning of this year, supply chain and price volatilityprograms and partnerships, solutions for the shortages, and were still significant issues impacting members. While this hasclarity on future strategic decisions and requirements.settled somewhat, there are still challenges with productivity thatPandemic Recoverymany contractors are looking to address, says Lancastle. As the construction industry moves ahead, exploring new We are also seeing a continuing trend to download more risktechnologies like robotics and AI, the associations thatto the subcontractor, whether through supplemental conditionswork on its behalf are rethinking their operations to fit ain contracts or onerous clauses. We continue to work on sharingpost-COVID world.strategies to mitigate these risks, and to educate members onWhile the pandemic did demonstrate the ability to hold how these can impact a construction project, he says. It ismeetings in virtual environments, what weve seen throughout also important to educate owners on the types of risks they arethis past year is that person-to-person connection and downloading to the contractor, and the effect these can have oncommunication are so incredibly valuable. As a national a project. association representing close to 1,000 firms across the country, there are a number of perspectives and issues that we need to The economic outlook always remains an important issue,address, and we have found the best way to do that is to get out and especially questions about future public and private-sectorand meet with members from coast to coast, Lancastle says.investment, says Johnston. Construction activity is often aThis past year provided a great opportunity to re-engage and lagging indicator of the economy, so there are certainly questionsreconnect with members across the country. This also includes about what a potential recession might look like for our sector. connecting with like-minded stakeholder organizations, says Infrastructure & Environment Johnston. Certainly, our chairman and president, Derek Ermen, Canada is facing challenges in balancing the costs of COVID-19was able to travel and to talk to members again. For Ermen and recovery, achieving a higher standard of environmentalfor the association as a whole, this was the first full year for us sustainability and maintaining our existing structures. MCAC isthat would be perceived as normal since lockdown.anticipating the release of the Canada Green Buildings StrategyFuture Focusand the National Infrastructure Assessment from the federalLooking ahead to 2024, we still anticipate the skilled labour government, and closely monitoring what the impact of theseshortage to remain a critical issue for members across the might be on the sector and MCAC member firms. country, Johnston says. From an advocacy perspective, we We are at an inflection point when it comes to the builtwill continue to impress the need for a flexible and efficient environment, says Lancastle. We hear a lot about the housingimmigration program that can address the unique needs of the crisis, but really, we are talking about a crisis of the builtconstruction industry and the mechanical contracting sector.environment. Our vertical infrastructure is also aging, and weWe are also stressing the importance of predictability, must work together with all stakeholders to ensure we have theparticularly when it comes to infrastructure spending. The ability capacity to address construction needs across Canada. to know where and when projects take place will only serve to In April of 2023, the Canada Mortgage and Housinghelp build capacity, and help governments across the country Corporations (CMHCs) Housing Supply Report showedmeet their goals for the built environment.that current new home inventories are at historic lows. WhileThere are a lot of lessons that weve learned and a lot of things housing starts remained strong in 2022, new supply was notthat were going to be looking at improving on, but it was a good enough to keep up with demand. year, Lancastle says. It was a positive year in that it was a better Meanwhile, results from Canadas Core Public Infrastructuretime to go out and talk to people about how we can get out and Survey indicate the state of Canadas aging public infrastructure.represent the industry.NATIONAL BULLETIN | Issue 2, 202329'