b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGESO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?I m not certain we will ever fully appreciate the economicIf Yogi Berra were still alive, he would tell us its like dj vu all and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Statisticsover again. The truth, however, is that we are in uncharted territory Canadas Economic Dashboard puts metrics aroundand a collaborative effort to bring early resolution to contract such things as real GDP, consumer prices and thedispute entitlements is paramount. The smart solution would be for unemployment rate among other theoretically meaningfulgovernments to create a mechanism to compensate contractors at, economic impact indicators, and the cumulative changesay, five per cent of the value of their contract prorated to account versus pre-pandemic forecasts is obviously enormous.for stages of completion and awarded in exchange for contractors Social impacts, although nearly impossible to quantify, maywhose projects were derailed because of COVID-19 waiving pandemic-be even more considerable. Suffice to say, the combinedrelated contract claims. But simple is not always possible. And for the economic and social impact of COVID-19 is off the charts. record, the Ontario government is one of the few jurisdictions actually entertaining proposals from the private sector to remedy the shitstorm The good that comes out of a global crisis like this is thatthat will otherwise decimate our industry in the wake of COVID-19.sectors like ours that have historically been slow to evolve are forced to re-imagine the way we do things. According toMy hat goes off to the Ford government for listening, by the way. They Darwin, it is not the strongest of our species that survivesdo, after all, have fiscal challenges of their own. So what happens nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptivein the much more probable scenario where we are left to fend for to change. And change we will. The bad news is that theourselves? Again, the answer is simple. Collaboration. economic impact of the pandemic on the constructionIts not like we cant collaborate. In my lifetime, I have never seen the sector is game changing. Put simply, most constructionlevel of collaboration that construction industry employers have shown industry employers do not have the wherewithal to absorbtowards occupational health & safety, for example. Resources and the prohibitive costs related to work stoppages until thebest practices are enthusiastically shared among fierce competitors courts determine compensable entitlements. My guess iswho recognize that workplace safety should never be proprietary. that the process of resolving who is entitled to what willWho would have thought combatants in Canadas most competitive take years. industry would lay down arms and actually help one another for a So what happens now? The Ontario government iscommon goal?reopening the economy and asking employers to alterAs TCA members, I believe that we have a culture that fosters protocols to diminish the risk of a second pandemic wave.collaboration. That is particularly true when we share common goals. That makes perfect sense and that we can easily manage.Witness our collective improvement in health & safety and the rise of A crisis of this magnitude unquestionably changes us.the League of Champions. This time, our common goal is survival and Hopefully, we will be more cautious as a go-forward strategynot just survival of the fittest. about the risks that buyers of construction have been downloading onto contractors and more skeptical aboutPicking up the pieces and adapting to the new normal as we look signing contracts with untenable supplementary conditions.first to survive COVID and then successfully find our way forward is a massive challenge and frankly bigger than any of us can manage But what of existing projects and the costs incurred onindividually. Thats why we need your help. More to the point, we need demobilized sites or costs that arise because the paymenteach others help. and/or claims process was suspended as a directAs always, I welcome your opinions.consequence of the pandemic? In contract terms, Im not even sure that COVID-19 should be treated as a forceCarpe diem.majeure event assuming the work stoppage was mandated by order of government and the contractor is therefore entitled to both delayed completion and cost recovery. What I do know is there are more questions than answers, a reality that is exacerbated by the fact that it has been 102John Mollenhauer years since our last global pandemic. TCA President & CEO6Quarter 2 2020 BUILDERSDIGEST'