b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGETHE LABOUR CRISISO ne-fifth of Canadas constructioneconomist Milton Friedman who contends that workforce will retire before the endif you put the federal government in charge of of the current decade. In roundthe Sahara Desert, in five years thered be a numbers, we need to recruit 80,000shortage of sand.new workers now to replace the workers that have already retired and have not yet beenDoug Flynn, the CEO of the Toronto-based replaced, and current estimates put theFlynn Group of Companies, with 46 branches industry shortfall at upwards of 300,000 byand more than 6,000 employees, told a room 2030. That is a crisis by any standard. full of young construction leaders at a recent TCA event that we earn the trust and loyalty of The burning question that keeps constructionprospective new employees by changing our industry employers up at night is what do webehaviours. In essence, Flynn takes a page do about it? And the voracious demand forfrom Field of Dreamsbuild it, they will come. housing is a double-edged sword. Suppose,And the build he refers to is a culture that is not hypothetically, we found 80,000 newbased on any one thing but rather a collection workers. Where is the affordable housingof actions and behaviours that Flynn believes to accommodate an influx that large?will attract and keep the resources they need Alternatively, how do we build 80,000 newto meet the demands of their customers and homes if we fail to augment our workforce?allow Flynn to continue to grow and prosper. In theory, the federal government steps inIn the construction industry, our business when they are needed most. I say in theoryis bricks and mortar, which is both tangible because federal governments are pennilessand quantifiable. Culture is about behaviour, in the wake of massive deficit spending duringwhich from where I sit makes it infinitely the pandemic. And at the risk of soundingmore complicated. That said, inspired leaders unfairly sarcastic, I tend to agree with Americanrecognize the importance of changing our THE BURNING QUESTION THAT KEEPS CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY EMPLOYERS UP AT NIGHT IS WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT? AND THE VORACIOUS DEMAND FOR HOUSING IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. SUPPOSE, HYPOTHETICALLY, WE FOUND 80,000 NEW WORKERS. WHERE IS THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO ACCOMMODATE AN INFLUX THAT LARGE? ALTERNATIVELY, HOW DO WE BUILD 80,000 NEW HOMES IF WE FAIL TO AUGMENT OUR WORKFORCE?6Quarter 22023 BUILDERSDIGEST'