construction news

Now that the Government of Canada has retaliated against unfair U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, the Canadian Coalition for Construction Steel is urging the Government to act cautiously before taking further action, including safeguards, which could severely disrupt the construction industry in Canada.

Measures to protect the Canadian and American steel markets from cheap foreign steel may hurt the Canadian construction industry and raise the cost of home building, say two representatives from the Canadian steel construction industry.

As Nova Chemicals gears up for $2-billion in construction in St. Clair Township, the president of the Sarnia-Lambton Building and Construction Trades Council says its members are ready to supply the skilled workforce the project needs.

Nova has begun preparing the site of a new polyethylene plant to be built over the next three years on Rokeby Line, next to its Corunna plant where work is also planned to double its production.

Ontario’s Construction Lien Amendment Act, 2017 was passed in December 2017, but the changes will be rolled out later this year and during 2019 as the various elements of the act are proclaimed. The overhaul of Ontario’s construction regulatory framework includes prompt payment rules. Even though the legislation applies only to Ontario, the implementation of prompt payment rules is expected to be closely watched by other jurisdictions across Canada.

Ontario is investing in Toronto’s rental housing market to encourage the creation of more affordable rental housing.

The province’s housing minister Peter Milczyn has announced funding for municipalities to provide rebates to developers who want to build high-rise, mid-rise, and townhouse rental housing. The City of Toronto will receive $60 million to encourage the construction of complete communities that are accessible, livable, walkable, and close to transit and other services.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 23, 2018 /CNW/ – CHARTWELL Retirement Residences (“Chartwell”) (TSX: CSH.UN), has acquired two acres of land on Woodmount Drive for the expansion of its existing Chartwell Wynfield Retirement Community in Oshawa. Construction is expected to begin in 2019 on a six-story, 200-suite Independent Supportive Living apartment residence which will complement the existing 105 retirement suites and 172 long term care beds currently operating on the site. In Oshawa, Chartwell also operates Chartwell Centennial Retirement Residence located at 259 Hillcroft Street.

DURHAM — While it will take years of construction before the GO Train rolls into downtown Oshawa and Clarington, the signs were unveiled for two new commuter GO bus Park and Ride lots in Courtice and Oshawa on Friday, April 13.

Construction will begin this spring on Park and Ride lots for the future Courtice Road GO Station and the future Ritson Road GO Station. As an interim step toward expanding rail service on the Lakeshore East GO line to these future station locations, GO Transit will expand service on Bus Route 91 — Newcastle to Oshawa — to include the stops at the Courtice and Ritson Park and Ride lots.

TORONTO, April 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — “Today’s announcement of the Government Contract Wages Act, to be introduced by the Honourable Kevin Flynn, Minister of Labour, is a huge step towards leveling the playing field in Ontario’s construction industry,” announced Patrick Dillon, Business Manager of the Ontario Building Trades Council. “I commend the Minister, and Premier Kathleen Wynne who have shown bold leadership in bringing this forward with a view to tackling precariousness in the industry.”

“This legislation paves the way for protecting workers’ wages by establishing an enforceable requirement that contractors who bid on government-procured construction work must pay their workers fair wages that reflect trade-specific, prevailing rates in each region of the province,” explained Dillon.

Ontarians may feel they’ve been hosed with high power bills but the province’s environmental commissioner said the switch from a fossil fuel-powered grid to a more clean-and-green network was worth the cost and the pain.

In an April 10 news release, Dianne Saxe gave the government credit for cleaning up Ontario’s electricity system and air by ending coal-fired power.

OTTAWA, April 10, 2018 /CNW/ – The Canadian Building Trades Unions are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold an emergency meeting by bringing the Kinder Morgan Pipeline stakeholders to the table.

Earlier this week, the future of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion was cast in doubt as Kinder Morgan Canada suspended all non-essential activities and related spending on the project in the face of mounting opposition in British Columbia.