CCA CORNER

CCA update on Board and NAC engagement

CCA’s Board met on November 14, 2022 in Ottawa, Ontario, in conjunction with the meetings of the National Advisory Councils (NAC) and Hill Day. Here are the highlights of the Board meeting:

CCA media presence increasing significantly

Across its social and website channels, CCA has increased its impact year over year. This means that our messages on long-term infrastructure investment, workforce shortage, construction as a career of choice, and fair procurement are reaching a broader audience and leading to more engagement.

New and updated CCDC documents

After extensive consultation and requests for feedback from NAC members and CCA partner associations, the CCA Board was pleased to endorse the following:

• New: CCDC 20 ‘A Guide to Construction Administration’
• Revised: CCDC 4 ‘Unit Price Contract’
• Revised: CCDC 18 ‘Civil Works Contract’

Webinars orienting the industry to the value of CCDC documents continue to be well attended and recordings are available to Local Construction Associations (LCA) and their members in a new online library. For more information, please visit the CCDC events site or reach out to the CCDC team at [email protected].

CCA’s governance model continues to evolve

Recent feedback from the Board, Board committees and NACs confirm that CCA is on the right track. CCA also received external recognition, with an award for Governance Excellence from the Governance Professionals of Canada.

CCA continues to evaluate its governance model for best practices, for example, extending the term of the Chair to an optional second year. Any changes that would impact the by-laws would of course be brought forward to a future Annual General Meeting for a vote.

Updated CCA public policy statements

All CCA public policy statements have undergone a review to ensure relevance and have been approved by the Board. These will be assembled into a policy platform document that will be shared early in 2023 on the CCA website.

National Advisory Councils – Advancing standard practices tools and resources

Each NAC provided a brief update to the Board and fellow council members on their progress on initiatives they have chosen to advance.

Trevor Doucette, Chair of the General Contractors NAC, shared an overview of the two main initiatives the council is working on. The first initiative is ‘Preparing a material/supply cost escalation inflation best practices paper’ focusing on using contracting language that will open the door to discussions between parties and give guidance on escalations. The second initiative to ‘Prepare a webinar on procurement models’ is to be delivered in Q2 of 2023. The opening webinar will focus on CCDC 5A and 5B, providing an overview of the documents and real-life examples from the industry.

Jean-François Arbour, Chair of the Trade Contractors NAC, shared an update that the General Contractors and Trade Contractors NACs continue to work in conjunction through a joint subcommittee focused on creating a guide to cost escalation.

Nadine Fullarton, Chair of the Local Construction Associations NAC, presented their discussions to the board on how to best understand and initiate recruitment strategies; learn from other sectors, their deep dive into the immigration point system and needs by province and other partnerships with, for example, the residential construction industry. Staff will be working with Nadine to determine next steps.

Brendan Nobes subbed for Branden Kotyk, Chair of the Manufacturers, Suppliers and Services Council, and reported the council is well advanced on:

• ‘Read your construction contract’: a five-part webinar series that is slated to begin in April 2023 to educate members, especially SMEs, on five essential elements to focus on a construction contract; and  

• Educating on the uncertainties of business decisions on supply chain management. A webinar on ‘Mitigating the impact of inflation’ will be presented on November 24, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. (ET).

Rod Gilbert stepped in for Nicole Chabot, Chair of the Civil Infrastructure NAC, and explained the committee would be working on:

1. The best way to disseminate the information that is already available on a career in civil infrastructure,
   
2. How CCA, in collaboration with the LCAs, can make sure that young Canadians learn about the resources available; and
   
3. Developing criteria, standards and information that could lead to civil designations, in collaboration with LCAs.

Upcoming meetings

• CCA Board meeting
  The next meeting of the CCA Board will take place virtually on January 13, 2023, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (ET). *Closed meeting.

• Annual General Meeting
  The Annual General Meeting will take place in Tucson, Arizona on March 6, 2023. *Registration required.

• National Advisory Council meetings
  The National Advisory Councils will be meeting in person in Tucson, Arizona on March 6, 2023, and observers are welcome. Please mark your calendars! If you wish to observe the meetings, please email [email protected] for more information on how to register.

• Annual Conference
  The CCA Annual Conference will take place in Tucson, Arizona, from March 7-10, 2023. Registration is now open.

As always, we are happy to participate in your AGMs, Board or member meetings. Just reach out to  [email protected], to schedule us!

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