British Columbia’s construction associations have big plans this month.
April 2024 is the seventh annual BC Construction Month and provincial stakeholders are gearing up to both celebrate the industry and advocate at a policy and collaborative level.
“What started seven years ago as a challenge accepted from our colleagues in Saskatchewan who did a construction week, we thought we’d one up that and here we are seven years later with a truly embedded celebration of our industry for an entire month every year,” said British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) president Chris Atchison. “It’s not going away anytime soon and this year we’re honouring the legends of construction whose talents, expertise and experience has helped British Columbia.”
Atchison said the BCCA met to formally launch Construction Month on April 2 with B.C. Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Lisa Beare presenting the proclamation to the board of directors.
The association is also hosting a day at the B.C. legislature on April 23 “where we’ll be meeting with members of the legislative assembly and talking about the importance of the industrial, commercial, institutional, multi-unit residential industry and the role it’s playing in the mandate of this government and future governments,” he said.
Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) president Jeannine Martin said she looks forward to the opportunity to meet with government and check on issues of importance to the industry.
“We highlight those issues all the time and certainly it’ll be emphasized during construction month,” Martin said. “We continue to wonder about the progress of prompt payment. There’s so much work and background that says is needed and must be done but the movement is slow and our members are impacted by that. We’re very focused on seeing some movement.”
April 16 will also mark the 11th anniversary of the Deputy Ministers Industry and Infrastructure Forum, Atchison added, and construction industry leaders will mark the occasion in Victoria with a reception following meeting with the deputy ministers.
“(There will be) a few opportunities to engage with those in service to the province where it interfaces with infrastructure,” he said.
Martin added in addition to participating in meetings at the B.C. legislature the VRCA will also hold an event on April 11 featuring B.C. Premier David Eby.
“This is a new series we’re launching called Constructive Conversations and we think this is a great way to kick it off during construction month,” Martin said.
Other events include the Northern Regional Construction Association’s Build the North conference on April 3 and 4 and the Vancouver Island Construction Association’s annual construction conference on April 18 and 19.
Atchison also mentioned the Lunchbox Challenge initiative, which he said began in 2020 as a way to pay it forward to the food and beverage industry during COVID-19 and has since become a way to show appreciation for employees on the worksite.
Martin, whose association is also participating in the Lunchbox Challenge, added while the VRCA provides funding for the Lunchbox Challenge “many members don’t ask for the funding but still do the challenge and pay for the lunch, so it’s great to bring people together for that.”
Associations are also highlighting the work of their members.
Atchison said the winners of the Builders Code awards given at the start of the month were Turner Construction as workplace culture champions, both Houle Electric and CGI Constructors in the recruiting, hiring and retention category and EllisDon as a community champion.
The BCCA also announced the winners of its 2024 Leadership Awards, selected in partnership with B.C.’s other regional construction associations. This year’s winners are Westcana Electric Ltd. in Prince George, Acres Enterprises in Kamloops, Heritage Masonry in Victoria, and Pitt Meadows Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Ltd. in Maple Ridge.
Martin added they will also highlight a VRCA member who is “doing interesting things in terms of diversity, training and innovation in the industry.”
More information is available about construction month at constructionmonth.ca.
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