Topic
Infrastructure
Feds to spend nearly $150M to bolster infrastructure at Vancouver and Nanaimo, B.C. ports
July 25, 2019 On-Site StaffVANCOUVER—A series of major upgrade and expansion projects at two ports on Canada’s West Coast have secured the backing of the federal government. In separate funding announcements this week, Ottawa said it will spend $102 million to support work at…
B.C. Supreme Court to hear construction groups’ challenge to province’s Community Benefits Agreement
July 24, 2019 by David KennedyThe contentious labour rules have already been to put work on numerous big-ticket jobs, such as a major widening project on the Trans-Canada Highway and the new Pattullo Bridge
Lougheed Highway four-laning project in Maple Ridge, B.C. gets $29M from feds
July 23, 2019 On-Site StaffMAPLE RIDGE, B.C.—The federal government has set aside infrastructure funds to widen a four-kilometre stretch of highway on the north side of the Fraser River in Greater Vancouver. Ottawa announced $29.2 million for the project between Maple Ridge and Mission,…
Crews break ground on new $250M REM station at Montreal’s Trudeau airport
July 23, 2019 by David KennedyMONTREAL—Construction is officially underway on an approximately $250 million portion of Montreal’s new Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project. Officials from Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), sunk their ceremonial shovels in the ground late last week to mark the start of construction…
Feds pump $44.5M into pair of Ontario First Nation water infrastructure projects
July 22, 2019 On-Site StaffBELLEVILLE, Ont.—Infrastructure Canada and Indigenous Services Canada are committing funds to two water infrastructure construction projects within Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, just east of Belleville, Ont. The projects will improve access to drinking water for the Mohawks of the Bay of…
CN Rail to rebuild ‘vital’ northern Alberta rail bridge destroyed by wildfires this spring
July 17, 2019 On-Site StaffCALGARY—CN Rail is planning to rebuild a key rail bridge linking Northwest Territories to Alberta after it was destroyed this spring during a particularly harsh fire season. The railway said July 16 it will replace the steel deck of the…
Study makes case for high-speed rail from Vancouver to Seattle and Portland; building it could cost US$42B
July 16, 2019 Laura Kane, The Canadian PressVANCOUVER—A proposed high-speed rail link connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland would cut the travel time between each city to under an hour and dramatically boost the economy of the entire region, a new report concludes. The Washington State Department of…
Canada Infrastructure Bank pitching in $20M to pilot P3 on small-scale Ontario municipal wastewater project
July 15, 2019 by David KennedyTORONTO—Several weeks after making its third-ever investment, the two-year-old Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is opening its chequebook for a wastewater project in rural southern Ontario. The crown corporation, which has focused until now on large-scale transit projects, said July 15…
New Trans Mountain legal challenge claims Canada’s bias led to improper consultations
July 10, 2019 Camille Bains, The Canadian PressVANCOUVER—Six First Nations that have filed another legal challenge against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion say Canada’s ownership of the corporation behind the project created a bias that prevented full consultations as ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal. Chief…
Top Canadian climate risks are infrastructure, coastlines, northerners
July 6, 2019 Bob Weber, The Canadian PressNew research for the federal Treasury Board has concluded that buildings, coastlines and northern communities face the biggest risks from climate change in Canada. In a report released July 4, the Council of Canadian Academies has narrowed down a myriad…
N.L. premier defends decision to trudge forward on Muskrat Falls megaproject
July 4, 2019 Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian PressST. JOHN’S, N.L.—Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier says the joy of his 2015 election victory was short-lived as he began to realize the dire financial situation brought on by the Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject’s runaway costs. Liberal Premier Dwight Ball took…
Trudeau pledges $1.3B in federal funds for five-stop Montreal metro extension
July 4, 2019 Giuseppe Valiante, The Canadian PressThe funds will help pay for an extension to the blue line on the city’s east end
PCL among consortium picked to build new $750M hospital in Corner Brook, N.L.
July 3, 2019 On-Site StaffCORNER BROOK, N.L.—A seven-firm consortium has been picked to take on a major new hospital project on the west end of Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball announced late last week the government has selected the Corner Brook Health…
Governments putting up $81.5M to build new wastewater treatment plant in Lloydminster
June 29, 2019 On-Site StaffLLOYDMINSTER, Alta.—Three tiers of government and two separate provinces are coming together to kick-start a major wastewater treatment project in Lloydminster. The city, which straddles the Alberta and Saskatchewan border, has been working toward updating its water treatment facility since…
B.C. shortlists three construction teams for $2.8B Broadway subway extension project
June 27, 2019 by David KennedyVANCOUVER—Three construction teams remain in the running for the contract to build Vancouver’s six-station Broadway subway extension project. The B.C. government released its shortlist for the $2.8 billion project June 25, about two months after closing the request for qualifications…
11 months, 60,000 cubic metres of rock later, Site C dam crews breakthrough on first of two diversion tunnels
June 27, 2019 by David KennedyFORT ST. JOHN, B.C.—After nearly a year of work with roadheaders chewing through about 60,000 cubic metres of rock, tunnelling crews at B.C.’s Site C dam project are seeing daylight. BC Hydro announced June 24 that excavation crews working on…
Infrastructure bank gives Via Rail $55M for work on still-uncertain multibillion-dollar project
June 25, 2019 Jordan Press, The Canadian PressOTTAWA—Via Rail is getting $71 million in federal cash — some through Transport Canada and some from an infrastructure financing agency — to tackle the last few details needed to make the case that its high-frequency rail proposal should get…
Ottawa’s new prompt payment rules become law, firming up pay schedule for federal construction jobs
June 24, 2019 by David KennedyThe rules are expected to benefit both general contractors and subcontractors, which can face cash flow problems if they aren’t paid quickly enough for work on major projects
C-69, federal bill overhauling environmental approval process for major construction jobs, clears final hurdle
June 21, 2019 Mia Rabson, The Canadian PressThe highly controversial bill, along with another piece of legislation barring oil tankers from B.C.’s northern coast, is poised to become law after gaining the Senate’s stamp of approval
Ontario revives possibility of building major new highway on northwest end of Greater Toronto Area
June 20, 2019 by David KennedyBRAMPTON, Ont.—Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives have pulled a major Toronto-area highway project quashed by the previous Liberal government from the dustbin, relaunching an environmental assessment (EA) into the potential Greater Toronto Area West Highway Corridor. Jeff Yurek, Ontario’s minister of Transportation,…