MONTREAL—SNC-Lavalin Inc. is eliminating about 100 positions in Canada at the same time as the Quebec engineering firm is being described by political leaders as being vulnerable to a foreign takeover. The Montreal-based firm says the workforce reduction is attributable…
TORONTO—In its latest drive to “cut red tape” the new Ontario government has introduced a bill that would rewrite a more than 30-year-old stipulation that restricts certain cities, schools and hospitals to hiring unionized construction firms for infrastructure work. The…
The construction industry also showed positive momentum last month, adding nearly 15,000 jobs
With no rose-coloured glasses necessary, the outlook for the construction industry in 2019 remains positive, if somewhat tepid. Near-record employment, six-straight quarters of higher spending in the non-residential segment and progress on several major projects have bolstered confidence this fall…
Toronto’s Humber River Hospital, completed in 2015, is an award-winning facility featuring fully integrated digital infrastructure, compliance with LEED, a natural people-friendly environment and floor layouts that support Lean workflows. What’s not immediately obvious is the project’s diverse input from…
It takes decades of breathing in the fugitive dust created by drilling, cutting and grinding concrete, stone and other materials containing crystalline silica for silicosis to scar and harden the lungs. The incurable disease is one of a handful caused…
CALGARY—ATCO Ltd. has joined the construction team responsible for a major new workforce lodge linked to LNG Canada Inc.’s liquefied natural gas project in Kitimat, B.C. The Cedar Valley Lodge will house about 4,500 of the workers building the new…
MONTREAL—The workers building the new $4.2-billion Champlain Bridge toil in difficult conditions, high above the St. Lawrence River. But one of their biggest challenges has been to find a clean—and heated—portable toilet on the work site. Quebec’s workplace safety board…
With almost 90,000 Ontario construction workers set to retire in the next 10 years, a group representing the province’s residential builders has sprung to action, launching a survey to learn what satisfies trades professionals day-to-day as they build the province…
OTTAWA—Approximately 3,400 fewer construction workers were on the job in October compared to a month earlier, mirroring 31 days of little change for the overall Canadian labour market. The small decline of 0.2 per cent for the construction industry compares…
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown-owned utility says it has directed the main contractor at the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric megaproject site to stop work. In an emailed statement Oct. 18, Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall says the move was made because…
HALIFAX—Nova Scotia’s minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs says race relations are improving in the province, but there is still a lot of work to do. Tony Ince made the comments last week after being asked about a young black…
OTTAWA—The construction industry added 28,000 new jobs in September, entirely offsetting declines in the previous two months, according to the latest monthly Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada. Construction employment fell by 12,000 in July and and 16,000 in August.…
Statistics Canada said the sector shed thousands of jobs last month, running counter to stories of contractors scrounging to find workers
MONTREAL—Canada’s construction industry is one of a few sectors to be hit hardest by a decade of labour shortages and lower margins, according to a study by the Business Development Bank of Canada. The study of small- and mid-size businesses…
Many contractors fear marijuana legalization will lead to increased impairment on construction sites. Here’s what you need to know to prepare
WINNIPEG—A week after reports surfaced of decades-old abuse on hydro projects in Manitoba, a recent study into working conditions at a modern site has come to light. The new report details allegations of racism, sexual harassment and prison-like living conditions.…
SASKATOON—Wright Construction Western Inc. was hit with a $70,000 fine last week for an incident that left one worker with serious injuries. According to Saskatchewan’s minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, the accident occurred in January of 2017 when…
VANCOUVER—The Independent Contractors and Business Association is asking the B.C. Supreme Court to strike down the provincial government’s new hiring model for taxpayer-funded construction projects. The association filed a petition Aug. 27 with the court alongside several other building and…
OTTAWA—The number of construction jobs coast to coast declined in July even as employment in the overall Canadian economy ticked up. According to Statistics Canada, employment in the construction industry dipped by 12,000, or about 0.8 per cent, over the…
