Putting infrastructure on the federal agenda

More voices count when it comes to getting heard on Parliament Hill, leaders in the heavy civil construction industry say. That’s why CCA needs to hear the voices of the local construction associations, to bring that message to the federal government, says Nicole Chabot, past Chair of MHCA and now Chair of CCA’s Civil NAC.

CCA’s recent efforts have focused on two industry priorities: workforce development; and a sustained, long-term infrastructure investment plan.

While it’s been a long haul for industry leaders, Chabot said she’s seeing promising response at all levels of government to the call for a national infrastructure investment strategy that is long-term.

CCA Chair Brendan Nobes, said CCA’s priorities have to echo those of the industry when it meets MPs and ministers, especially during its fall “Hill Days”. And that’s why the CCA adopted a deliberate outreach strategy, visiting LCAs on their own ground across Canada. LCAs are being engaged in strategic planning of the CCA and on issues of concern, such as the federal procurement model.

Brad Scott, Chair of the industry’s Civil Infrastructure Council Corporation, stressed that the CCA is an important partner for the industry when it comes to getting the attention of the federal government on issues in its procurement model, contract language, design and specification rules.

Confusion and unnecessary complexity increase risk, Scott noted, and that hurts both the owner and the contractor.

Meeting person-to-person and letting politicians hear the experiences from those working daily in the industry and in the market is critical to dispelling myths that swirl about our work, the panelists agreed.

Nobes said that the bureaucrats have to hear that procurement is not a one-size-fits-all proposition: “buying a pencil and buying a bridge” are very different.

And it was vital to have CCA’s voice on the Hill during the Covid-19 shutdown, when the industry was asking for federal assistance in workforce recruiting. Industry leaders had to dispel the impression that there was a ready pool of labour among restaurant servers who were out of a job when public businesses had to close their doors.

Political leaders have to be educated on how much training is invested in new workers who cannot be handed the keys to a piece of heavy equipment to see “how it works out,” Nobes said.

The WCR&HCA thanks all our 2023 Stronger Together Conference sponsors whose support made these sessions possible.