LATEST NEWS
Sewer & Watermain | Roadbuilding | Water & Wastewater | O H & S
September 22, 2008
Ontario General Contractors Association
OGCA urges Infrastructure Ontario to “meet its full mandate”
Infrastructure Ontario needs to expand its expand its horizons and undertake projects outside of the healthcare sphere, says Ontario General Contractors Association president (OGCA) Clive Thurston.
“Recent efforts have focused mainly on the health sector, hospitals in particular,” he told the provincial government’s standing committee on government agencies. “Nevertheless, infrastructure is more than just hospitals or buildings.
“What good are such structures if we cannot depend on the roads and bridges to reach them? “How can they operate if the water and wastewater treatment systems break down or cannot handle new expansions?
“It is clear that the same efforts that have been made to bring the hospital sector up must be applied to highways, roads, bridges and water and wastewater systems.”
Thurston, who was speaking on behalf of five other provincial trade associations, said the time has come for Infrastructure Ontario to “expand and meet its full mandate” of delivering major infrastructure projects for the provincial government.
He said the Crown corporation should engage organizations such as the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA), the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA) and the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario.
“Infrastructure Ontario needs to focus on three main building blocks — roads, sewer and watermain projects and hospitals.”
Thurston, who made a joint presentation with Ottawa Construction Association chair Mike Sharp, briefed the committee on other items of concern to the province’s design and construction industry.
These include: potential bundling of projects; the need for an “open and transparent” system of financial accountability; and support for “new and better” says of procuring consultant services such as qualifications-based selection.
Clive Thurston
Thurston said projects also need to be planned and rolled out in concert with the industry “to ensure a realistic setting of schedules and budgets and provide for effective management of resources.”
Prior to the presentation, Thurston contacted the Ontario Association of Architects and Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) for input in addition to ORBA, OSWCA and the RCCAO.
CEO president John Gamble who attended the meeting, said it was “unfortunate” that other industry stakeholders had not been invited to appear before the committee, which is reviewing IO operations.
“They are the actual implementers of Infrastructure Ontario’s vision and have a lot to contribute,” he said.
| MOST POPULAR STORIES |
| TODAY’S TOP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS |
These projects have been selected from 425 projects with a total value of $5,472,383,138 that Reed Construction Data Building Reports reported on Tuesday.
$660,000,000 Marmora and Lake Twp ON Prebid
$200,000,000 Kingston ON Prebid
$105,000,000 Oshawa ON Prebid
| CURRENT STORIES |
- Where does labour law stand on ladder safety?
- Construction continues on the MaRS Centre Phase II in Toronto
- Bending Lake Iron Ore pushes ahead with mining plans
- Reserve Properties continues plans for 109OZ condos in Toronto
- Ontario courts rule against owners rejecting low bids using undisclosed criteria
- Westray disaster 20th anniversary a call to safety action
- Dirt moves as Saskatchewan announces highway work
- Worker hurt in dressing room ceiling collapse at Edmonton stadium
- IBI Group raises $40.5 million from stock issue
- Plazacorp to spend $12.2 million on retail property development in 2012
- Ottawa to proceed with preliminary Lansdowne Park construction work, short-lists PCL, EllisDon and Pomerleau
- VIDEO: Highlights from the May 17 Daily Commercial News
- VIDEO: Common ladder safety errors in construction
- High School Construction
- Victoria bridge inches closer to construction
- Collapse injures worker at Commonwealth Stadium
- Panel appointed to oversee hearings into B.C. mine project
- Bockstael celebrates 100 years
- More work needed to protect flaggers
- Co-founder of ATCO announces his intention to step down as chair
- SNC-Lavalin hit with $1.5 billion class action lawsuit
- PST returns to British Columbia
| ALEX’S ECONOMICS BLOG |

Reed Construction Data Canada’s Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in the North American economic environment with emphasis on the construction industry.
- Economic Nuggets - May 15, 2012 (May 14, 2012)
- Canada Rode a Second Consecutive Month of Strong Job Gains in April (May 11, 2012)
- U.S. Employment Rose by a Mediocre 115,000 in April (May 4, 2012)
- More








