CCA supports federal immigration plan

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has issued a statement supporting the federal government’s new immigration plan, which recognizes that immigration levels need to be matched to labour needs, particularly in the construction sector.

The government’s intention to maintain high immigration targets for 2025 and 2026 is welcome news for the construction sector, which is grappling with a critical workforce shortage.

CCA said while sustained immigration is essential to ease the labour crisis and put Canada on a trajectory of future growth, a clear strategy is needed to ensure Canada has the capacity to support an influx of workers that goes beyond homebuilding and considers the foundational infrastructure needed.

The federal government promises to work closely with provincial and territorial governments and other stakeholders to coordinate on housing and housing-enabling infrastructure. This closely aligns with what the CCA and its members have been advocating for in meetings with government policy makers for over a year.

The plan includes full implementation of the Recognized Employer Pilot program and improvements to foreign credential recognition.

“Immigration cannot be considered in isolation. Welcoming newcomers is intrinsically linked to housing, health care, education and infrastructure to support community needs like roads, bridges, clean water and energy,” said CCA president Mary Van Buren.

“One area that was not mentioned was accelerating approval of those in high-demand construction jobs, including labourers for our civil sector, skilled tradespeople, and others who can help us build sustainably.”

The Canadian construction industry is meeting with Members of Parliament during CCA’s annual Hill Day on November 7 to discuss related issues including a long-term infrastructure plan, building the workforce Canada needs, and modernizing procurement.

CAWIC president earns powerful woman recognition

The Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC) president Lisa Laronde has been recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners by WXN (Women’s Executive Network).

WXN unveiled the award winners on October 30 and recognized 103 women for making a transformational difference in their fields and actively shaping a more inclusive future. The awards are presented to remarkable women in 12 categories. Laronde was named under executive leaders.

“I am grateful for this honour and would like to congratulate all of the fellow award winners who are being recognized for their outstanding contributions. There’s no doubt that together we are stronger and our voices and collective actions are helping to advance our communities, our industries, our country, and each other,” said Laronde, who is president of RSG International and was appointed to the CAWIC board in 2021 and became the president in July 2023.

According to WXN, Laronde is a powerful advocate for women in leadership. Through her influential speaking engagements and podcast appearances, her aim is to inspire women in all industries, particularly construction. Lisa is passionate about building psychologically safe work environments, where diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of her organization. Her business acumen and demonstrated success in growing market share make Lisa a unique and inspirational leader.

“On behalf of all of us at CAWIC, I want to thank Lisa for her unwavering support and action to help shape a more inclusive world. We have continued to see Lisa’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout her leadership at CAWIC,” said Kristen Hallberg, president Elect, CAWIC. “There’s no doubt that her words, actions, and legacy are helping to create a stronger foundation, not only for
CAWIC but for the construction industry as a whole.”

The 2023 winners will be celebrated in person at the 21st annual Top 100 Awards Gala, hosted at the Fairmont Royal York Toronto on November 30.

Your fall cleaning checklist

We often focus on spring cleaning, but fall cleaning is important, too! Prepare yourself for the challenges of winter, get ahead of the snow and ice that will be tracked into your building, and make sure that all areas are in top shape before the weather changes.

Deep cleaning is important for every season in a facility, and fall is no exception. Take the steps necessary to get your facility ready for winter’s challenges and keep hygiene and safety top of mind.

As cold and flu season is in full swing, it’s a great time to ensure that all high-traffic and high-touch areas are being consistently cleaned and monitored. Refresh supplies in any sanitization stations and ensure that cleaners pay special attention to areas that see a lot of traffic like door handles, kitchen equipment, shared electronics like printers, and more.
Have your HVAC inspected to ensure everything is in working order. Change the filters, clean out any dust, and complete any repairs to limit air pollution, reduce the risk of mould, and improve the air quality in your building.
Clean the windows. This is important year-round for aesthetics, of course, but when it gets darker during the winter months, cleaner windows can help let natural light in, creating a brighter environment that is more appealing to employees and may help productivity.
Deep clean the floors and get them ready for the wet and cold conditions that winter brings. Plan to add matting to help protect them during the winter and keep dirt and debris from being tracked through your building. Also, create a schedule for cleaners to maintain the mats or contract a company to ensure that they stay clean and dry as long as you need them.
Don’t forget the outside of your building! While your cleaners may focus on the interior, making sure that your drains are facing away from the building and removing debris from your gutters will help mitigate the risk of flooding and slipping and falling during the colder months.

It will be winter before we know it, so be prepared with a plan that begins in the fall and keeps your building clean and safe right through the cold weather months.

Generative AI poised to realign CRE status quo

Artificial intelligence (AI) is projected to deliver further operational savings in buildings through the ability to make real-time micro-adjustments to energy and water usage. However, emerging generative AI applications could shake up the status quo even more within commercial real estate’s property administration, brokerage and investment management services.

That could come with the ability to glean, scan and interpret troves of data, and integrate it into management software systems, ESG tracking, risk assessment and a range of other formulations, calculations and models at a fraction of the time and labour expenditure currently required. Panellists participating in a recent online discussion sponsored by the Open Standards Consortium for Real Estate (OSCRE) International tallied these opportunities to work faster, comprehend more, improve accuracy and liberate humans from tedium, along with some of the limitations and uncertainties at this still early stage of application development and industry adoption.

“It’s offering the ability to analyze and ingest and work with the amount of data that we create today, which currently is estimated at something like 300 million terabytes of data every day,” observed Ian Niblock, director of development with MRI Software and a member of OSCRE’s board of directors. “There’s also an ability to interact with your data by asking questions. That’s proving very popular and very beneficial because you don’t need to have an underlying knowledge of the data structures. You can literally do something like ask a question and get the answer that you’re seeking.”

Generative AI opens up these possibilities through its capacity to evolve or learn once it has been trained, enabling it to produce new outputs such as text, code, video, audio or mathematically generated synthetic data or to make predictions. This differs from traditional AI, which follows programmed directions to perform specific tasks. Applications considered promising for real estate harness generative AI’s so-called computer vision or ability to see and interpret like a human and its language processing skills, which can grasp the meaning and intent of questions posed to it.

Taming broad and unstructured data

Michael Thompson, the global lead with JLL Technologies’ data advisory division and another OSCRE board member, cited three broad functions that could deliver efficiencies and more informed insights for decision-making. This includes the ability to quickly scan and extract meaning from the vast amount of “broad” data already stored in the industry’s databases, and the ability to find and pull relevant information from “unstructured” data contained in documents such as leases, contracts and other types of text and visual images. As well, generative AI can read and seamlessly translate a multiplicity of global languages.

“It’s notoriously difficult to collect real estate data. There are so many different providers, so many different standards. We have a lot of quantitative data that has to do with performance. We have a lot of qualitative data that has to do with leases. We have brokerage assessments that are deep in text,” Thompson enumerated. “We have raw data across financial, engineering and operating topics. We can bring all that together, faster than what we’ve been doing before, and start to rely more on AI to interpret, make connections, discover things.”

For example, lease abstraction could be largely left to AI that can grasp the context of words, phrases and/or syntax to identify and capture relevant information. In turn, that could free analysts from time-consuming and labour-intensive tasks to focus more on the big picture emerging from AI outputs.

“We have people who spend all day looking at leases and they have great experience knowing what to look for in terms and conditions, covenants and all those things that are in leases, but, when we hire people like that, we hire them for their knowledge, not for their ability to read per se. We want them to have the opportunity for fulfilling careers and spend more time applying their knowledge instead of just pouring through documents.” Thompson mused.

“It enables a lot more data sharing,” Niblock added. “You can start to pass lease documents directly into your operational system without having to re-key tens of thousands of different fields manually, which is a mind-numbing activity for most people to do that.”

Among other possibilities, Thompson foresees real-time analysis of investment behaviour as AI enhances manoeuvrability around the estimated 25 trillion data points markets generate daily. Niblock highlights predictive capabilities that could help identify the most lucrative leads or tenants at risk of falling into arrears.

“Then, of course, there’s energy efficiency and sustainability. Through some of the work we’ve (JLL Technologies) done, we can see the potential to reduce energy costs by an additional 20 or 30 per cent,” Thompson reported. “That comes down to an intelligent operating centre that can make real-time micro-adjustments in certain buildings or certain floors, depending on how those floors are being used, depending on the stresses that are being put on the equipment in those environments.”

Ranking smart investment priorities

For owners/managers pondering this or earlier steps in the digital transformation of buildings, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada launched BOMA BEST Smart earlier this year. The benchmarking and certification program — which is aligned with the longstanding BOMA BEST assessment for environmental performance of existing buildings — addresses technological systems and connectivity in buildings with a focus on five key areas: security and safety; operations and management; network and integration; end-user experience; and reporting and analysis.

The assessment takes enrollees through a series of questions related to those areas, and tailored to seven different asset types: office; enclosed shopping centre; open-air retail; light industrial; multifamily; health care facilities; and universal. These were developed with input from a taskforce of BOMA members.

“It was done with the industry, for the industry,” Marlene Farias, JLL’s senior vice president of operations, services, property and asset management in Canada, told attendees at BOMA Canada’s 2023 annual conference earlier this fall. “For anyone who’s embarking into the digital transformation, I would encourage you to look at some of those questions that we have developed. It’s not just about optimizing energy at a building level. It’s looking at tenant experience; it’s looking at cybersecurity; it’s looking at decarbonization as well.”

Also participating in the discussion with Farias, Lachlan MacQuarrie, senior vice president, national real estate management, with Epic Investment Services, nevertheless hypothesized that energy management continues to the be favoured investment with the most straightforward payback. He categorized some other technologies as difficult to justify with post-pandemic lower office occupancies or unlikely to outrank competing needs and interests.

“I think we’d all love to deliver unique customer experiences, but that often proves to be much more complicated (than energy management) if you start to think about the disparate systems that go with experiences,” MacQuarrie said. “Another obstacle can be the timing difference between when solutions are presented to us and whether they address a problem we’re actually looking to solve. It’s often the case that it’s a really great solution that I don’t really need and it’s priced at a point that I can’t pay for.”

Context critical for training models

Thompson and Niblock acknowledged that industry input will be critical to developing generative AI applications, especially when training the models that will propel their learning. At this embryonic stage of development and adoption, there is a skills shortage for both building and training models and integrating new processes into existing technology.

“At the moment, software developers, software providers will be responsible for building these models and training them, and we need to know the context, we need to know how to train them,” Niblock said. “Generative AI, large language models and machine learning has been likened to a child. It will believe everything that you tell it and repeat everything that you tell it.”

Thompson concurred that conscious effort must be taken to incorporate diversity at the back end. “If you’re trying to create an experience that fits everybody, think about your prompt engineers, who they are and the backgrounds and context they represent. It’s a really important time to focus on the people behind as much as the technology,” he advised.

Prospective adopters may also want to consider embodied carbon.

“We see the word ‘cloud’ and perhaps we don’t appreciate the enormous amount of physical infrastructure that actually exists to power that,” Niblock said. “The data centres required to process some of this ML (machine learning) and LLM (large language model) data now cost in the tens of millions to build and use phenomenal amounts of power.”

Barbara Carss is editor-in-chief of Canadian Property Management.

WorkSafeBC: slips, trips and falls costly

Slips, trips, and falls are the costliest workplace incidents and some of the biggest causes of general productivity loss, according to WorkSafeBC.

WorkSafeBC reports that some 7,000 workers suffer injuries due to slips, trips, and falls every year. Approximately 20 per cent of workplace injuries are related to these injuries.

In the past six years, almost 41,000 workers in B.C. suffered slip-trip-and-fall injuries, including fractures, sprains, and dislocations.

On average, slip-trip-and-fall injuries cost B.C. businesses 440,000 lost workdays and more than $148 million in claim costs each year. Construction is one of the most impacted sectors.

“Slips, trips, and falls can lead to debilitating injuries that impact both workers and businesses alike,” explained Barry Nakahara, senior manager, prevention field services at WorkSafeBC. “The good news is the majority of slip-trip-and-fall incidents are preventable, and the basic precautions are easy and cost-effective.”

The simplest way of preventing injuries from slips, trips, and falls in the workplace, according to the organization, is to develop and implement a risk management plan that uses the established hierarchy of controls to identify and assess controls, and to monitor safety hazards and risks.

Some examples are:

Install electrical wires, cords, and hoses where they won’t create tripping hazards.
Install covers, drip pans, containers, or containment rooms to prevent the release of contaminants from equipment to the floor.
Make sure all tools, equipment, and materials are stored in their designated locations.
Determine the right type of footwear for workers to wear based on the slip and trip hazards in the workplace.

During the winter months, icy and wet conditions contribute to an 11 per cent increase in injuries due to slips, trips, and falls. Nakahara said that changing workplace conditions — including changes in weather — mean that risk assessments must be revisited on a regular basis.

Canadian facilities earn top architecture prize

Six Canadian sports and leisure facility projects were honoured with a 2023 IOC IPC IAKS Architecture Prize in Cologne, Germany.

Every two years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) award coveted prizes honouring sports and leisure architecture from all over the world.

The international awards are presented to buildings and complexes that integrate sensible sustainability and public value, exemplary accessibility and universal design, strong functional planning and innovation, and exceptional architectural design.

With 88 entries from 22 different countries including Australia, Germany, Thailand, and Canada, a total of 11 projects were selected in five categories.

The categories include: community outdoor grounds and public areas, indoor facilities for sports, leisure and recreation, pools, spas and wellness facilities, specialized facilities for sports, leisure and recreation, and major outdoor stadiums.

The jury selected many inspiring projects that generate value for local communities – an important issue in the world of sport that also reflects the theme of the IAKS Congress: “Building resilient communities through sports and leisure facilities”.

The Canadian winners are:

SFU Stadium, Burnaby
Architect: Perkins and Will
Operator: Simon Fraser University

Rainbow Park, Vancouver
Architect: Dialog
Operator: Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation

Maple Ridge Leisure Centre Expansion, Maple Ridge
Architect: SHAPE Architecture
Operator: City of Maple Ridge

Churchill Meadows Community Centre, Mississauga
Architect: MJMA Architecture & Design
Operator: City of Mississauga

Centre De Glaces Intact Assurance, Québec
Architect: Lemay
Operator: Corporation de gestion du Centre de Glaces de Québec

Neil Campbell Rowing Centre, St. Catharines
Architect: MJMA Architecture & Design with Raimondo + Associates Architects
Operator: Canadian Henley Rowing Corporation

Dynamic approach to apartment pest management

In the world of pest control, no two multi-residential buildings are the same. Every apartment is home to unique communities, living spaces, public areas, and environmental factors that require tailored and sustainable solutions.

Paolo Bossio with Advantage Pest Control has been working with multi-family managers and owners for years to create and execute bespoke pest management strategies. Ahead, he shares insights into what it takes to keep pests at bay.

First, what makes pest control in an apartment such a unique challenge?

One of the biggest reasons multi-residential properties pose a unique challenge for us is the fact that there are so many shared walls and vents, which makes it easy for roaches, bedbugs, and all manner of crawling insects to move from one unit to the next.

In fact, we’ll often find that the unit we’ve been called in to tackle isn’t even “Ground Zero” for the infestation and that they are actually getting invaded by pests who have traveled from neighbours who are units down the hall.

That’s another factor, too: Infestations in an apartment may originate in units with people who either don’t know they have an issue, have a cognitive disability and can’t express their issue, or are maybe too embarrassed to say something. Some of the worst infestations we have seen have been from units that have a zero history of complaints.

And that’s the crux of the challenge; the fact that apartments are home to different people living right next to each other, each with their own unique factors that need to be considered. This is why we will start by doing block treatments and inspections to assess each issue in a more comprehensive manner and hone in on everything that may be contributing to the infestation.

Was the pandemic a factor in multifamily infestations?

Due to the pandemic, many restaurants, plazas, bakeries, and food providers shut down and transferred solely to delivery through services like Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes. The increase in delivery traffic played a part in relocating roaches, mice, and rats from commercial buildings to residential properties. There is also the fact that people were working from home and eating more inside their units, which caused a huge rise in pest control-related issues in residential properties.

What is a “dynamic, integrated approach” to pest management, and why is it more effective for multi-residential buildings?

A dynamic approach simply means that it takes all factors into consideration and that you need a tailored and ongoing strategy based on the building’s specific issues, requirements, and populations. It is an approach that recognizes the fact that insects and people are very dynamic. Because of this, a dynamic integrated pest management technique is best practice for multi-residential buildings; we know this to be true through experience. For example, we can’t treat an apartment where the tenant is bedridden the same way we would treat an apartment that has a newborn baby.

Take us through a typical multi-residential engagement.

We always like to start with an inspection and generate well-documented notes on problematic units. By doing this, we can design and conduct the appropriate remediation strategy, as well as follow up as necessary. Again, the idea is to do that upfront assessment and legwork to figure out exactly what’s going on and how we can stop it using our integrated services and technologies.

What are common questions/concerns clients typically have during this process?

There are always questions, and that’s part of the process. Property managers, owners, and residents alike will naturally want to know the extent of their issue, what we’re doing in terms of remediation, and how it will impact the building. That’s why communication is key with building staff, tenants, and homeowners. It’s also why we always provide reports and preparation documents so that there are no surprises and everyone has confidence in what we’re doing. With pest control, proper preparation is 80% of the program.

How does Advantage Pest Control help clients prepare for the winter?

We self-audit at Advantage Pest Control. We hire a specific technician to visit all our accounts in the fall to make sure that stations are being placed correctly and filled properly, as well as check for structural issues on the properties to ensure points of entry are addressed before insects and rodents look for access.

If you’re concerned about pests in your building and want to know how to keep them at bay, please contact our office at 416-297-8010 or via email to [email protected] to book a consultation. Visit our website at www.advantagepestcontrol.co.

Paolo Bossio is the President and CEO of Advantage Pest Control Inc., a family-owned and operated business specializing in Dynamic Integrated Pest Management programs.

Ontario removes HST on purpose-built rental housing

The Ontario government announced it is taking steps to remove the full eight per cent provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on qualifying new purpose-built rental housing in an effort to get more rental homes built faster.

“There has never been a greater need to get rental housing built across the province. This is why our government is taking steps to tackle the housing crisis so that all Ontarians can have an affordable place to live,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “Tomorrow, I will provide an update on our plan that will continue with our government’s targeted, responsible approach so we have the flexibility needed to build Ontario and address the uncertainty of today while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations.”

Currently, the Ontario HST New Residential Rental Property Rebate is equal to 75 per cent of the provincial portion of the HST paid, up to a maximum rebate of $24,000. The enhanced rebate would be equal to 100 per cent of the provincial portion of the HST, with no maximum rebate amount. It would apply to new purpose-built rental housing projects, including apartment buildings, student housing and senior residences, underway between September 14, 2023 and December 31, 2030.

“Our government will continue to take action and work together with our partners at all levels of government to help increase the supply of affordable homes across this province,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This is a significant step that builds on the comprehensive measures in our government’s Housing Supply Action Plans to get shovels in the ground faster and help more Ontarians find a home that meets their needs and budget.”

As part of its ongoing work to build at least 1.5 million homes by 2031, the government is also working on the development of a comprehensive modular home strategy. This strategy includes exploring the use of a Request for Qualification process that will transparently identify and pre-qualify companies that contribute to modular housing construction on the scale Ontario needs. The government is also working to leverage surplus provincial lands and partnering with municipalities to leverage surplus municipal lands in order to help reduce the cost of building attainable homes, including modular homes.

Proptech ventures tapped for 2024 accelerator

Seven housing-related proptech ventures have been named as the 2024 cohort of the REACH Canada accelerator program. Second Century Ventures, the investment arm of the U.S. National Association of Realtors (NAR) sponsors the annual program, which promises mentorship, exposure at NAR events and access to a vast network of real estate industry contacts.

“This cohort of companies offers a remarkable range of diverse solutions that leverage REACH’s rapidly expanding global presence,” observes Lynette Keyowski, managing partner of REACH Canada.

Currently, there are six streams of the accelerator program — in the United States, Canada, Australia, Latin America, the United Kingdom and for commercial property applications — dedicated to supporting the scale-up of proptech enterprises that are either directly embedded in real estate or provide what’s defined as “real estate adjacent” services. As in previous years, some designees of the 2024 REACH Canada cohort are not actually based in Canada.

“Each year, the REACH Canada program showcases the powerful blend of technology and innovation that is transforming the real estate market,” says Dave Garland, managing partner of Second Century Ventures. “The 2024 class emphasizes the role of technology and collaboration in addressing some of real estate’s core challenges in Canada and across the globe.”

This year’s cohort was chosen to reflect three broad categories of housing issues: affordable and equitable access to housing; enhancing housing supply; and streamlining the agent and consumer experience. They include:

Vancouver-based, ilumnai, a compliance and monitoring tool to combat money laundering;
Calgary-based, Collegium, a digital platform bringing together all elements of the development process, including owners, architects, engineers, building trades, constructors, financiers, and insurance underwriters:
Montreal-based, Maket, generative AI for residential floorplans;
Calgary-based, Propra, a suite of property management tools for the multifamily sector;
Vancouver-based, Proxima HQ, a digital real estate sales platform;
Florida-based, Infinite Creator, a content producer for real estate marketing; and
San Francisco-based, PropTexx, providing real estate related generative AI, data analytics and real-time intelligence.

Alberta opens Norwood West building

The Government of Alberta announced the opening of the new Norwood West building at the Gene Zwozdesky Centre.

The opening of the new Norwood West building increases the continuing care capacity by 29 beds for a total of 234. The additional capacity will help address pressures on the health system by reducing the demand for emergency department visits, inpatient acute care services in hospitals and continuing care placements.

“We continue working to ensure that Albertans can access the health care they need, when and where they need it. I’m very pleased to see the Norwood West building open because it means that more Edmontonians will have access to the level of care they require. This is good news that will only get better when the entire project is completed,” said Premier Danielle Smith.

With the Norwood West building open, work will begin on renovating the Norwood East building, formerly the Angus McGugan Pavilion, which will further increase the total number of beds to 350.

Budget 2023 invests almost $90.6 million over three years to complete further work required at the Gene Zwozdesky Centre at Norwood, including:

renovating the Norwood East building to accommodate 116 hospice and complex continuing care beds.
demolishing the North Pavilion and old Comprehensive Home Option of Integrated Care for the Elderly (CHOICE) Program day centre.
constructing a stand-alone parking structure for community emergency medical service (EMS) vehicles and renal dialysis vans.

“We are proud to help deliver on our long-term plan to alleviate pressure on the health care system. Building vital infrastructure to increase capacity in continuing care is an important step in providing Albertans the care they need, when and where they need it,” said Pete Guthrie, minister of Infrastructure.

The 38,000-square-metre Gene Zwozdesky Centre will feature a fully accessible green roof, dental clinic, hemodialysis satellite unit, new ambulatory clinics and an expanded CHOICE Program.

Differentiating your customer service

Customer service is a vital part of every business. Putting customers first, providing exceptional service, and building relationships will help cleaners and maintenance managers better manage their businesses.

As part of a recent customer experience summit led by GP PRO, Kimber Shray, the company’s vice president of marketing, moderated a panel discussion on being customer-obsessed. The following are excerpts from her discussion with Alec Fomin, director of member experience with Sage Realty, and John Sutherland, vice president of sales and marketing with Paramount Building Solutions.

Can you tell me how you define what it means to be customer-obsessed?

Sutherland: As a BSC, everyone is our customer, from the building owner to the property manager to the tenants to the visitors. When I think of being customer-obsessed, I think of the goal we have to have a partnership with every individual customer so that each one feels we are meeting their individual needs. Being customer-obsessed means never waking up to find out that we didn’t deliver, that we didn’t do what we said we were going to do.

Fomin: At Sage, we approach customer service from a hospitality mindset whereby we understand that our tenants’ loyalty is earned by how satisfied they are with their experiences with our brand. Being customer-obsessed means holding ourselves accountable as a brand to ensure that every decision we make deepens our engagement with our tenants and improves their overall satisfaction with our properties.

What role, if any, does your company culture play in customer service?

Fomin: To me, our culture is directly tied to our brand. It’s what we stand for, what we believe in. And in our business, we have to ensure that our employees embrace and live our culture so that our tenants experience it and benefit from it. Certainly, that involves hiring the best people and providing consistent, ongoing training to ensure that every employee approaches their job with the customer in mind. But it also includes putting ourselves in our tenants’ shoes. What’s their first impression when they enter one of our buildings? Are our buildings approachable? Do our tenants feel cared for? I tell all of our employees that if they aren’t curious about our customers and their experiences then they won’t be able to deliver products and services that exceed their expectations. You can’t have the latter without the former.

Sutherland: Culture is a major challenge for us because our employees are at different customer sites, each with different cultures of their own, different expectations of our employees, and some of our employees are working overnights. But it’s critically important to our success that we have a clear culture, that we bring it to every site, and that we integrate it into every customer engagement. We do that by approaching cleaning as a facility amenity, like a fitness center or a daycare, meaning our employees don’t just clean the facility, but they serve our customers. If a customer walks into their facility in the morning, and it’s clean, it smells clean, there are no fingerprints on the elevator buttons, and the trash is empty, that provides the customer with a level of comfort and reassurance.

How do you measure if your employees are living your culture and are being customer-obsessed?

Sutherland: We get very clear with our customers about what they want to achieve, and then we develop KPIs with input from our employees. And these KPIs involve leveraging our culture to help our customers achieve their goals. That’s the only way we can provide that amenity-like service. If I walk into a customer site at 11 p.m., and I ask one of our employees what our KPIs are, they should know. If they don’t, then we didn’t do a good enough job training them on our culture, and we didn’t get their buy-in into what they’d be measured against. That’s actually what keeps me up at night. Worrying if every one of our employees feels like they have skin in the game.

Fomin: We focus on our individual business units and indexing and comparing their performance. We look at everything from friendliness to cleanliness and productivity scores. If we see one business unit not performing relative to the others, we know that’s an area where there may be some customer dissatisfaction, whether we’ve heard about it not. And if we see a business unit that is significantly overperforming, we dive into what they are doing that we can bring to the other business units. If our employees are living our culture, there really shouldn’t be a lot of variation from one business unit to the next.

How do you maintain your culture in an industry with such high turnover?

Sutherland: I think we’re bucking the trend, but at Paramount, our culture is the primary reason we don’t have high turnover. I actually have a wait list of individuals in our markets across the country who want to come and work for us. It’s not about the pay, and it’s not about the hours. It’s about the culture we’ve created and people wanting to be a part of something that is positive and that positively impacts countless others.

Fomin: Absolutely! I can say the same for Sage. We can’t delight our tenants if we aren’t first delighting our employees. And that hospitality-based culture and brand not only helps us attract tenants, but it helps us attract and retain employees.

What role does smart technology play in helping you be customer-obsessed?

Fomin: Nine months ago, we rolled out smart restroom technology across our entire six-building portfolio, incorporating it into more than 400 restrooms. Almost immediately, we started realizing all of the obvious benefits of reduced product outages, improved sustainability outcomes, labor savings, and a line of sight into tenant traffic patterns. And there’s no question that these benefits provide a real ROI for our tenants. But I had no idea that the data we receive could also give us such insight into our employees, their behaviors, and how they’re delivering our brand promise to our tenants every day. John mentioned earlier what keeps him up at night. What keeps me up at night is trying to figure out how I can make our brand promise more explicit to our customers, and I have no doubt that smart technology and the analytics it provides, whether it’s in the restroom, food and beverage, or other operations, will help me do that.

Sutherland: A little over a year ago, we took on a new customer that had a Kingsley satisfaction rating of 3 out of 5. That basically means that the tenants in the facility were really not happy with the space. But we helped the customer implement smart restroom technology, and in eight months, the Kingsley rating jumped to a 4.5 and then a 4.7. Now those ratings aren’t just based on the restroom experience, but smart technology in the restroom empowered my employees to perform additional higher value tasks. They learned the technology and how to interpret the data so they could deliver a better customer experience. Not just in terms of saving time and money, but in terms of making sure their cleaning efforts were, in fact, an amenity for that facility and the people who worked and visited there. Smart technology is making us even better. It’s helping us deliver on our brand promise in ways we never dreamed possible.

CB November/December 2023

Ontario introduces funding for emergency preparedness

Communities and organizations across Ontario are encouraged to apply for a newly announced grant that focuses on preparing for natural disasters and other emergencies.

The provincial government is investing $5 million into the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant program. Successful applicants will be able to purchase critical supplies and equipment, such as sand bagging machines, and deliver emergency management training and services to improve local response.

The funding is geared to any type of emergency. Applications close on November 30, 2023. More info on eligibility can be found here.

Kicking Horse Canyon upgrades nearing completion

The conversion to a modern four-lane highway of the last two-lane section of the Trans-Canada Highway in the Kicking Horse Canyon east of Golden is nearing completion.

“The Trans-Canada Highway in the Kicking Horse Canyon is more than a scenic road in the mountains. It’s an example of what we can accomplish when we work together. Very soon, commuters will be able to drive along this newly expanded highway, allowing more people to get to where they need to go safely and efficiently,” said John Aldag, MP for Cloverdale-Langley City, on behalf of Sean Fraser, federal minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. “Our investments in transportation infrastructure benefit the local economy and community by reducing congestion and increasing road safety. We will continue investing in projects like this one that make a significant difference in the lives of all Canadians.”

Approximately five kilometres of narrow, two-lane highway have been transformed and preparations are being made to transition traffic onto the new highway and bridges by the beginning of December 2023. This winter, people travelling through the Kicking Horse Canyon will have a smoother, safer trip on the new, four-lane divided highway.

“Improvements through the Kicking Horse Canyon are a marvel of engineering and have earned industry awards for design and skilled construction,” said Rob Fleming, B.C.’s minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “Everyone working on this phase of the project should be very, very proud of what they’ve accomplished. The contractors and workers deserve our thanks for completing this challenging project in very difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions during the months of high summer heat and the bitter cold of winter.”

In fall 2022, people began using a large section of the recently constructed eastbound lanes. This year, the remaining eastbound lanes on the Bighorn Viaduct were completed, and construction focused on the new westbound lanes and the associated walls and rockfall protections through the project.

During the recent extended closure of the Trans-Canada Highway in late September and early October 2023, crews finished the last major concrete pour on the project and completed the Lynx, Elk and Caribou viaducts.

More than $600 million is being invested in the Kicking Horse Canyon Phase 4 project.

Port Coquitlam unveils fieldhouse design

The City of Port Coquitlam has unveiled the final proposed design for its new fieldhouse, a modern public recreation amenity that will serve a state-of-the-art soccer and community hub, a PoCo Soccer office and B.C. Soccer’s new headquarters.

Construction of the Gates Park fieldhouse is expected to begin in 2024 and be completed in 2025.

“I’m extremely excited to move forward with a first-class facility that puts our community on the map as the premier sports city in our province. This will provide Port Coquitlam residents, and especially our kids, a second-to-none sports field experience, will allow us to address the significant demand for more field time, and delivers a multi-purpose community space that has a number of potential uses,” said Mayor Brad West.

“The proposed design fits very well into Gates Park, recognizing the natural setting and other community activities that take place there, and provides enhanced pedestrian trail connection, as well as additional parking. This is an investment into the future of our growing city and creates huge opportunities that extend well beyond sports and delivers significant benefits, not the least of which is supporting active, healthy living for our residents.”

Included in the conceptual renderings are exterior roof designs, site plans, and building floor plans. The main floor of the fieldhouse includes a lobby, change rooms, locker rooms and an atrium that can be used for social gatherings. The bleachers would fit approximately 1200 spectators.

The vision for the facility is to be an intergenerational community recreation and activity centre that supports the city’s vision of becoming a leader in B.C for sports, recreation, parks and trails.

The new fieldhouse facility will include: a state-of-the-art synthetic turf field built to international competition (FIFA) standards – replacing a grass field that is underutilized due to turf conditions and drainage issues; a new fieldhouse –including storage, meeting space, accessible public washrooms and other amenities; and a multi-use public plaza for community gathering and events.

The $15 million project will be funded with approximately $9 million in provincial funding and the remaining from a partnership between B.C. Soccer PoCo Soccer and the city.

B.C. issues RFQ for Belleville Terminal project

B.C. has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the design and construction of the Belleville Terminal Redevelopment Project in Victoria. Following the RFQ, a shortlist of qualified teams will be invited to participate in a request for proposal (RFP).

The travelling experience of ferry passengers between Victoria and Washington state will be improved by the Belleville Terminal Redevelopment Project, which will deliver a new, secure, state-of-the-art, pre-clearance terminal for passengers and goods.

“We have moved quickly from project approval to procurement to signal that this tourism and trade corridor is critical for the region,” said Rob Fleming, minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “An improved modern terminal will be an economic generator on both sides of the border and will make travel more convenient for the hundreds of thousands of passengers travelling through it every year.”

The upgrade will bring Belleville Terminal into compliance with the Canada-U.S. Land, Rail, Marine and Air Transport Preclearance Agreement. Pre-clearance will streamline travel by allowing passengers to complete the U.S. customs and immigration process in Victoria, prior to disembarking in the United States.

With an approved budget of $303.9 million, the project is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 tourism season. The federal government has confirmed $41.6 million for the project.

Belleville Terminal is on the territory of the Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation. The province is working collaboratively with the Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation to identify opportunities to showcase the cultural and geographical significance of the project’s location in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, and welcome visitors into Lekwungen territory.

“Belleville Terminal is a critical transportation hub and gateway. The terminal contributes to a thriving ocean hub, providing services to both visitors and freight from Port Angeles. These visitors bring millions of dollars of new revenue to our region every year, directly supporting jobs, small businesses and significant tax contributions,” said Robert Lewis-Manning, CEO of Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

Saskatchewan backs secondary rental suites

The Saskatchewan government is introducing an incentive to help fund new secondary rental suites in single-family homes. Homeowners could receive up to $35,000 toward the costs of building a separate dwelling unit in their homes, backyards or laneways.

“Saskatchewan is growing at its fastest pace in more than a century and we need housing stock across a wide range of communities and price ranges,” says Donna Harpauer, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier. “A secondary suite can help homeowners with the cost of a mortgage while providing affordable options for renters.”

To qualify, a unit must have its own dedicated entrance and a full kitchen and bathroom. The incentive will cover a maximum of 35 per cent of eligible costs, including architectural, engineering and construction services, building materials, mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems and standard appliances. Application forms are not yet available, but projects initiated between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2026 will qualify.

The host dwelling must be the homeowner’s primary residence and only one incentive per home will be allocated. Homeowners will also be responsible for obtaining all the necessary local permits and approvals for the new suites.

“Secondary suites will add much-needed rental supply for the province,” maintains Cameron Choquette, chief executive officer of the Saskatchewan Landlord Association. “Our association looks forward to supporting new rental housing providers that arise as a result of this incentive.”

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