Banff’s new living street prioritizes pedestrians

In Banff, Alberta, Canada, Bear Street resides along a quiet street adjacent to the bustling Banff Avenue and just a two-minute drive to the Trans-Canada Highway. Lined with numerous restaurants, retail and service businesses, Bear Street is a vital part of Banff’s economy as it draws both tourists and residents. However, Bear Street’s proximity off the main drag led to fewer pedestrians to it than on the much busier Banff Avenue.

To create equity between the businesses of the two streets, the town adopted a plan based on the Dutch concept of “Woonerf,” or living street. A street designed this way has no physical barrier between cars and people, forcing drivers to slow down and pay greater attention to pedestrians and bicycles. One of the best practices for creating a shared roadway such as this is to install a uniform surface suitable for cars, pedestrians and bicycles alike.

In Banff, designers chose to use Belgard’s VS 5 pavers to accommodate all potential users. As COVID began to take hold in North America in early 2020, the town council decided to move forward with the project to create a shared space on Bear Street.

The new plan called for an urban plaza prioritized for pedestrians but on which “cars were welcome as guests,” explains Pierre Hugues Gagnon, project manager and engineering coordinator for the Town of Banff. “The design strives to find the balance between pedestrians, cyclist and motorists seasonally by doing design tweaks as needed.”

“Redesigns such as this would usually result in a space that is closed to vehicle traffic,” said Jessica Wheatley, engineer and manager at WSP Canada, Inc.

As project manager for the consultant team, her responsibilities included overseeing the overall design as well as leading the civil design, utilities and stormwater management.

“In this case, though, there are three underground parking garages and a municipal surface lot just off Bear Street that could not be blocked. There are also several restaurants and shops downtown, as well as many professional and medical services. All those involved with the project were cognizant of the need to make the street accessible to everyone, including those who could not walk or ride a bike to the area.”

To create a safe space, designers employed many traffic-calming strategies in the design of the new space. This included placing the paver design at a 45-degree angle to the buildings rather than reflective of the straight lines of a traditional road, placement of removable bollards to limit car movement within certain areas, and planters (built of boulders) that visually signify that the space between them and the buildings as a pedestrian only zone versus a shared zone in the center.

By placing a fire pit in the middle of the shared roadway, cars are naturally directed in an “s” pattern around it, which calls for a slower speed than the straightaway. The use of pavers also offers a traffic calming effect in that their visible texture automatically makes drivers want to slow down. These subtle cues to reduce speed were particularly important for this project because Bear Street is just two minutes off a fast highway and drivers quickly need to be put in a town driving mindset.

With its many different users, the project posed several challenges, among them the need for a surface that was attractive and inviting for pedestrians but strong enough to support vehicle traffic (including heavy emergency vehicles).

Kelsi Hurlbut, principal landscape architect with The Tula Project, specified Belgard’s VS 5 pavers for Bear Street because the vehicle-grade pavers interlock on four sides and the ridges on the bottom grip the gravel underlayment. It was important to her that the shared roadway have minimal vertical movement, continuing to lie flat and level over time. Hurlbut specified a very small three-to-six-millimeter elevation between pavers, each other or surrounding elevated structures.

Another significant challenge for the project team was stormwater management. “This was particularly important given the shared street concept. Pedestrians are the first to experience barriers due to ponding in a storm and experience it the longest,” explains Wheatley. “Usually, water ponds below a raised curb and pedestrians have dry sidewalks to walk on above that. In this case, we had to accommodate for the single level to ensure pedestrians stayed dry and to mitigate risk to the buildings.”

Team engineers and landscape architects used trench drains set into and flush with the road and graded the surface for the most advantageous runoff. They also incorporated a series of soil cells. These structures hold loose, high quality topsoil below the paved surface. Trees are planted above the cells and have access to the rich nutrients in the soil, as well as water that collects there after it rains. The organic material in the cells filters contaminants from the water that seeps down through it, and that water then enters a drainage system leading to the town’s storm drain. Since this ultimately flows to the Bow River, the soil cell system minimizes the impact of the inflow to the river.

“The soil cells allowed us to increase the capacity of the stormwater management system while also supporting the trees that are an important part of the aesthetic of the town as part of a national park,” said Wheatley.

Gagnon adds, “The rich soil in the cells accelerates the growth of the tree canopies so they will be raised above the business frontage –helping with visibility of the façade and signage—more quickly.”

Before the pavers could be laid, all utilities were replaced, starting with the water main, sanitary and storm sewers under the road. New streetlights were put in, and additional power was routed to the street to accommodate events and holiday lighting without the use of generators. There is power on every landscape pod as well as an electrical cabinet in the center of the street.

JP Landscaping installed the pavers (a mix of 300×300 and 150×300) in charcoal and gray. “It was challenging; maintaining the lines within the tight parameters of the pattern required us to lay it by hand,” said JP Heroux, owner and president.

Hurlbut agreed it was a complex installation given the need for precision to keep the pavers in line with elements that were also built into the pattern such as drainage and concrete squares to hold bollards. “I was impressed with the installers’ attention to detail. The final pattern was within millimeters of what I’d designed on the computer,” she said.

Installation began on May 3, 2021, and Heroux’s crew finished on July 19, 2021. A total of 46,848 square feet of pavers were installed.

“Pedestrian traffic has already improved. We moved from a 5:1 ratio of pedestrians on Banff Avenue to those on Bear Street prior to the reconstruction to a 3.3:1 just through the first summer and fall after completion,” said Gagnon.

Wheatley has been happy to see how the different traffic has learned to share the space, too.

“We’ve noticed people are very confident walking down the center of the street and drivers are very patiently waiting for them to get where they’re going. The cars also tend to drive down the centre of the road when they’re not avoiding people,” she said. “And, when they encounter an oncoming car, the drivers have to communicate with each other – make eye contact, slow down, shift more to the side of the road. It’s been really great to see it work so well.”

The Bear Street project won a 2022 Consulting Engineers of Alberta Award of Merit.

CAM July/August 2022

CONDO August 2022

CPM August 2022

Fossil-fuel-fired power plants placed on notice

Fossil-fuel-fired power plants are creeping closer to stranded asset status. The newly released framework for Canada’s looming clean electricity regulations (CER) makes it clear that utilities and other entities selling power into public transmission and distribution networks have about 12 years to cut the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their production processes down to near-zero levels.

The January 1, 2035 deadline for compliance is expected to be a persuasive argument against bringing new fossil-fuel-fired generation online in the interim. Rather, suppliers will need to focus on how to retrofit or replace existing gas- and coal-fired plants. Meanwhile, the framework suggests industries and large institutional facilities with gas-fired cogeneration will not be subject to CER initially, provided they do not sell any electricity into the grid.

“Canada is ready to take the next step in fighting climate change by developing an electricity grid that is net-zero emissions by 2035,” declares Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “This is a key part of our government’s plan for a healthy environment and healthy economy.”

Although it is missing some central details — such as emissions intensity thresholds and exact qualifications for allowed exemptions or extensions to the compliance deadline — the framework sets outs the general rules that will guide the pursuit of a net-zero electricity grid.

The government is accepting comments until August 17, 2022. This follows an earlier round of consultations last winter, which is reported to have drawn more than 160 written submissions and “numerous discussions with key interested parties” including provincial/territorial governments, Indigenous communities and industry.

“Achieving a net-zero electricity supply is key to reaching Canada’s climate targets in two ways,” the preamble to the framework states. “First, it will reduce GHG emissions from production of electricity. Second, using clean electricity instead of fossil fuels in vehicles, heating and industry will reduce emissions from those sectors too.”

Clean energy proponents maintain the regulations send an important signal to the market.

“A regulation like this can provide certainty to industry, to investors, so that they can start investing in the right type of assets to get to a net-zero grid by 2035,” says Binnu Jeyakumar, director of clean energy with the research and policy think tank, the Pembina Institute. “We have not had that kind of certainty in our electricity system. It can be a game-changer.”

Details lacking, but potentially problematic flexibilities flagged

As proposed, the regulations will apply to any fossil-fuel-fired generating unit above a yet-to-be-specified “small megawatt” capacity that produces electricity sold in a regulated system. Almost all designated units will have to meet an emissions performance standard — expected to be “set at a stringent, near-zero value in line with direct emissions from well-performing, low-emitting generation” — by Jan. 1, 2035 at the latest.

However, there would be slightly different rules for units commissioned before 2025, which would be bound by the new near-zero emissions standard as soon as they reach the end of their prescribed life. For now, there is no definition or mechanism to stipulate what a prescribed life is, but the framework suggests it could be based on a fixed number of years from a unit’s date of commissioning.

Once they hit the applicable deadline, regulated units that cannot stay within the mandated emissions threshold would be taken out of service. Those that can comply would have to financially compensate for any residual emissions below the maximum allowable threshold, likely via the carbon tax rate or the purchase of carbon offsets.

Some criteria for exemptions or circumstances for extending the deadline for compliance are also outlined. Notably, fossil-fuel-fired generation could be pressed into service without penalty during emergency situations defined as “extraordinary, unforeseen and irresistible”.

There could be some leeway for a unit to stay in service beyond its prescribed life to provide backup contingency for renewable generation, which would be tied to yet-to-be-defined annual limits on emissions and hours of operation. Finally, the framework proposes that “newer” natural gas units built before the adoption of the regulations could be allowed to operate for a “short prescribed period” past 2035, but neither “newer” nor “short prescribed period” are defined.

Jeyakumar points to a 900-megawatt (MW) gas-fired generating plant under construction in Alberta, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2023, as an example of some of the CER’s potentially problematic flexibilities. She cautions the drafters of the regulations not to assume prospective investors won’t risk gambling on new fossil-fuel-fired facilities that lack abatement technologies in advance of 2035.

“One would have imagined that the carbon pricing itself should have sent a strong enough signal to deter that 900-MW gas-fired plant. So I think there is a need for stronger signals in the short term,” Jeyakumar muses. “Investments can happen in the next couple of years and, under the wording of the regulation framework, some of these plants can qualify for exemptions and can end up operating past 2035 without having to meet that standard.”

Energy efficiency and demand management complement zero-emissions goals

Currently, more than 80 per cent of Canada’s electricity comes from low-emitting sources, including nuclear, hydro-electric and other renewables. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are the provinces most reliant on fossil-fuel-fired generation for base electricity load, while gas-fired peaking plants are a fixture of Ontario’s system to augment supply during periods of high demand.

The framework commits the CER to a “technology-neutral” stance on complying with 2035 low-emissions thresholds, which would allow for options such as transitioning to hydrogen or installing abatement technologies. As stated in the preamble, the CER is envisioned as a prompt for: “energy efficiency, demand-side management, dynamic pricing and a range of efficiency, abatement and non-emitting generating technologies such as: carbon capture and storage (CCS); solar; wind; geothermal; small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs); hydro; distributed energy systems; interties; and energy storage.”

Although there is nothing overtly promoting energy efficiency or demand management within the CER framework, net-zero and conservation advocates stress that it should be viewed as part of a package of complementary initiatives. The electricity grid will be transitioning away from reliance on fossil-fuel generation in sync with projected escalating electricity demand as consumers switch to electrified options for heating and transportation. In this, there is a presumed vacuum for provincial/territorial governments to fill.

“It’s less taxing on clean energy generation when demand is reduced, and several provincial utilities are not exploiting energy efficiency savings potentials,” observes Brendan Haley, director of policy with the advocacy and research organization, Efficiency Canada, which promotes the dual economic and environmental benefits of energy and water efficiency. “An energy efficiency resource standard would be a natural complement to the clean electricity standard, but these are typically implemented at provincial levels.”

“Provinces need to have a plan on how they are going to get to a net-zero grid by 2035,” Jeyakumar concurs. “Within that plan, it’s essential that it includes not only investments in renewable energy, but also programs to incentivize energy efficiency and demand-side management.”

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

Barbara O’Reilly wins CIPH Women of Distinction Award

Barbara O’Reilly, vice president/general manager with Rheem Canada, received the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating’s (CIPH) inaugural Women of Distinction Award.

The new award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to mentoring, developing and promoting women in the plumbing and heating industry. O’Reilly has been with Rheem Canada for more than 27 years and currently sits as a director on the board of the CIPH.

She began her career in the plumbing and heating industry with Rheem Canada in 1980, first as a customer support representative and progressing through roles of increasing responsibility, before being promoted to general manager in 2019.

She is an advocate for women in business, establishing and leading the Rheem Canada Women in Business Mentorship group and is a past chair of the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating Women’s network.

Created in November 2016, the CIPH Women’s Network supports the professional development of women within Canada’s plumbing and heating industry.

The CIPH Women of Distinction award was handed out at the CIPH Annual Business Conference 2022 in Jasper, AB, and was presented to O’Reilly by Siân Smith of Riptide Fulfillment Corp., a past CIPH chair (2015-16) and a founder of the CIPH Women’s Network.

In 2023 the CIPH Annual Business Conference will take place in St. John’s, NL.

Data on transitional general licences released

The CMRAO recently published data on the status of transitional general licences as this year’s condo manager licence renewal cycle came to an end.

Of the 805 managers the CMRAO approved for a transitional general licence, 418 obtained a general licence, 69 obtained a limited licence, and 289 allowed their licence to expire at some point between 2018 and 2022. That’s the latest data as of July 15.

There are 18 licensees who have been granted temporary extensions either as an accommodation under the Ontario Human Rights Code, or to give the CMRAO more time to review their general licence application.

Transitional general licensees were not eligible to renew their licences or reapply after May 31, 2022. They were a time-limited class of licence for condominium managers originally introduced in 2017. Under section 16 of Ontario Reg. 123/17 and were established for experienced managers who had not completed education and exam requirements.

As outlined in the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015 (CMSA) if, prior to November 1, 2017, a licensee had more than two years of work experience as a condo manager obtained within the previous five years, but had not completed the educational or examination requirements for a general licence, they could receive a transitional general licence, provided all other licensing requirements were met.

Condo rents reach new highs in the GTA

Condo rents across the Greater Toronto Area have ballooned since last summer. The average cost of renting a small bachelor unit is now $1,829 per month. That’s about a 25 per cent increase since last July, according to new year-over-year data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

A one-bedroom now goes for $2,269 (a 20 per cent rise). The average two-bedroom went up 15.3 per cent to $2,979. The price for both reached record levels—past the previous peak in Q3 2019.

There were 13,203 condo apartment rental transactions reported through TRREB in Q2 2022 – down 11.4 per cent compared to Q2 2021. As TRREB reports, the dip in rentals was not the result of waning demand, but instead a much more pronounced dip in the number of rental listings, dropping by almost 30 per cent. Less choice led to more difficulty for renters to get deals done.

“Expect rental market conditions to tighten further in the coming months. Higher borrowing costs may have temporarily precluded home buying for some households, but the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) population continues to grow alongside a booming regional economy. This means that an increasing number of people requiring a place to live will turn to the rental market,” said TRREB President Kevin Crigger.

Renting out a bachelor unit in a townhouse now costs almost 22 per cent more in Q2 2022. A one-bedroom went up, too, almost 15 per cent to $2,139. The City of Toronto remains the most expensive place to rent, but smaller cities follow close behind. For instance a one-bedroom in Burlington costs $2,208 compared to $2,300 in downtown Toronto. On average, the Peel Region is now almost on par with Toronto for condo rents.

“Competition between renters continues to heat up, resulting in extremely strong upward pressure on average rents,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. “Rental supply remains a major issue in the GTA and will become more pronounced in the short term, as an increasing share of well-employed individuals turn to the rental market.

“Policymakers need to develop a diversity of options to bring more rental supply online, whether we’re talking about investor-held condominium apartments or purpose-built rental developments.”

Uptick in fraud a wake-up call for condos

In these economically trying times, as one would expect, fraud has been rearing its ugly head. Unfortunately, condominium corporations have increasingly become an easy target.

The reason condos have a metaphorical bullseye on them is likely due to the widespread knowledge of legislation that requires them to maintain large amounts of money in their reserve funds. This, in conjunction with board of directors who often do not have extensive education and experience on corporate governance issues, results in a recipe for disaster.

Types of fraud

Many years ago, there had been some major condominium frauds. While these large-scale schemes have obtained significant public attention, these swindlers are consistently developing new types of frauds on a smaller scale, which are preventable and can be detected in a timely manner.

The following three examples are types of fraud that could easily transpire.

Example One: A condominium corporation pays its suppliers by way of physical cheques. Suppliers can deposit the cheque from the condominium corporation by using a feature offered by its financial institution wherein it can simply take a picture of the cheque with their phone, thereby never actually visiting a bank branch or depositing the cheque by way of an ATM. A fraudster intercepts the cheque by somehow obtaining the envelope mailed to the supplier with the cheque in it (possibly from the Canada Post box). They change the payee and the amount and deposit the cheque either on their phone or at the bank into their own account. If the condominium corporation does not reconcile its bank statement in a timely manner, the fraud remains undetected for an extended period of time.

Example Two: A fraudster obtains the branch and bank account number of a condominium’s bank account. The fraudster sets up an automatic payment or electronic transfer out of the condominium’s bank account to their account (possibly a shell company used to redirect funds). Despite this charge appearing on the condominium corporation’s bank statement, it goes undetected as the monthly bank statements are not reconciled in a timely manner.

Example Three: The board of directors decides to invest the corporation’s reserve monies into a GIC or term deposit with a financial institution. Due diligence is not conducted on the financial institution with whom the condominium intends to invest and the funds are transferred electronically to the account number provided. Unfortunately, the financial institution is not legitimate, and the money is actually transferred into a fraudulent bank account.

Given this real and impending threat, it is imperative that every person involved with the financial administration of condo corporations do their part to prevent or at least reduce the risk of a financial crime being perpetrated. The management company, financial advisors (brokers) and the board of directors should develop, enforce and continually tighten internal controls to ensure that there is an efficient system in place to prevent fraudulent activity such as the ones described above.

The role of management

Given the extensive involvement of the management in the financial administration of a condominium corporation, it is crucial they develop a set of controls and ensure that those controls are consistently followed. The most vulnerable processes that require protection include the collection of revenues (mainly common elements assessments), the payment of all invoices, and the investing of the reserve funds.

Management should implement a procedure that requires all revenue be deposited to the corporation’s bank account only, and not deposited to any other individual or company’s bank account.
Management should ensure that review processes are in place to confirm that invoices are legitimate before paying them and that payments are actually received by the intended vendor.
Bank accounts need to be reconciled at a minimum each month upon receipt of bank statements, but ideally more frequently. Any discrepancies or suspicious activity needs to be investigated immediately. If fraud is suspected, the bank and/or the police should be notified immediately. The longer it takes to report, the less likely it is that stolen funds will be recovered.
Management should ensure they receive and review relevant documentation from financial advisors (as outlined further below).
Management should conduct due diligence on all institutions with whom the corporation is investing. Even if directed by the board of directors, management should ensure the integrity of the financial institution before making any transfers. A thorough investigation should be conducted of the financial advisor and financial institution, especially if a higher than market value rate of return has been offered.

The role of financial advisors

Financial advisors, such as investment brokers, often provide guidance and subsequently facilitate a condominium’s investments, resulting in a flow of funds that is susceptible to fraud. It follows that safeguards at each stage of the investment process will decrease the likelihood of misadventure or, at worst, limit the extent of the wrongdoing.

First, there is the decision of where to invest. Part of the reason that there are legislative restrictions on the use of condominium funds is to protect the corporation. As such, it is important in the context of mitigating risk that financial advisors to condominiums are educated and assist the condominium with complying with the applicable laws.

Once a decision is made as to where to invest funds, there needs to be a process in place to ensure that the investment is legitimate and that the money is properly received by the financial institution facilitating the investment.

Financial advisors should then provide written confirmation for each investment in a timely manner and send monthly statements to the management or to the board of directors (if self-managed).

The board of directors’ role

The board may be in the best position to protect the corporation as they can oversee all of the processes and insist that controls be enforced. It would be ill-advised for the board of directors to simply rely on management, instead of using their mandate to affect corporate governance and to ensure the implementation of appropriate safeguards. For example, the board should endeavor to:

Review the full financial statement package provided by management each month and ensure the bank accounts are reconciled and that the reconciling items are accurate and understandable.
Review the payment process and ensure that payments are made to legitimate suppliers and cheques are only signed with proper support.
Consistently monitor management to ensure all controls are followed.

An auditor’s role

An auditor cannot and should not be relied on to uncover fraud. Moreover, financial audits are not designed or intended to detect fraud.

Since condo auditors only begin their work after the end of every fiscal year, waiting for the auditor to detect fraud is not reasonable and will simply be too late. Pro-active conduct and vigilance throughout the year by the above-noted personnel can mitigate the damage of a fraud.

There is really no excuse for stakeholders in the condominium industry to be complacent. Use this opportunity to assess your condominium’s processes and ensure the appropriate checks and balances are in place at all levels to ensure that the hard-earned money of the condominium’s owners remain where it is supposed to be, in the corporation’s bank accounts.

Stephen Chesney, F.C.P.A , F.C.A., is a partner with the firm Yale PGC, LLP Chartered Professional Accountants in Richmond Hill and currently specializes in the auditing of Ontario condominium corporations.

Removing barriers is critical to proper healthcare hand hygiene

The World Health Organization (WHO) has long recommended its five moments of point-of-care hand hygiene as a way to reduce the incidence of cross-contamination in healthcare settings. On paper, these moments are logical, obvious, even basic and elementary.

Yet the WHO’s own data shows that, on average, fewer than 40 per cent of healthcare workers follow hand hygiene best practices.

With hospitals, medical clinics, senior living facilities, and virtually every kind of healthcare facility spending a substantial amount of time and money to help workers comply with infection prevention best practices, why does compliance remain consistently low?

Through proprietary research, GP PRO learned that healthcare workers face a number of barriers to proper hand hygiene, including emergencies that require immediate attention; a busy workload; malfunctioning, broken, or empty hand sanitizer dispensers; full hands; and difficulty during the glove-on and glove-off process.

Understanding that many of these inconveniences are due to the very nature of the work clinicians do, here are three recommendations to help advance hand hygiene among healthcare workers:

Seek input from clinicians

For some, the very idea of hand hygiene compliance and monitoring evokes George Orwell’s Big Brother. This is exacerbated when policies and protocols are developed without input from the very people who are expected to follow them, and is exacerbated further when they are developed by someone whose responsibilities do not include day-to-day patient care.

Doctors, nurses, orderlies, care assistants, and other clinicians can readily identify the challenges that keep them from performing proper hand hygiene all the time. Those reasons are likely to include the barriers identified in the research as well as many others, such as skin sensitivity, a perception that cleaning hands isn’t necessary if gloves are worn, a sense of overconfidence, frequent entry and exit, or a lack of motivation realized through rewards and consequences.

This staff perspective is necessary to help providers feel they are part of the infection prevention solution and not just the problem, and it is invaluable for developing a methodical and multi-faceted program that is set up for success. If, for example, a high percentage of clinicians identify their hands being full as a reason for not sanitizing, this can be addressed by reviewing workflow procedures and making small, easily implemented changes that help ensure items get where they need to go without compromising safety.

Walk in clinicians’ footsteps

The physical placement and location of sanitizer dispensers as well as their proper monitoring and maintenance is another critical component of an effective infection prevention program. Frequently, sanitizer dispensers are placed at the entrance to a patient’s room and beside an in-room sink. These placements are perfectly appropriate some and perhaps most of the time.

But if a healthcare provider’s hands are full when entering the room, if their first stop is at a bedside table, or if a patient is experiencing an emergency, those dispenser locations become inconvenient and fail to support the clinician’s workflow and the patient’s continuum of care. By putting themselves in clinicians’ shoes and experiencing the job as they do, infection preventionists are in a much better position to identify dispenser locations that are readily accessible regardless of the situation.

A well-placed but empty or broken dispenser is setting clinicians up for failure. Many infection prevention policies require healthcare workers to perform a pre-set number of hand hygiene events during a shift but encountering a broken or empty dispenser in mid-emergency or after going out of their way to get to it can lead to complacency. By leveraging smart technology that alerts custodians when dispensers are running low or malfunctioning, healthcare workers benefit from an assured, consistent supply.

An option that puts healthcare workers in complete control of their hand hygiene and alleviates issues related to the placement and functionality of wall-mounted dispensers is personal, wearable hand hygiene devices. These always-present wearable sanitizer dispensers fit seamlessly into the clinical workflow, delivering an alcohol hand rub anywhere, anytime. Advanced models incorporate Bluetooth technology to automatically credit hygiene events and provide continuous real-time positive feedback.

Create healthy competition

Gamification is the integration of game-like elements into business strategy. The premise, based on the science of psychology, is that gamification triggers powerful and positive human emotions that can lead to better engagement and loyalty.

As it relates to hand hygiene compliance in healthcare, gamification can be individually focused, wherein a worker receives a personal acknowledgement for achieving a pre-set compliance goal; or it can be more peer-focused, with a leaderboard that identifies what teams are reaching compliance goals most frequently. In either case, it provides an opportunity to recognize and reward high performers while helping lower performers identify missed hand hygiene occasions.

Among the greatest benefits of gamification is that it creates transparency — healthcare workers know exactly what metrics they are being monitored and measured against, how that monitoring and measurement is taking place, and that their peers are being monitored and measured in the same way. This kind of transparency drives belief in the hand hygiene program, which supports increased and sustained compliance, even when inconvenient.

Be patient

Throughout the spectrum of healthcare, patience is necessary to achieve desired results. Those recovering from surgery must be patient as their bodies heal. Those caring for a sick individual must be patient as medications take effect. As it relates to achieving sustained hand hygiene, infection preventionists must be patient as clinicians begin to change their behaviour. The above noted recommendations all require time — time to understand, time to communicate, time to learn new behaviours, time to make mistakes and learn from them.

After all, patience is a virtue for a reason.

Ronnie Phillips, Ph.D., is senior director of innovation with GP PRO’s Healthcare division.

Interior Health expanding surgical capacity

B.C. Interior Health will soon be increasing surgical capacity with the pending completion of five new operating rooms, two at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) and three at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) in Kamloops, along with increased supports for staff.

“We have made tremendous progress towards rescheduling and completing surgical procedures postponed in the Interior due to the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental emergencies and staff redeployments,” said Adrian Dix, minister of health. “This investment in additional operating rooms in Kamloops and Kelowna will significantly increase surgical capacity throughout the region and help more patients receive their surgery faster and closer to home.”

At RIH, the three new operating rooms are on schedule for completion in 2023 and will support an additional 5,400 operating room hours, or 3,240 procedures annually, bringing the number of base operating rooms at RIH to 13.

“The increase in operating rooms is welcomed news for our staff, physicians and, most importantly, our patients,” said Susan Brown, president and CEO, Interior Health. “Our hospitals continue to feel the pressures created over the last few years as we postponed surgical services to focus on critical care, which is creating a surge in demand for these services today. The additional funding will help meet our commitment to drive down wait times for patients and increase our capacity on an ongoing basis.”

The Interior Heart and Surgical Centre at KGH has existing space available to add two more ORs, increasing the number from 14 to 16. The new ORs are expected to be open in spring 2023 following the installation of additional surgical equipment. Once fully operational, the two ORs will support an additional 3,600 OR hours or approximately 2,500 surgeries annually at KGH.

The RIH OR expansion is supported by a one-time $6.7-million capital investment. The KGH OR expansion is supported by a one-time $6.9-million capital investment. The Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District contributed $2.76 million and there was a provincial contribution of $4.14 million.

Using tech to improve washroom hygiene

In the wake of the pandemic, focus on health and hygiene has never been so prevalent. Taking a proactive approach to the hygiene of health and care facilities can help to alleviate more strain on those facilities and their owners and manager, as well as better support the health and safety of patients, visitors, and staff.

Technology can play an important role, with materials and mechanisms like filtration helping to improve hygiene in public spaces.

Shared washrooms are an important place to start when considering how to improve hygiene within health and care facilities. Our 2021 global hand hygiene survey found that 65 per cent of respondents were more concerned about visiting public washrooms than they were the previous year, highlighting empty paper towel dispensers among their top five frustrations along with a lack of toilet paper, unclean toilets, no soap, and blocked toilets.

The survey also found that 24 per cent of Canadians were worried about drying their hands with dirty air from dryers.^[1] This is where HEPA filters can be beneficial, purifying the air used to dry hands. This filtration technology can catch 99.97 per cent of particles as small as 0.3 microns, including bacteria and viruses.^[2]

Canadians surveyed said that if a washroom did not have any working hand dryers or paper towels, 32 per cent would let their hands dry naturally while 19 per cent would wipe them on their clothes. Both options present risks of undoing the work of cleaning their hands in the first place. Considering damp hands can transfer up to 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hands,^[3] health and care facilities must ensure they are providing hygienic drying solutions so that patients, visitors, and staff do not need to find alternative ways to dry their hands.

With the right technology and a regular cleaning schedule, health and care facilities can alleviate many of these concerns, ensuring their washrooms are more hygienic and ready for visitors.

Overall, Canadians are more aware of the cleanliness of shared washrooms year over year, and 57 per cent said last year they were more concerned about visiting a public washroom compared to 2020.^[4]

Part of this shift in expectations also includes sustainability, with 75 per cent of respondents concerned about the environmental impact of single-use disposable products, including paper towels. Therefore, we are likely to see more facilities moving away from these types of products and embracing technology to provide hygienic, sustainable solutions. Shifting to more sustainable alternatives like hand dryers with HEPA filters can both improve the hygiene of the facility and significantly reduce waste.

The question of whether to stock washrooms with paper towels or hand dryers became more fraught with the onset of the pandemic, as people began to pay close attention to aerosols and became concerned with the hygiene of hand dryer air. However, independent testing conducted by Airmid Healthgroup showed that hand dryers such as Dyson Airblade are proven to aerosolize no more than paper towels.^[5]Moreover, paper towels are expensive, have a high impact on the environment, and cause extra washroom maintenance through mess and blockages. They can also create hygiene issues beyond the washroom because dispensers are often found empty, leaving people to dry their hands on their clothes or walk away with damp hands – something we’ve learned is not conducive to preventing the spread of pathogens.

Armed with the right information and data, health and care facilities can make informed choices about how to keep their patients, staff, and visitors safe. Technology, such as high-speed hand dryers that hygienically dry hands with HEPA-filtered air, has a role to play in ensuring better hygiene, especially when it comes to washrooms.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to work together to continue to prioritize hygiene and protect our most vulnerable in as many ways as we can.

Anthony Hall is a Lead Design Engineer at Dyson.

^{[1] Based on a global survey conducted in July 21 across 20 countries worldwide with 15,100 respondents in total. In Canada, 500 respondents participated.}

^{[2] HEPA filter tested to IEST-RP-CC001.6, by an independent testing laboratory under prescribed conditions.}

^{[3] Patrick D, Findon G, and Miller T (1997). Residual moisture determines the level of touch-contact-associated bacterial transfer following hand washing. Epidemiol. Infect. 119: 319-325}

^{[4] Based on the July 21 survey.}

^{[5] Based on aerosolization measured during hand drying. Testing conducted by independent third-party lab.}

Cap rates open up in Q2

Cap rates opened up and investment activity slowed across every Canadian property sector during the second quarter of 2022. CBRE’s newly released quarterly overview reports both the highest national average cap rate since the pre-pandemic period and the tightest cap rate spread since the global financial crisis in 2007. The latter margin of 244 basis points (bps) between the cap rate and 10-year bond yield is 255 bps narrower than it was two years ago.

“While top tier assets in the best performing sectors — namely industrial, multifamily, and necessity-based retail — are continuing to garner interest, it’s expected that overall activity will remain muted until later in the year,” projects Paul Morassutti, CBRE’s vice chair, valuation and advisory services.

Rising inflation and unsettling world events played into both investor and lender decision-making this spring. “Coming out of a historically low interest rate realm, those requiring debt saw a continued material increase in the cost of capital with diminished loan proceeds and valuations,” observes Carmin Di Fiore, CBRE’s executive vice president, debt and structured finance.

Nationally, the average cap rate for downtown class AA office is pegged at 5.21 per cent. The average industrial class A cap rate is 4.55 per cent, marking the first quarter of decompression since the fall of 2013, and the national average cap rate for multifamily class A high-rise stands at 3.83 per cent. Cap rates in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa are generally below the national average for most property categories.

Vancouver’s office, retail and industrial cap rates actually held steady during Q2. Multifamily cap rates expanded somewhat, but remain the lowest in North America, in the range of 2.25 to 3 per cent for class A high rise buildings. “Given the strength of market at this time, Vancouver is well-positioned to outperform through this transitional economic period,” asserts Jim Szabo, vice chair with CBRE’s national investment team.

Cap rates stayed flat for most categories of retail in Toronto, while edging up for office, industrial and multifamily properties. CBRE analysts express confidence in continued strong investor appetite for trophy assets. Elsewhere, industrial and multifamily are deemed the consistently favoured assets.

“While cap rate guidances have increased, leasing fundamentals for the industrial asset class remain exceptionally strong and the sector is well positioned relative to other commercial real estate asset classes. Assets offering rental upside through shorter WALTs (weighted average lease terms) are outperforming those with long-term leases and limited upside opportunities,” the quarterly overview notes.

Meanwhile, in the multifamily sector, David Montressor, executive vice president of CBRE’s national apartment group, maintains: “a shortage of large-scale acquisition opportunities remains the primary impediment to increased activity levels.”

ISSA Show North America 2022 releases education program

Registration for ISSA Show North America 2022, happening October 10-13 at McCormick Place in Chicago, is now open.

ISSA Show North America is an annual tradeshow that brings together leaders from the commercial, institutional, and residential cleaning community and offers opportunities for networking, education, and product discovery that help industry professionals evolve their businesses and change the way the world views cleaning.

Attendees are encouraged to register now.

In addition, the educational programming for the event has now been released.

ISSA Show North America 2022 will host over 70 sessions, providing resources for attendees to stay up to date on the latest trends and solutions for cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention and for pursuing accreditation, training, and certification. As in past years, the 2022 sessions will cover several important topics, including hiring and retention in post-pandemic times, budgeting and marketing for infection prevention, and the future of sustainability in the cleaning industry.

“The ISSA Show North America is the industry’s largest and most anticipated event of the year,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “It’s the premier place for organizations and professionals to come together to learn, network and share innovative cleaning products that will guide us on the path to better health.”

“This year, we’re offering a wider array of opportunities for networking, education, and product discovery,” said Amie Gilmore, Director, Informa Markets. “Learning and collaboration are essential to evolving this industry and for changing how the world views cleaning.”

The conference will feature more than 50 guest speakers comprised of industry leaders passionate about advancing cleaning information, standards, education, and innovation to improve human health. The three keynote sessions will spotlight RPM Restaurant Group Co-owner Bill Rancic, Filmmaker Sarah Moshman, and CEO Derreck Kayongo, a native of Uganda and former refugee who worked his way up to become the CEO of National Center for Civil and Human Rights and founder of the Global Soap Project.

Kayongo’s presentation will tackle the issue of discrimination in the workplace by taking the audience through an examination of how diversity and inclusion problems impact the corporate bottom line. By the end of his session, Kayonga hopes to instill what he calls a “Corporate Moral Aptitude” into the bloodstream of attendees’ organizational cultures, positioning them to succeed in an increasingly multicultural workforce.

For more information and to register, visit www.issashow.com/en/home.html.

Canada’s home prices show steady growth in H1

Home prices rose during the first half of 2022, particularly in suburbs and small communities across Canada. The sixth annual Price Per Square Foot survey released today by CENTURY 21 Canada found that more condo owners flocked to homes outside of the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver.

Long-term growth continued despite higher interest rates and concerns about what that will mean for the real estate industry in the immediate future. While some markets have cooled after the boom that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, prices overall have continued to remain elevated for the start of the year.

In its annual, nationwide study, CENTURY 21 Canada compared the price per square foot of properties sold between January 1 and June 30 this year to the same period last year and in previous years.

“We recognize the concerns that some might have because of interest rates, but the first half of 2022 showed growth in nearly every regional market in the country,” says Brian Rushton, chief operating officer of CENTURY 21 Canada. “The highest point of the boom may have passed, but the trend is still towards higher prices, especially in suburbs where younger and first-time home buyers are looking to escape competitive metropolitan areas now that remote work has become more common.

“What will be interesting is to compare the data we’ve received from the first half of this year with the data we gather in 2023 to see how the rising rates impact the market for the next six months.”

Prices saw market-typical fluctuations throughout the spring, with most markets experiencing slight downturns in June when the rate hikes came into effect.

Demand for housing, particularly in the communities of Hamilton, Kitchener and Cambridge in Ontario and communities such as Chilliwack and Kelowna in B.C. hasn’t stopped.
Atlantic Canada has also continued a sharp upward trend, with Halifax condos seeing a 54 per cent price increase in the first half of the year. Though the market may see a downturn across the board in the next six months, prices in these fast-growing smaller cities will still likely see double-digit growth in 2023, continuing the upward pressure seen over the past five years.

The full effect of the rate changes will come into effect in the latter half of 2022, Rushton advises. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, we’re going to keep seeing how the market performs and whether or not it cools down after the frenzy of the past year.
“With inflation on the rise, folks may be less able to purchase, but even a slight dip would only take us to the level of a few years back, possibly the 2018-2019 period. Ultimately, there are still buyers who have been waiting for a cool down period so that they can enter the market at the best time.”

Here are some regional highlights:

Ontario

More buyers are leaving the Greater Toronto Area to seek homes in the communities such as Waterloo, Guelph and Hamilton. Guelph now stands at $777 per square foot, and Cambridge condos aren’t far behind at $716/sq ft.

Communities farther outside the GTA also saw substantial increases. Barrie saw a double digit increase in its detached home prices, as did Grey Bruce. As for the city of Toronto, after a slight downturn this time last year, prices have once again risen to be the second highest in the country.

Atlantic

Atlantic Canada was again a hot market this year for young and first-time buyers who have been unable to purchase in other, larger metros. Halifax condo prices continued their meteoric rise, with a heavy demand for detached homes not that far behind. Double-digit increases are seen throughout the region.

“Everyone is eager to find a place where they can put down roots, and once the remote work mandates from the pandemic became permanent, we haven’t seen any signs of this market slowing down in the first half of the year,” says David Yetman, owner of CENTURY 21 All Points. “The biggest question for the next year will be if the supply can keep up with the demand. While prime interest rates have had a slowing effect, it is temporary, the current BoC rate is still extremely low and it bodes well for a healthy Halifax Regional Municipality market going forward.”

Alberta

Moderate increases can be seen across regions in Alberta as investors from the GTA take advantage of growing smaller markets. While larger cities saw incremental growth, Okotoks and High River experienced double-digit increases, especially in their condo markets. The only decrease in this province can be found in St. Albert condos, though an increased PPSF in detached homes and duplexes indicate more families looking to grow in the suburbs.

British Columbia

B.C. real estate continues to dominate as the most expensive market in the country, particularly in detached homes in Vancouver’s West Side. However, the high home prices may see buyers moving away from the downtown core as condo prices have only seen a slight increase this year (though remains the second highest local market, with a PPSF of $1,283) while prices rose sharply in communities such as Kelowna and Chilliwack, where condos saw a 28 per cent and 35 per cent increase in price respectively in the first half of the year.

Quebec

The Montreal condo market has held steady over the past year, with no increase to their PPSF of $935/sf. With the change in interest rates, there is the possibility of younger buyers who have been looking east in the recent years choosing to remain in their home province should prices trend down.

“The next six months will be watched very carefully to see how buyers, especially younger buyers, react to the changing interest rates,” says Mohamad Al-Hajj, owner of CENTURY 21 Immo-Plus. “While some may wait to see if there are any more changes, other buyers may see an opportunity to not have to move away from their communities.”

Prairies

The Prairies have seen a more modest growth in pricing than the rest of the country, but there have been rises across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

While Regina condo prices took a slight dip, the region’s detached homes are up by 13 per cent in the first six months of 2022. Winnipeg follows the trend, though at a lower growth rate of 11 per cent, and Saskatoon at seven per cent. Brandon may be an emerging market for younger buyers – while detached homes only saw a very slight single digit increase condos are up by nearly 20 per cent to $243/sq ft. Overall, prices in Prairie provinces have remained the steadiest over the past several years.

The upward trend of condos was even seen in Yellowknife, where a 14 per cent increase now sees the average apartment selling for $407/sq ft. More modest changes were seen across detached homes and townhouses, and only duplexes saw a small decrease.

See full PPSF study results here.

A welcoming gateway at Confederation Park

Envisioned by Revery Architecture as a welcoming gateway and incubator for social connection in the City of Burnaby’s Northwest Quadrant, the new Confederation Park Community Centre (CPCC) unifies and enhances the offerings of the larger Confederation Park to serve the area’s burgeoning population.

CPCC’s scale and expression sensitively integrate the new facility with the existing adjacent civic structures and the surrounding low-lying residential context. Like rows of houses lining a street, CPCC’s massing is broken down into eight volumes articulated by glazed ‘avenues’ of circulation, and is bisected by an exterior landscaped promenade. Emphasized by the varied heights of the parapets, these ‘houses’ define the programmatic space within and contribute a friendly, animated character to the site. The fluted white precast façade affects a tactile play of light and shadow that further grounds the building in the human scale, and acts as a backdrop to the rich scenery of the landscape.

Flowing from southwest to northeast, the promenade gathers CPCC, the Eileen Dailly Leisure Pool and the McGill Library into a unified campus and shapes a vital gateway to the park, connecting to its southwestern point in a vibrant confluence of activity. Lushly planted and punctuated with intimate gathering pods and program nodes for diverse age groups, the promenade is a place where the community can linger and come together for recreational, educational, and cultural group activities, civic events, and spontaneous interactions. Permeability and rooftop patios along the interior spine of the campus expand the thoroughfare’s animation vertically and across indoor/outdoor realms.

The manipulated ground plane of the promenade is anchored by a broad plaza at street level that draws the energy of the Hastings corridor up toward the green plaza of the park via a natural grade transition. The promenade’s tilt shifts the building’s first level and parking out of view so that visitors to CPCC can enjoy an immediate, uninterrupted visual connection to the campus and park beyond. This strategy also allows natural light and outdoor views to permeate the parkade, orienting visitors and offering a gentle welcome to CPCC.

Wellbeing, education, and conservation behaviours are all measurably improved by connectedness to nature, and this is a significant focus of the design of CPCC. The facility extends the green gesture of Confederation Park directly through the promenade and cultivates connections throughout the facility. Interior programs are mindfully orchestrated to allow activities to spill onto landscaped patios. Programmed outdoor areas such as learning zones equipped with wifi, charging stations and reading nooks coax patrons into the open air. Visitors are greeted in the first-floor lobby by an enclosed outdoor garden; this botanical oculus acts as a landmark and as an expression of CPCC’s relation to its natural surroundings.

The new CPCC offers a gymnasium with a full-sized basketball court; a fitness centre; six multi-purpose rooms of varying sizes; a board room; a seniors’ lounge and games room; a youth lounge; an indoor play area; a childminding room; a community and teaching kitchen; a café; and staff offices and support areas.

Throughout the building, circulation areas are intentionally broadened and populated with seating to encourage patron engagement, including the pedestrian bridge spanning the promenade, a soothing threshold with views to the park and greenery below. The large, open lobby invites casual and formal gathering and supports a new connection to the Eileen Dailly Leisure Pool, physically and symbolically embracing the unity of the recreation campus.

In alignment with the City of Burnaby’s commitment to a green future, the new CPCC is targeting reduced energy consumption through measures such as the building’s thermally efficient envelope and ties its all-electric energy system to BC Hydro to achieve an exceptionally low greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of 1.1kgCO2/m2. Groundwater and stormwater management features will integrate with the landscape via bioswales and natural detention ponds to offer significant reduction in off-slab areas for infiltration, while providing social and ecological benefits to the community.

Safe, flexible, and engaging outdoor spaces further support the social sustainability of the neighbourhood. Revery’s design encompasses upgrades and extensions to the surrounding transportation networks providing efficient system for travel to and from the park. This includes a new multi-use path along Willingdon Avenue and Albert Street with on-the-way-play, fitness, and rest stations that extend CPCC’s contribution to the community.

With construction potentially starting in 2023, the new Confederation Park Community Centre fosters community resilience, and fulfills the project’s vision statement of ‘A Unifying Gateway – A Place to Be’.

Graham awarded Cloverdale complex contract

Surrey City Council announced it has awarded a $13.4 million contract to Graham Construction and Engineering LP to begin construction of the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex.

The Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex will feature two National Hockey League sized arena sheets, seating for 200 spectators per sheet, multi-purpose and community rooms, meeting rooms, officials’ rooms, change rooms, and other amenities.

“I am happy to announce that construction of the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex project will commence in August,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “This much-needed facility increases Surrey’s overall ice capacity, while accommodating the need for additional ice arena in Cloverdale. Council recognizes the importance of providing opportunities for recreation and competitive play. That’s why we have invested $428 million through the ‘Surrey Invests’ Capital Program to build high quality facilities and amenities.”

The project will offer various programs including ice hockey, figure skating, public lessons, skating sessions and dry-floor summer use for sports, such as lacrosse and ball hockey. The facility will be energy efficient and meet the highest engineering and accessibility standards.

The project also includes a new extension to 177B Street south of 64 Avenue, upgrades and improvements to 62 Avenue and the existing parking lot opposite to the Agriplex building, as well as new parking for approximately 160 spaces to serve the new arena.

Construction of the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex will begin in August 2022.