Climate advocates call for CleanBC reboot

A large group of multi-sector signatories are calling on the B.C. government to overhaul its CleanBC climate action plan, calling it inadequate and out-of-step with recent climate data.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report raised an alarm in August, stating that global warming of 1.5 C and 2 C will be exceeded over this century unless there are drastic cuts to carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades. The report was the product of 234 researchers based in 66 countries and was subject to more than 78,000 expert and government review comments prior to public release.

In its open letter to Premier Horgan and the Government of B.C. in September, climate advocates called the IPCC report “‘code red’ for humanity.”

“We call on the B.C. government to recognize the urgency and alarm that people all over the province are feeling as the climate crisis directly impacts our communities and our health: deadly heat waves, wildfires, drought, floods, crop failure, fisheries collapse, and costly evacuations and infrastructure damage, they wrote.

“These climate-related impacts are unprecedented and intensifying. Indigenous peoples stand to be disproportionately impacted by climate events despite successfully taking care of the land since time immemorial.

The seven-page report recommends 10 actions to expedite systemic change. These include:

Set binding climate targets based on science and justice;
Invest in a thriving, regenerative, zero emissions economy;
Rapidly wind down all fossil fuel production and use;
End fossil fuel subsidies and make polluters pay by 2022;
Leave no-one behind, and ensure a just transition for fossil fuel workers and resource-dependent communities;
Protect 30 per cent of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030;
Invest in local, organic, regenerative agriculture and food systems;
Mandate zero emissions for all new light vehicles by 2027, and all medium
and heavy duty vehicles by 2030;
Ban new natural gas connections to all new and existing buildings by end of 2022; and
Embed all of these actions in legislation to ensure accountability, transparency,
and inclusion. Establish rolling five-year carbon budgets that decline over time
towards zero emissions by 2040 or sooner.

The open letter can be found here, to see a full list of signatories and their vision for the future.

Guidelines inform resilient healthcare facilities

Catastrophic weather events like wildfires are prompting more awareness of how climate change could affect operations in healthcare facilities and the staff and patients who inhabit these buildings. The pace of rising temperatures and heavy-rain events, however, has been slowly manifesting for some time, and newly released guidelines in B.C. offer a standard for approaching the planning and designing of capital projects from a resiliency perspective.

The Climate Resilience Guidelines for B.C. Health Facility Planning & Design culminates more than a year of multi-sector collaboration to develop practice-based guidance for B.C. Health Authorities. It arises from a series of reports and a provincial climate risk assessment, all with roots in the CleanBC plan, which was tabled in 2018 to meet legislated climate targets of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Doug McLachlan, associate director of IBI Group, was on the task force that helped prepare this document, released in December 2020. “Prior to the guidelines, the process in deliverables may have varied depending from project to project,” he said. “There is now a framework established for how we can address climate change and look at going beyond LEED Gold or code minimum requirements on a project.”

He was speaking at a seminar in May, “Planning for Climate Resilience in Healthcare Facilities,” hosted by the Canadian Centre for Healthcare Facilities. As new request for proposal’s begin referencing these guidelines, the discussion covered how they align with key design stages and how climate resilience can be actualized in facility design.

Prioritizing Resilience From The Master Plan To Detailed Design

The guidelines include six overarching principles, from anticipating changes with climate hazards to considering co-benefits related to GHG mitigation and pandemic preparedness. There’s also a studied, yet flexible, climate risk and resilience assessment process with four steps to be reflected in every project design stage.

These steps are first actualized with an exposure screen, to incorporate hazards right into the budget at the master-planning stage. This informs what hazards the site is exposed to now and in the future. From there, a funneling process refines what is most vulnerable, prioritizes high-risk impacts like the quality of patient care, and confirms what design will move forward—making sure it aligns with other goals like COVID response. Ultimately, the design should comply with any resilience objectives that were flagged for reducing climate risks.

Since the guidelines are relatively new, no project has implemented all four steps yet. But there are many ways to realize them on the ground. Lisa Westerhoff, principal at Integral Group, shared her experience, speaking as a member of the project team that developed the guidelines.

For instance, when her team conducted a hazard output for a long-term care facility in B.C., they examined various climate data sources, the site itself, and the planning context to narrow down the scope of hazards and understand how expected changes in climate will affect them over time. “We then cross-checked that list with hazards required to be considered by LEED, so we could support the achievement of the resilient design pilot credit IPPC 98,” she said. “We were able to look at a broad range of hazards and make sure we achieved compliance with other goals as well.”

Designing For The Future Climate

“We need to be aware of the responsibilities of these key deliverables that will now be included on projects, such as climate risk assessment, perhaps additional concept designs early on and energy model options,” said McLachlan. He laid out some resilient design strategies for healthcare facilities.

Mitigating flooding

From a site perspective, flooding can overwhelm local stormwater drainage capacity after an extreme rainfall—an event expected to increase in severity and frequency due to climate change.

“Many cities, such as Vancouver, had established minimum flood construction levels in flood-prone areas based on climate data,” he said. “As designers, we need to be aware because they are going to determine the ground floor elevations for access and egress out of the underground parking areas as well as determining location for equipment.”

Using the best available climate data for rainfall events will help plan a hospital for a lifespan of 50-plus years, he noted. The design should look at the 2100 Intensity Duration Frequency Curves and how those affect a site — exceeding a city’s requirements for its integrated stormwater management plan. This can also impact mitigation strategies like permeable pavement and green roofs. Reusing stormwater on-site for non-potable uses should be considered early on as some elements will affect the location of retention tanks.

Maintaining indoor thermal comfort

Prolonged periods of abnormally hot weather, higher humidity, with increased frequency and intensity figure into a long-term climate reality. “For patients and staff, it’s going to become increasingly more difficult if facilities are not designed for future climate conditions,” McLachlan stressed. The design of the cooling plant, mechanical rooms, shafts and HVAC systems are affected.

“As a principal on recent projects, we’ve looked at infrastructure that would be impractical to retrofit in the future, such as chilled water piping, to make sure that it is sized for 2080 peak cooling conditions, and there is space in the mechanical room for chillers and pumps to be added in the future as well.”

Daylighting and views

Since deep floor plates can create internal heat gains and little natural light, avoid them where possible and incorporate interior courtyards and multi-storey atriums to bring natural light as deep into the space as possible. Doing so will help avoid using artificial light and mechanically removing the resulting heat gain. Studies also point to a correlation between natural light access, quicker recovery, and staff wellbeing.

Building a better envelope

“By building a more efficient building envelope we can reduce the electrical load and therefore GHG emissions,” he said. “This is one of those co-benefits or synergies on the project.” He highlighted the benefits of improving the thermal performance of the windows with triple glazing, such as reducing peak heating loads, GHGs and annual energy use, and better visual and thermal comfort for occupants.

Anticipating Climate Stressors

Robert Bradley, director of energy and environmental sustainability, at Vancouver Coastal Health, and another project team member, deciphered between climate shock (extreme events like a heatwave) and climate stressors (prolonged events like a drought or increasing temperatures).

In response to specific stressors like air quality and extreme heat, Gordon McDonald, principal and director of engineering for Integral Group, and another project team member, touted more passive design solutions, rather than cutting-edge technologies. As he said, “I do believe for a building to be resilient, it needs to be simple.”

Extreme heat

To build resilience to warmer summers and longer periods of hot weather, emphasize passive design solutions, such as building orientation, exterior shading, and maximizing window-to-wall glazing ratios, McDonald said. Orientating a building from east-west, rather than north-south removes problematic solar control on the west facade, which leads to large cooling loads.

Solar shades above windows are efficient for high sun angles, while planting deciduous trees provides shade in summer and allows sun penetration in the winter. Glazing can also control solar heat gain with photovoltaic glass that limits the amount of heat coming into a building.

While reducing cooling loads, buildings must remain resilient in 2050 and even 2080 when temperatures are no longer at their current levels. As McDonald said, there are weather files now available that designers can refer to when calculating how many chillers will be needed in the future. To avoid replacing broken equipment, the idea is to install them at a later date, while making sure there is ample space in a mechanical room, enough electrical capacity, and that chilled water piping is sized for the future to avoid costly and disruptive retrofits throughout the facility.

Air quality

Design solutions to protect against forest fires and airborne viruses include vestibules on all main entrances and tighter envelopes to hinder air infiltration, thus reducing outdoor contaminates. There should also be space allocated for the installation of future filters, intake louvers on different facades, and increased humidity levels of 40 to 60 per cent, as viruses spread more easily in lower humidity ranges. The minimum CSA range stands at 30 per cent

Low-carbon resilience

Minimizing the energy associated with buildings comes down to passive design methods like massing, orientation and solar shading, and building better envelopes, roofs and windows, which also reduce carbon emissions. “On the west coast, we’ve seen Passive House get some traction recently, not necessarily in healthcare, but residential, institutional and commercial,” said McDonald. “What this is doing is driving down those energy targets, so we’re using less energy inside the building.”

Since healthcare facilities move a lot of air throughout the building, a portion of which is outdoor air, the idea is to ensure the energy associated with heating and cooling is minimized. This translates to heat recovery ventilation, energy recovery ventilation, thermal wheels, or active heat recovery, which involves taking energy from the air, sending it through heat pump technology, and using that to preheat domestic hot water or heat or cool a building.

In B.C., where electricity is hydrogenated, McDonald is seeing a trend where more buildings are choosing heat pump-driven technologies to achieve low emissions. “The move is to green the grid,” he said. “And if we could move to a more electric building solution that would make us more resilient in the long term.”

The Canadian Centre for Healthcare Facilities mission is to improve healthcare environments for better care. FMI contact rita[email protected] and visit www.cchf.net.

Bird gets three integrated project delivery contracts

Bird Construction will provide construction services for three integrated project delivery (IPD) contracts in Western Canada with a combined value in excess of $150 million.

Bird has been selected as the successful proponent for the Okanagan Indigenous Band (OIB) water system upgrade project. This is the first IPD project in Canada for an Indigenous owner group. This project will provide clean drinking water for the Indigenous community working with local trade contractors and local Indigenous workers.

Another project is the North Okanagan Wastewater Recovery Project, which will see the replacement of septic systems and provide sewer service to the Township of Spallumcheen’s industrial area, and residents and businesses in Regional District of North Okanagan and parts of OIB.

Leading the construction activities for both projects, Bird will provide input into the planning and design processes to support and contribute to their successful planning and delivery.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with these new and important clients that serve and support Canadians in key sectors. Bird’s strong reputation for collaboration and process-driven project execution has positioned us as industry leaders in the delivery of IPD projects, which will allow us to contribute to the safe and successful delivery of these important projects,” said Teri McKibbon, president and CEO of Bird.

Bird has also been given a limited notice to proceed as the constructor for a substantial food and beverage facility expansion project that will be executed using an IPD contract model. Bird was previously chosen as the first negotiation proponent for the project and will continue to work with the client and other parties to form the multi-party agreement while early planning activities are underway.

Integrated project delivery is a contracting method that promotes parties, usually including the owner, consultants, general contractor and sometimes subcontractors and suppliers, to work together in a collaborative setting.

Office workers now want touchless washroom fixtures: Bradley Corp

When it comes to washroom breaks, office workers in the U.S. say that touchless washroom fixtures are the number one feature that would make them feel safer when using their workplace washroom.

According to the latest Healthy Handwashing Survey by Bradley Corp., touch-free washroom fixtures received the highest safety ranking, followed by access to well-stocked supplies such as soap and paper towels; a clean, disinfectant smell; sufficient space for social distancing; and posted signage with the restroom’s cleaning schedule.

Not only do they associate touchless fixtures with a safer restroom environment, but office workers also view them as must-haves. Nearly four-in-five (79 per cent of) office workers believe no-touch fixtures are an important feature in workplace washrooms. Among the general U.S. population, this sentiment is even higher – 84 per cent say they are important in public washrooms.

“Interestingly, two-thirds of office workers use a paper towel to avoid touching restroom door handles, flushers and faucet handles,” said Jon Dommisse, vice president of marketing and corporate communications, Bradley Corp. “This evasive action further demonstrates why touch-free restroom fixtures resonate so much with restroom users.”

Handwashing is also top-of-mind for office workers, as 70 per cent report washing their hands more now because of new COVID-19 strains, such as the Delta variant. Overall, half of office workers are washing their hands six-plus times a day.

“Just as 9-11 changed air travel and the iPod changed how we listen to music, Covid has changed how we view handwashing and washrooms,” Dommisse said.

Rating the condition of workplace washrooms

The survey also shows 75 per cent of office workers believe the condition of a workplace restroom is one indicator of how a company values its workforce. Fortunately, 68% of office workers rate their restrooms as excellent or very good.

That’s not to say office workers don’t experience problems with workplace restrooms. 81 per cent have encountered at least one issue while using them. The most annoying issues – cited by 62 per cent of workers – are empty or non-working soap, paper towel and/or toilet paper dispensers. Another 62 per cent are concerned with restroom cleanliness.

Highlighting office hygiene improvements

Most employers (62 per cent) have made improvements to make employees feel safer returning to work amidst the pandemic with upgrades such as adding hand sanitizing stations around the office (66 per cent), cleaning offices and washrooms more frequently (65 per cent) and encouraging employees to stay home while they’re sick (51 per cent).

Interestingly, only 42 per cent of companies have communicated these changes to their employees.

Sharing these improvements positively impacts employers since 53 per cent of office workers say their employer’s response to the pandemic makes them feel more valued, 50 per cent say it shows the company cares about its employees, and 35 per cent say it makes them feel more positive about their company.

Construction completed on Southwest Calgary Ring Road

After five years of construction, the 31 km Southwest Calgary Ring Road is complete and open to traffic.

The $1.42 billion project is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Alberta’s history, connecting Highway 8 (near the Elbow Springs Golf Club) to Macleod Trail SE and making up about 20 per cent of the entire Calgary Ring Road.

“The Southwest Calgary Ring Road will help drivers in and around Calgary get where they need to go faster and safer, while also providing world-class transportation infrastructure necessary to support Alberta’s economic recovery,” said Premier Jason Kenney.

In October 2020, 12 kilometres of the Southwest Calgary Ring Road opened. A 10-kilometre section through the former Tsuut’ina Nation lands is called Tsuut’ina Trail. The project was delivered by KGL Constructors, a joint venture partnership between Kiewit, Graham and Ledcor.

“The opening of this section of our ring road is an important link for our city’s future growth and transport infrastructure. The Southwest now has another connection to provide access for residents and businesses to discover and interact with more communities across Calgary,” said Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi.

The project consists of: 49 bridges; 31 kilometres of new six and eight-lane divided highway; 14 interchanges; three river crossings; two river realignments (Elbow River and Fish Creek); two bridge rehabilitations; one road flyover; one railway crossing (flyover); and one tunnel.

Construction involved:

- 16 million cubic metres of excavated earth. If 1,650 NHL sized rinks full of dirt were stacked on top of each other, that’s how much earth was moved for this project.
- 13 million kilograms of rebar.
- One million metric tonnes of asphalt.

The final section of the ring road, the West Calgary Ring Road, will fully open in 2024.

Okanagan College opens Health Sciences Centre

Okanagan College’s new Health Sciences Centre is now open to students this semester.

Designed by GEC Architecture, the 2,822-square-metre (30,375-square-foot) facility includes student-centred labs, classrooms and office space for a wide array of health and social development programs. The cutting-edge learning environments have been equipped with the latest education technology and designed to reflect spaces students will encounter in industry. The building will support 591 students in programs that train students for in-demand jobs, such as certified dental assistant, health-care assistant, pharmacy technician and more.

“If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s how essential health-care workers are to our province,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “We know B.C. needs more health-care professionals, and we’re committed to training a new generation of the people who care for us when we need it. Okanagan College’s new Health Sciences Centre is a modern, new facility that will help set both students and our province up for success.”

Health-care professionals are in high demand in the province and across Canada. The 2019 BC Labour Market Outlook projected 117,100 job openings in health professions by 2029. Okanagan College students in programs ranging from its bachelor of science in nursing to health-care assistant, pharmacy technician and dental assistant will study in the new building.

“This new facility will provide Okanagan College students with a world-class learning environment that will only further enhance the already outstanding education and training they are receiving at the college,” said Neil Fassina, president, Okanagan College. “We are grateful to the Province and to the community donors and industry partners across the region who have stepped to help us open these doors at a time when well-trained health-care and social development professionals are needed more than ever.”

The project is targeting LEED Gold, the Zero Carbon Building Standard, and Silver Certification of the WELL Educational Pilot Program.

William Dahl joins HDR as senior interior designer

William Dahl, RID, NCIDQ, LEED ID&C, has joined HDR as a senior interior designer in Vancouver, British Columbia, supporting a diverse range of projects, from civic and education spaces to large healthcare projects such as the recently awarded new St. Paul’s Hospital.

With more than 22 years of experience, Dahl focuses on elevating the relationship between people and the spaces they occupy. He is well known for his ability to mentor and lead, with a talent for building colleagues’ competencies.

With a background in science, Dahl is driven by facts, data and a better understanding of how digital tools can help us to better document and communicate project designs. He is especially passionate about the impacts of nature on human responses and is constantly exploring ways to embrace biomimicry and natural materials within the built environment.

“I am excited about the opportunities that HDR affords to address the challenges of climate change and the possibilities for actually bringing about incredibly positive changes in society,” said Dahl.

“With such an incredible impact on the way society evolves, lives and works, buildings provide an immense opportunity as climate change impresses us with a profound sense of urgency. Where others see crisis and panic, I am a stubborn optimist who sees opportunity. HDR has an incredible team of colleagues in architecture, design, engineering, infrastructure, transportation, water and resources, media, legal and information technology. If any firm can impact climate change, I see HDR as having that profound opportunity.”

Before joining HDR, Dahl was a senior interior designer with Ratio Architecture, Interior Design + Planning and with Perkins + Will Architects. He is an active member of the Interior Design Institute of British Columbia and serves as the committee chair for the Climate Action and Innovation Committee.

New grants for Toronto street front businesses

Toronto street front businesses will have access to new grants for commercial property improvements. City council has approved plans to channel federal COVID-19 relief funds into two separate programs for interior renovations/retrofits and exterior site upgrades, and has also authorized expanded eligibility for the city’s existing grants for improvements to commercial building facades.

The new Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Program will provide up to $20,000 to cover 50 per cent of the cost of a range of renovation/retrofit measures including: structural and fire safety upgrades; plumbing, electrical and HVAC upgrades; energy and water-use reduction; flooring, ceiling and wall finishing; installation of affixed furnishings such as counters, shelving and interior signage; and up to $2,000 in design fees. Qualifying applicants can additionally receive up to $4,000 to cover 50 per cent of the cost of accessibility upgrades.

Grant recipients must be owners or business tenants of street-level commercial premises, and business tenants must also obtain written permission from their landlords to undertake the improvements. Projects must encompass at least three of the eligible upgrades and have a budget of at least $5,000. Owners of multi-unit properties such as plazas and strip malls may qualify for up to $4,000 per unit for other upgrades within that property to a maximum of $20,000.

The new Commercial and Industrial Property Improvement Grant Program will cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of site improvements, patio installations or outdoor fixtures related to the CaféTO program to a maximum of $5,000. In this case, owners or business tenants of industrial properties are also eligible if the upgrades meet with program parameters. All improvements must be visible from a public street or laneway or a private laneway with public access.

Grants are available for lighting, fencing, ground mounted signage and permanent landscaping features, but furniture and plant material is excluded. Project costs must tally at least $2,000 to qualify for the program. Businesses are also eligible for up to $2,500 in additional funding to cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of accessibility upgrades.

Funding for the two new grant programs comes from federal support for Toronto’s pandemic recovery efforts, which was announced in July 2021. From the $18 million bestowed through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, the city has allocated $6 million for the Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Program and $1 million for the Commercial and Industrial Property Improvement Grant Program to be disbursed over a 30-month period ending in the spring of 2024.

Meanwhile, city council has decided to lift the previous locational restrictions that made the Commercial Façade Improvement Program available only within business improvement areas (BIAs). Now, owners and business tenants of street-level commercial properties anywhere in the city can apply for grants of up to $12,500 to cover up to 50 per cent of the cost of building façade upgrades, including replacement of windows and doors. They can also qualify for an additional grant of up $2,500 for accessibility improvements, and owners of multi-unit properties can qualify for an additional $2,500 per unit for work elsewhere on the complex to a maximum of $12,500.

The city of Toronto will continue to fund this program. In addition to opening it up for citywide applicants, the previous requirement to be free from property tax arrears has also been withdrawn.

Toronto’s economic development and culture division will administer all three grant programs. As stated in the enabling by-law, which Toronto council adopted on October 1, the programs will be opened for applications on an annual cycle and applications will be considered on a first-come-first-served basis in order of submission date. Grant recipients will be required to have formal approval before the improvement work begins.

Pandemic boosts tech trends in condo security

The events of the past year increased an already existing demand for comprehensive and efficient access control systems. As more individuals began working from home, many permanently, there was more activity in neighbourhoods, increased deliveries, and a greater need for residents to protect their work and personal assets.

Beyond basic security, many condo corporations are searching for solutions to ensure resident health and safety, as well as systems designed to be streamlined and as contactless as possible. Security, efficiency, and hygiene have been the focus of the past year, and some of these functionalities are here to stay.

Managing access with mobile devices

One of the biggest trends in the multi-unit residential market is using mobile devices to manage access. Pre-pandemic, residents were taking building security into their own hands. This functionality proved to be particularly convenient, as pandemic restrictions meant fewer onsite staff. With a mobile app, comes the flexibility to manage access to condo buildings, private living spaces, and shared common areas. For larger condos and mixed-use buildings this solves a major pain point – offering a security solution accessible for both residents and facility staff use.

Application-based access control is an ideal solution for managing access in high-end luxury apartments as well, where there are onsite pools, gyms, and other amenities. Residents can use their mobile device to manage access into a lobby and elevator as well as their own living spaces. Another benefit of mobile management is the ability to provide a seamless process for delivered packages, grocery drop-offs, or takeout delivery. In a building with a separate room for mail deliveries, a resident can respond directly from their mobile device and grant the mail person entry into the lobby and then into the mailroom, after confirming identity. The same applies for any grocery, food, and dry-cleaning deliveries – adding an extra level of safety in a time where the use of delivery services has increased.

While mobile-based management offers streamlined and flexible access control, it’s not without challenges. Older demographics may be less familiar with using smartphone-based applications. As such, it’s best to start a conversation today, as it’s only a matter of time before outdated technologies are phased out. As mobile solutions continue to grow in popularity, most everyone will manage access from their smartphones.

Using video for visual identification, as well as audio communication

Audio communication systems used to consist of a simple telephone or intercom system. However, today’s requirements include a full-service system, one that combines audio with video communication and visual verification. It’s not enough to hear a person through an intercom, to simply swipe a card, or to press a button. Owners and management want the capability to visually confirm that the person requesting access is who they say they are. By leveraging an additional layer of communication, especially with the mobile app, residents can see who’s requesting access directly from their smartphone.

Enhanced security and a touchless entry system

The pandemic boosted interest in contactless and touchless solutions, including mobile credentials, sensors, and biometrics. A touchless sensor can be integrated with an access control system to detect motion within a preset range and be activated with a simple hand gesture.

In a condo where key cards aren’t used, a sensor could be used to gain access to a lobby or shared common space. An individual can simply approach the sensor field to trigger a signal to communicate to the front desk. This hands-off approach is a capability that is increasingly popular, especially since more people are working from home. Touch-free functionality is also a bonus for facilitating deliveries of packages, groceries, or food, especially in situations where a person might have their hands full.

Over the last two years, homes have become much more than a living space; they are gyms, schools, workspaces, and so much more. Whether it’s protecting work assets, communicating with a delivery driver or leaving for a vacation knowing the home is protected—security remains as important as ever.

Norbert Artur is the director of sales – Canada at Aiphone Corporation, a manufacturer of security access control and video intercom systems.

First slurry TBM completes work under Burrard Inlet

Tunnel excavation is now complete at the Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel in Vancouver, using the first slurry tunnel boring machine (TBM) in Canada. The infrastructure project will make the region’s drinking water system more earthquake resilient and help meet growing demand for safe, high-quality drinking water.

“The tunnel underneath the Burrard Inlet was excavated with the first slurry tunnel boring machine to be used in Canada, and the work was being done up to 100 metres underground,” said Sav Dhaliwal, chair of Metro Vancouver’s board of directors. “Completing this tunnel is an important milestone in this project and a remarkable testament to the innovation that is being used in Metro Vancouver to bring clean drinking water from the North Shore to the rest of the region.”

The work required a 50-metre-deep vertical entry shaft on the north side of the inlet as well as a vertical exit shaft more than 100 metres deep on the south side. The TBM — 135 metres long, with a 6.69-metre cutting diameter and nicknamed Lynn Marie — launched from the north shaft in August 2020.

The 6.3-metre-diameter, 1.1-kilometre-long tunnel was excavated 30 metres below the bottom of Burrard Inlet, east of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. With an internal diameter of 5.8 metres, the Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel is one of the largest tunnels ever built by Metro Vancouver. It runs between a Metro Vancouver works yard in the District of North Vancouver and Second Narrows Park (also known as Montrose Park) in Burnaby.

Now that the tunnel is complete, three steel water mains — one 1.5 metres in diameter and two 2.4 metres — will be installed inside and connected to the existing water system with new valve chambers.

“The new tunnel and watermains will replace three existing shallow buried watermains that went into service between the 1940s and 1970s, which are vulnerable to damage during an earthquake and are nearing the end of their service lives,” said Malcolm Brodie, chair of Metro Vancouver’s water committee. “Metro Vancouver is constantly upgrading its water supply system to maintain the quality and reliability of the region’s excellent drinking water, and to make the system more resilient.”

This project is one of five new regional water supply tunnel projects that are being constructed to meet current seismic standards and increase capacity. The Port Mann Water Supply Tunnel went into service in 2017 and preparation is underway for construction of the Annacis Water Supply Tunnel.

Construction on the Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel began in 2019 and the project is expected to be complete in 2025. The construction budget is $445 million.

PoCo Community Centre officially opens

The $132 million Port Coquitlam Community Centre, the city’s second largest construction project to date, has officially opened. The project was substantially completed in September by Ventana Construction and designed by Architecture49.

Built in phases, the 205,000 square foot facility houses three arenas (including a spectator arena with seating for 790), a gymnasium, a leisure pool, a fitness centre and studios, a children’s area for city preschool and childminding, Terry Fox Library, a concession, the large Mabbett Hall and other multi-purpose spaces, washrooms and change rooms with universal and accessible options, and underground parking with 425 spots and a pick-up/drop-off area. There is also leased space for a future café and active rehab/physiotherapy

“Having this project delivered on time and within budget during a global pandemic is something we can be proud of as a community, There couldn’t be a better time for heightened excitement, opportunities and new amenities in our city, in our downtown, to enhance the quality of life of our residents,” said Mayor Brad West.

The community centre was funded by the city (a combination of land sales revenue, phased-in property taxes and a parcel tax from 2017 to 2020) and the Government of Canada. The project received $12.5 million in federal infrastructure funding through the Building Canada Fund – Major Infrastructure Component and $1.09 million through the Canada Community Building Fund (CCBF) (formerly the federal Gas Tax Fund), which is administered in B.C. by the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

The PCCC’s outdoor spaces are also ready for use, other than the outdoor gym that awaits equipment delivery, and is expected to be completed in early November. The main entrance on Wilson Avenue greets visitors with plaza seating and gardens. Access is also possible from the south-side plaza, which features seating, lawn, sport courts (including pickleball), playgrounds, a walking path, community gardens and an outdoor spray park connected to the leisure pool.

Development-led evictions add to housing woes

The landscape of rental housing has changed in recent years, with notable sources citing a marked rise in development-led evictions. Commonly referred to as “renovictions”, this type of displacement occurs when a property owner or landlord applies to evict a tenant due to the desire to make changes to the unit, building, or land. Research in this area has been sparse, and as such, CMHC recently embarked on a study to delve more deeply into the issue.

“Formal, development-led eviction applications in Canada’s largest municipality, the City of Toronto, increased in prevalence between 2010-2020,” observed report authors Christopher Zakher and Jordan Nanowski from CMHC’s Housing Market Insights team. “This phenomenon, which relates directly to the potential loss of rental housing for certain households—and, in the context of a supply-constrained rental market such as Toronto’s, the potential loss of limited affordable rental housing options—has largely gone unexplored. For this reason, we sought to uncover key trends underpinning it over the previous decade.”

Process & background

Using eviction applications as a proxy, the report provides insight into the prevalence of development-led evictions in Canada’s largest municipality and puts these findings in context with the loss of rental housing it may cause for specific households in need of affordable options. Essentially, the study set out to answer the following three questions:

What has been the prevalence of formal, development-led eviction applications in the City of Toronto over time?
Was the assumed work that inspired these formal eviction applications warranted?
Primarily, who was submitting these applications— existing or new rental property owners?

Key findings

When compared to the size of the primary rental market stock, the prevalence of formal, development-led eviction applications between 2010-2020 was low. Nevertheless, these eviction applications did increase markedly over this period.

Applications were overwhelmingly concentrated in the Former City of Toronto and appeared four times higher for rental units in the secondary rental market versus the primary rental market.

Over the previous decade, formal, development-led eviction applications increased simultaneously with the widening gap between average asking (i.e., vacant unit) and average market (i.e., occupied unit) rents in the city’s primary rental market.

Rental units in older structures in the city’s primary rental market tended to be the subject of formal, development-led eviction applications. As well, city locales with a larger share of rental housing identified as requiring major repairs saw a greater number of applications.

Finally, in the primary rental market, it was relatively common to see formal, development-led eviction applications submitted following the sale of a rental property to a new owner.

Ongoing implications

First and foremost, given the scarcity of affordable rental housing, tenants who are being evicted for the purpose of renovation are then faced with the greater challenge of finding a comparable new home. According to the report authors, this may explain why there has been greater disagreement on the part of tenants with N13 eviction notices in recent years. (Recall that these eviction applications are submitted to the LTB when a tenant disagrees with the N13 notice of eviction or does not move out of their rental unit upon receipt of the notice). Addressing the lack of rental supply would seem to be the most obvious solution to resolve this over the long-term.

The second implication, which comes in the form of a question, is how do we balance the need between adequate rental housing and affordable rental housing in the short-term? In other words, is it possible to address the inadequate housing in which nearly one in 10 of the city’s renter households find themselves in without evicting them into a more expensive, oftentimes, unaffordable rental market?

Thirdly, the report identified a plethora of data gaps when it comes to development-led evictions. Most notably, the report authors stated they were not able to acsertain how many formal, development-led eviction applications led to a single eviction, nor could they gauge the totality of development-led eviction activity taking place (i.e. they were unable to quantify the number of evictions taking place informally).

As the rental housing landscape changes and the prevalence of development-led evictions continues to rise, one obvious implication is that there are few measures currently in place to address the fallout associated with the lack of affordable housing.

Additional CMHC findings related to evictions

Between October 2019 and March 2020, CMHC conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with both professional housing stakeholders and tenants who’d lived through an eviction. This analysis revealed that:

development-related and ‘no-fault’ evictions are occurring with more frequency;
there has been a shift from evictions driven by tenant-factors to those driven by landlord-factors;
the changing scale of evictions, with mass evictions involving entire buildings at once, were reported in Winnipeg, Vancouver, New Westminster, Kitchener–Waterloo, Hamilton, Toronto, and Halifax.

To find out more about the changing topography of the rental housing landscape, and specifically, what’s driving residential evictions, visit: www.cmhc.ca.

Construction and maintenance work among the most dangerous jobs

Various construction and maintenance work has been deemed to be among the most dangerous professions by a study conducted by business insurance provider AdvisorSmith.

The recently published report assessed the rate of fatal occupational injuries in 263 professions in the United States in 2019.

It found that numerous jobs in construction, including construction helpers, supervisors, and labourers, as well as maintenance professions such as general maintenance work, highway and grounds maintenance workers, and roofers, all ranked in the top 25 most dangerous jobs.

Each of those professions had a fatal injury rate of several times the U.S. national average of 3.4 per 100,000 workers over the time period studied.

Roofers were third on the list of most dangerous jobs, behind only logging workers and aircraft pilots and flight engineers, with a fatal injury rate of 50 per 100,000 workers, nearly 15 times the U.S. average. The most common cause of fatal accidents for roofers was falls, slips, or trips.

Construction a key concern

Numerous different construction jobs made the top 20 in the list.

Construction helpers – those workers who assist trade workers in the course of construction, such as building contractors – ranked fourth, with a rate of 40 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers.

Cement masons, concrete finishers, and terrazzo workers placed 11th in the list with a rate of 22 fatalities per 100,000 workers, with the most common cause being exposure to harmful substances or environments such as cement or concrete chemicals.

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, including those who are responsible for ensuring that safety protocols are followed, ranked 13th at a rate of 20 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Their most common cause of death on the job was traffic crashes followed by falls.

19th and 20th in the list, respectively, were building site construction labourers and construction equipment operators, both with a fatality rate of 14 per 100,000. While the most common cause of death for labourers was falls, slips, or trips, equipment operators died most frequently from transportation incidents or contact with objects and equipment.

Maintenance workers also at risk

Meanwhile, maintenance workers also found themselves at risk in the study.

General maintenance and/or repair workers, including plumbers and electricians, ranked 21st with a fatality rate of 13 per 100,000, caused most frequently by contact with objects and equipment.

However, certain types of maintenance workers were more at risk.

Highway maintenance workers, for example, ranked 14th at a fatality incidence of 19 per 100,000, with the biggest threat posed by traffic collisions while on the job. Grounds maintenance workers came in just below in 15th at a rate of 18 deaths per 100,000, caused most frequently by transportation incidents and falls, slips, or trips.

Meanwhile, landscaping supervisors were number 24 on the list, with 12 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Like grounds maintenance workers, landscaping supervisors are most likely to die in car crashes.

The study notes that on-the-job deaths steadily rose from 4,836 in 2015 to 5,333 deaths in 2019, an increase of 10 per cent over the five-year period. Additionally, many of the most dangerous jobs earn average salaries that are below the May 2020 annual mean wage of US$56,310. For instance, the average maintenance worker’s salary in 2019 was $40,850, which was 27 per cent below the national average salary.

CAPREIT ends busy month with purchase of Quebec City portfolio

In a busy end to September, CAPREIT announced it has completed the acquisition of a Quebec City portfolio consisting of three modern apartment buildings for $72.8 million. The 260-suite portfolio was 99.6 per cent occupied at the time of closing.

Constructed between 2012 and 2015, the three buildings in the Quebec City portfolio are located in a small cluster overlooking the St. Lawrence River, close to Old Québec and other prominent tourist and shopping destinations. All 260 suites are sub-metered for utility and water consumption, and all appliances are resident-owned, which CAPREIT says will help reduce future capital investments and resident turnover.

Meanwhile, in addition to purchasing the Quebec City portfolio, CAPREIT announced it has sold 124 Broadway Avenue in mid-town Toronto to a buyer it describes as being “a well-respected developer.” CAPREIT said it is capitalizing on the development potential of the property with a sale price of $52.0 million.

Additionally, it has just sold its one-third managing interest in King’s Club, located at 1100 King Street West in downtown Toronto for approximately $90.9 million to Woodbourne, a Canadian developer, operator and investor in residential rental properties, including apartments, seniors housing and student housing. CAPREIT will provide a VTB to the purchaser to finance 75 per cent of the purchase price at an annual interest rate of 3.0 per cent due in 36 months from closing.

“We continue to review and assess our entire property portfolio, identifying and acting on assets where we believe we have maximized value and applying the proceeds from such property sales toward more accretive growth opportunities for our Unitholders,” commented Mark Kenney, President and CEO.

Visit www.caprent.com for more details.

Prioritizing the safety of cleaning professionals

Cleaning professionals are instrumental in keeping facilities and the people who visit, work, and live in these spaces safe. For more than a year, custodians and other cleaning professionals have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and were among those at the highest risk of being affected by the virus.

The pandemic greatly shifted the public’s expectations around cleanliness and how organizations approach cleaning and disinfection in their facilities. To address a new pathogen and maintain appearance, many cleaners were required to use chemicals, tools, and solutions with which they were unfamiliar.

Furthermore, some custodians did not have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) because of widespread shortages. For example, one in five of the Service Employees International Union members didn’t have gloves and 40 per cent didn’t have face masks.

With cleaning professionals facing physical and environmental hazards each day, it’s critical that employers take necessary safety precautions.

Best practices for a better work environment

Now more than ever, cleaning professionals need to know that their employers are taking their safety seriously. Consider the following strategies for your staff or look for a building service contractor (BSC) that implements these best practices for their teams.

Regularly train employees

Prioritizing safety for cleaning professional starts with training. Without an adequate amount of training, custodial workers can injure themselves, whether it’s skin or eye irritation from incorrectly diluting chemicals or muscle strain from misusing equipment. Injuries can result in reduced productivity and time off for employees to recover. Training should be an ongoing process, beginning at the onboarding stage and continuing throughout their tenure. This ensures all employees are informed on the most up-to-date procedures.

Similarly, it’s just as important for employers to keep themselves updated with standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These play a critical role in minimizing or even eliminating certain hazards and help ensure a safe and healthy work environment. In the last year, many organizations have also committed to closely reviewing guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect employees and building occupants as new information emerged during the pandemic.

Invest in high-quality equipment

Custodians are often faced with tasks that require repetitive and labour-intensive movements. These strenuous movements can sometimes cause employees to overexert themselves, which leads to musculoskeletal disorders such as back and shoulder injuries. Back injuries account for 46 per cent of injuries while shoulder injuries account for 15 per cent of musculoskeletal injuries in custodians and janitors.

Consider providing equipment such as robotic floor equipment that take away the strain and repetitive motions of washing floors or electrostatic sprayers that reduce the need for manual application of disinfectants. These simple changes can help avoid bodily injuries or soreness that can lead to long-term issues for cleaning professionals.

Substitute cleaning chemicals with nontoxic options

Cleaning professionals are cleaning more frequently than ever before, resulting in many facilities taking a closer look at the composition of their products. This is because overusing traditional cleaning chemicals that contain potentially toxic ingredients or strong fragrances can aggravate conditions like asthma and allergies.

Utilizing an on-site generation system to create non-irritating electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS) with just water, salt, and electricity greatly limits unsafe chemical mixtures. It also supports better indoor air quality (IAQ) because these solutions don’t contain volatile organic compounds. These cleaners and disinfectants address pathogens of concern and can easily replace most cleaning chemicals. An added benefit is that generating ECAS in a facility eliminates the chance of supply shortages that result in staff using unfamiliar chemicals.

Provide the proper PPE

PPE provides an essential layer of protection against workplace hazards like harmful chemicals and even viruses. Although using safer chemicals reduces reliance on gloves and eye protection, it is still important to make this equipment available to employees. From masks to gloves to protective eyewear, having these items at the ready shows that you care about prioritizing the safety of employees along with building visitors.

Show appreciation through education and benefits

Most cleaning professionals are not offered robust benefits, yet these can go a long way in creating a more engaged team and safer work environment. Employers can enroll employees in certification courses that expand upon best cleaning practices. This not only benefits their own safety, but supports the safety of building occupants.

As mentioned previously, being a cleaning professional requires labour-intensive work. Consider providing benefits such as healthcare packages so cleaning professionals are able to receive preventative medical attention to avoid injuries that require absences for long periods of time.

Safe employees = happy building occupants

Cleaning professionals are on the frontlines each day to help protect building occupants and visitors. Implementing strategies to promote the safety of these employees is key. Providing ongoing training and education, offering equipment to ease strenuous tasks, and substituting high-risk chemicals with safer and more sustainable cleaning solutions help employers uphold employee health and safety.

In turn, cleaning professionals will be more confident and engaged in their roles, resulting in fewer accidents, lower turnover rates, cleaner facilities, and higher customer satisfaction.

Kurt Kuempel is the General Manager of the Illinois and Wisconsin offices of GSF USA, a leading provider of sustainable cleaning services. For more information, visit www.gsf-usa.com or contact Kuempel at [email protected].

Calgary construction booming during pandemic

Construction activity in Calgary is booming during the pandemic. During the first eight months of 2021, the city saw $4.2 billion worth of construction compared to $2.2 billion the same time last year. The number of building permits are also up 29 per cent year-over-year.

“In 2020, we experienced a permit value decline,” says Brenda Desjardins, director, Calgary Building Services. “However, during the pandemic, Calgarians have been investing in home improvements projects, such as installing hot tubs, garages, swimming pools, retaining walls and carports, and we are seeing the numbers recover to pre-pandemic levels.”

Residential improvement permits are up a combined total of 33 per cent over the past two years, while planning applications have also surged including a 200 per cent increase in applications for patios and a 60 per cent increase in applications for multi-residential rowhouses.

“In response to the pandemic, we have supported Calgary’s construction industry by waiving fees, launching virtual inspections, and transforming our intake process,” says Desjardins. “So far this year, we’ve processed 10,700 planning applications online and made improvements to our timeline commitments.”

The city has issued occupancy for major projects such as Rhapsody, a multi-residential building in the university district, with a construction value of more than $72 million.

Additional occupancies, with construction values exceeding $25 million, include:

The 9^th Avenue Parkade.
Union Square Phase 2.
City Scape Plaza.
Silverado Seniors Village.
Westman Village Journey Club (2 & 3).
Redstone Tower.
Sunridge Mall Renovation.
ABG Skyview Building.

Several notable industrial applications include: BMO Centre Expansion application (valued at $317 million); Two Park Central Apartments (valued at $92 million); and VIVO Indoor Recreation Facility Expansion (valued at $42 million).

The city notes that construction values and building permits are not representative of overall market and economic conditions, but they provide a benchmark for the state of the construction industry.

The Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program is also encouraging private developers to undertake downtown office conversions, office replacement, and new residential development. The program’s first phase application period closed on Sept. 15 and interest has been strong, with 13 applications received.

Mass timber office revealed for Bentall Centre

Hudson Pacific Properties has unveiled plans for the addition of a 16-storey hybrid mass timber office and retail development to Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver.

Burrard Exchange will add 450,000 square feet of office and retail space within the complex. Once approved, the tower will be one of North America’s tallest exposed mass timber office buildings. The mass timber construction technique will support the project’s sustainability goals and, upon delivery, its building operations are projected to be 100 per cent carbon neutral.

The project’s design firm is New York City-based Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and the local architect of record is Adamson Associates.

Burrard Exchange’s design prioritizes both indoor and outdoor spaces to enhance connections to nature from within the building and meet growing demand for high-function outdoor areas and fresh air access. Replacing one of the site’s existing parkades, the development will create new street frontages, amenities and retail space to service the entire campus and the public.

“Burrard Exchange will be the pinnacle of Bentall Centre’s years-long transformation into a modern campus and landmark destination for workers, locals and visitors in the heart of downtown Vancouver,” said Chuck We, Senior Vice president, Western Canada for Hudson Pacific. “We are proud to contribute to the local economic recovery with this major investment and to support the City of Vancouver’s climate emergency action plan with an innovative mass timber proposal.”

This project represents Hudson Pacific’s first mass timber development and will build upon the momentum of other recently announced mass timber projects in British Columbia. Throughout the entitlement process, Hudson Pacific will work collaboratively with the City of Vancouver to gain support and approval for this innovative use of exposed mass timber.

Features of the proposed development include:

Approximately 30,000-square-foot floor plates, nearly twice the size of typical office buildings in Vancouver;
Natural interior finishes unique to mass timber construction, with 14.5-foot floor-to-floor heights allowing for more natural light;
Terraces and loggias featured on half of Burrard Exchange’s 16 floors, totaling 21,000 square feet;
Rooftop deck with conference area, meeting spaces and outdoor seating exclusively for tenant use;
Lobby connection to the below-grade Shops at Bentall Centre, with shops and services for tenants and the public;
At-grade pavilion to unite the new 20,000-square-foot plaza, creating one of the largest outdoor gathering places downtown;
On-site access for commuters to bike lockers accommodating over 700 bicycles, as well as showers and personal lockers; and
Direct connection to Burrard Skytrain Station as well as a designated pick-up / drop-off area for rideshare services.