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M2 mixed-use project in Calgary breaks ground

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The M2 building in Calgary’s East Village has broken ground. Located immediately east of the historic Simmons Building, the innovative mixed-use project will bring village-style retail space to the ground level with unique office space and residential above.

The riverfront parcel, known as M2, is small in size, measuring only a quarter acre (10,872 square feet), but big on impact with a prominent location along the Jack and Jean Leslie RiverWalk + Plaza and with unobstructed views of the beautiful Bow River.

The project is by XYC Design + Development and designed by Brooklyn-based nARCHITECTS, in collaboration with local architect, Riddell Kurczaba.

“The design of the building was really inspired by the challenges of working within such a small, constrained site,” says Kate MacGregor, president of XYC Design + Development. “The undulating north façade of the building minimizes shadows along the riverfront and, as each level subtly recedes from RiverWalk, results in a series of spectacular terraces with panoramic views of the Bow River.”

When completed in 2019, the four-storey building will have a total of approximately 7,500 square feet of restaurant space on the main floor, with more than 2,500 additional square feet of riverfront patio spilling out onto RiverWalk Plaza. The upper two floors of boutique office space bring another 12,500 square feet, and a unique three-bedroom penthouse live/work unit perches on the top floor, overlooking the Bow River and St. Patrick’s Island.

“One of the primary goals of the East Village master plan was always to re-establish the riverfront and allow the community to enjoy the beautiful Bow River, so we are thrilled construction is now starting on this exciting project,” says Michael Brown, president and CEO, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. “Since we first partnered with XYC in 2014, we knew we had the right team with the right vision that aligned with our retail vision for the community.”

 

Cannabis in the multi-residential living space

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On October 17, 2018, the new Cannabis Act will officially take effect, and no group of people is more concerned about the set of challenges legalization will likely bring than those managing (and living in) multi-residential communities.

Odour complaints, health concerns, altered behaviour, mould, and increased electricity consumption are just some of the worries lobbyists have tabled in the fight for the right to regulate consumption. Some provinces have moved to ban home cultivation entirely, while others have granted apartment owners the power to enforce their own reasonable limitations.

In late April, the B.C. government introduced new legislation that LandlordBC is calling “a significant win for the industry.” In an amendment to the Residential Tenancy Act, Bill 30 now grants landlords the right to retroactively prohibit both smoking and growing cannabis in all residential units. This means landlords can update current leases to ensure their “smoke-free” designation isn’t just limited to tobacco. Tenancies with agreements that do not address the smoking of tobacco will also be considered cannabis-friendly.

In Ontario, the province’s strict tenancy laws currently make it illegal to modify a rental lease before that lease comes due. As such, landlords will be unable to regulate cannabis consumption in their apartment buildings with existing tenants—only with those who apply for tenancy after legalization takes effect.

Similarly in Alberta, renters living in multifamily dwellings may be restricted from smoking and growing cannabis based on rules established in rental agreements moving forward, but not retroactively.

Home cultivation

Landlords in Quebec were among the first to take action against cannabis cultivation, insisting that property owners should be entitled to ban home cultivation from their premises. But the province took the ban one step further, amending legislation so that all residents—homeowners and renters alike—will be prohibited from growing cannabis for personal consumption come July 1st. Under the new plan, Quebec residents may only legally purchase the substance from one of 15 government-run shops, which will be scattered across the province.

On April 19th, Nova Scotia passed its recreational cannabis legislation, the Cannabis Control Act, granting landlords the authority to amend existing leases to put reasonable rules in place about recreational cannabis smoking and cultivation. Landlords must provide tenants four months’ written notice of a change before April 30, 2019. When the landlord provides notice, the tenant has one month to consider the change and either agree or terminate the lease. Tenants are required to give the landlord three months’ written notice to terminate using a new form from Service Nova Scotia.

B.C. residents wary of second-hand smoke: survey

Landlords aren’t the only ones worried about what cannabis legalization may bring. According to a new survey of B.C. multi-unit housing residents commissioned by the Clean Air Coalition of B.C., the majority of residents said they would support government measures to increase B.C.’s meagre stock of 100% smoke-free multi-unit housing.

While British Columbians are protected from exposure to second-hand smoke in virtually all workplaces and public places, increasingly people want protection from second-hand smoke where they live—specifically, in apartments, condominiums and other multi-unit housing complexes. According to the Clean Air Coalition, half of multi-unit housing residents surveyed expressed that they’ve experienced second-hand smoke exposure, and the large majority (86%) said they considered it harmful.

“We’re hopeful these survey results prompt new regulations designed to increase B.C. smoke-free multi-unit housing options and protect people from second-hand smoke infiltrating their unit from neighbouring smokers, particularly those with health concerns or families with young children,” said Jack Boomer, Director, Clean Air Coalition of BC.

Coalition partners (the BC Lung Association, Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canadian Cancer Society) applaud government efforts to protect British Columbians from the harms of second-hand smoke – including recent news that existing laws will be strengthened to include protection from second-hand marijuana smoke. However, smoke-free multi-unit housing options remain scarce.

“Recreational marijuana smoking is about to become legal, and B.C. is experiencing the highest level of new multi-unit home and rental building construction in years. I don’t think second-hand smoke problems are about to go away,” Boomer said. “As it is, today close to half of B.C.’s population live in physically connected households.”

David Hutniak, CEO of LandlordBC, agrees. “Second-hand smoke grievances are a key source of tenant complaints and will only intensify once recreational marijuana smoking becomes legal. For landlords that’s a problem. Under current regulations, smoking complaints are not easy to resolve.”

To implement a smoke-free policy in an existing rental building, all tenants must be ‘grandfathered’ (allowed to maintain their smoking status) and landlords must ‘phase-in’ the no-smoking policy as they vacate the premises and new tenancies begin.

“Given low vacancy rates, under current rules it can take years to address problems and convert buildings to smoke-free status,” Hutniak continued.

“British Columbians are short of options. For those living in social housing and unable to pay market rent, many simply cannot escape the smoke, even when their health is being severely compromised,” said Boomer. “Even for those who can afford to move, smoke-free multi-unit housing options in B.C. are scarce.”

According to Boomer, the one area where progress is slowly being made is within condominium corporations.  “Stratas are less constrained than managers of rental housing because under the Strata Property Act, if the strata council can get the votes, they can legally ban smoking within individual units and on balconies without ‘grandfathering’ existing owners. However, strata corporations who are smoke-free today, may wish to revisit and strengthen their policies to address the legalization of recreational marijuana smoking, as well as other forms of smoking including vaping which are becoming increasingly popular.”

Highlights of the May 2018 survey:

• Over 8 in 10 think new residents should have the right to know which units are designated as smoking units and whether smoking was permitted in the previous tenancy.
• 7 in 10 support the idea of landlords being able to issue a six-month written notice instead of grandfathering existing tenants so more BC apartments can be converted to smoke-free status quicker.
• 7 in 10 support the provincial government making all new market rate and social housing complexes 100% smoke-free to address the extreme shortage of smoke-free multi-unit housing in BC.
• 7 in 10 support the idea of new BC condos having a no-smoking by-law by default that applies to all units, including balconies.

Newly renovated Kitsilano pool open

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The Kitsilano outdoor pool in Vancouver received a $3.3 million dollar upgrade designed to make the swimming experience even saltier. North America’s longest saltwater pool (more than one million litres of fresh salt water), open from May to mid-September, underwent a major upgrade over the winter.

“The structural and mechanical improvements mean we’ll be able to reduce the need for potable water by 80 percent. This will result in a greener building, energy savings and a pure, salt-water swimming experience for the public,” said Park Board Chair Stuart Mackinnon.

Upgrades included the removal and replacement of the pool basin membrane, repairs to the deck, and the addition of pumps to replenish and remove sea water. Improvements to the concrete, new pool coating and control joints mean less water will escape. Prior to the upgrades 430,000 gallons of potable water had to be used a month to top up the pool as the ocean water escaped.

Funding for the pool upgrade came from the Government of Canada and City of Vancouver.

The original Kitsilano Pool was completed in 1931, and it was entirely rebuilt in 1979 with the current heated structure, which spans 137 metres in length – nearly three times longer than an Olympic-sized pool.

Plans revealed for North York’s M2M Condos

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Aoyuan Property Group is set to transform a dated shopping plaza and parking lot near the intersection of Yonge St. and Finch Ave. in North York into a mixed-use community. M2M Condos’ 8.6-acre master plan includes five new residential condo towers, 180,000 square feet of office and retail, a daycare, community centre and new public park. This project is the Hong Kong-based developer’s largest community in Canada to date.

“M2M will become a new destination in North York – a residential community with rich retail and office space, framed by an active new public park on the east,” said Vince Santino, senior vice president – development (Eastern Canada) for Aoyuan Property Holdings (Canada) Ltd., in a press release. “With Aoyuan’s healthy lifestyle intelligence baked into the master plan, M2M Condos will bring resort-like amenities, and the convenience typical of a downtown neighbourhood to North Toronto.”

Phase I of M2M Condos will include 810 residential units, ranging from 500 to 1,400 square feet, priced from $389,900. It will also include 35,000 square feet of retail commercial space facing Yonge St. and 40,000 square feet of office space. A daycare and community centre will be integrated into Phase II. A new east-west active laneway will connect the new public park to Yonge St., allowing access for the neighbourhood. A network of smaller scaled streets will run throughout the M2M community, connecting residents to the new park, playground and retail amenities.

Aoyuan’s new corporate headquarters is planned to take up residence in the podium of the development. M2M is located 100 meters from Finch subway station, and will provide underground access to the future Yonge and Cummer subway stop.

M2M Condos’ amenities will feature a large fitness and wellness component, including a theatre, children’s play area, double-height yoga lounge and fitness studio and green spaces connecting a range of suites. Other amenities include a BBQ, party room and waterfall infinity pool.

“We are very excited about the way the building is addressing the new park to the east. We had an opportunity to design a very open and engaging façade anchored by townhomes that have direct access to the street,” said Rudy Wallman of Toronto’s Wallman Architects, the firm selected to design Phase I. “Functionality and views from the suites were another key focus of the design. Balconies face the park while light-filled living spaces take advantage of views of an internal courtyard.”

Interior spaces were designed by Toronto’s Union 31 to integrate natural elements with modern living. A two-storey residential lobby will feature natural materials infused with a blend of metallic and warm surfaces, oversize planters, a back-lit onyx reception desk, natural stone walls and wood ceilings.

Suites will feature custom kitchens with fully integrated appliances. Kitchen layouts were designed to maximize efficiency, with storage needs provided by walk-in closets in select units. Interiors will feature multiple finish options to suit diverse tastes.

“Aoyuan’s approach to creating healthy communities was central to the design, strongly influencing our use of natural materials and forms, and ensuring maximum access to natural light throughout the building,” added Kelly Cray, principal at U31 Design.

GTA home sales drop 22.2 per cent in May

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The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) saw 7,834 home sales in May 2018, a decline of 22.2 per cent year-over-year, reports the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). Although the number of home sales fell year-over-year, this annual rate of decline was less than reported in February, March and April, when declines exceeded 30 per cent. On a month-over-month basis, seasonally adjusted May sales remained essentially unchanged, compared to April.

In May, new home sales listings fell by 26.2 per cent year-over-year, which, when compared to the drop in home sales, indicates increased competition between buyers. A recent poll conducted by Ipsos for TREB suggests that listing intentions are down significantly, compared to the fall.

“In a recent Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis study undertaken for the Toronto Real Estate Board, it was found that many people are over-housed in Ontario, with over five million extra bedrooms,” said Tim Syrianos, TREB president, in a press release. “These people don’t list their homes for sale, because they feel there are no alternative housing types for them to move into. Policy makers need to focus more on the ‘missing middle’ – home types that bridge the gap between detached houses and condominium apartments.”

The MLS Home Price Index Composite Benchmark dropped by 5.4 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price for all home types combined fell by 6.6 per cent to $805,320. On a seasonally adjusted basis, however, the average selling price increased by 1.1 per cent month-over-month.

“Market conditions are becoming tighter in the Greater Toronto Area and this will provide support for home prices as we move through the second half of 2018 and into 2019,” added Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis. “There are emerging indicators pointing toward increased competition between buyers, which generally leads to stronger price growth. In the City of Toronto, for example, average selling prices were at or above average listing prices for all major home types in May.”

TREB today released the results of an online poll of 1,200 GTA residents conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs regarding housing issues relevant to the upcoming provincial election, which is taking place on June 7.

The poll, which was conducted between May 18 and 22, 2018, found that:

  • Twenty five per cent of GTA residents rank housing affordability in their top two most important issues for the provincial election campaign;
  • Sixty nine per cent believe a party’s platform on housing affordability will influence who they vote for;
  • Fifty six per cent of GTA residents believe that government policies should focus equally on increasing the supply of housing and reducing the demand of housing; few believe that they should only be focusing on reducing housing demand; and
  • Seventy seven per cent of GTA residents support reducing the provincial land transfer tax and 68 per cent support repealing this tax completely.

Toronto tops list for most new international retailers in North America

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For the second year running, Toronto has attracted the most new international retailers out of any North American city.

According to a new CBRE report, Toronto welcomed 40 new international retailers in 2017, the most on record for the city, and more than double New York City’s 15 debuts.

Toronto is the only North American location to make the list of top 20 target markets for new entrants, moving up two places from 2016 to seventh. Overall, Canada added a record 50 new international retail entrants last year.

“International retailers are increasingly recognizing Toronto as a global gateway city. The cosmopolitan nature of the city and the large, diverse population that resides in the Greater Toronto Area are attractive for international retailers as they expand globally. International retailers are no longer separating U.S. and Canada – they now are including Toronto as an integral part of their Eastern seaboard expansion plans,” said Arlin Markowitz, Urban Retail Team at CBRE Toronto.

“Also of note is that Toronto, despite being the third largest city in North America, offers retailers a fraction of the lease rates compared to some of the most expensive North American cities. Toronto is a larger city than Chicago, yet our high street rents are half compared to the Windy City. Bloor Street averages $335 CAD per square foot, while Chicago’s Michigan Avenue runs at $677 CAD per square foot.”

Yorkdale Shopping Centre welcomed 14 of the 40 new retailers, 86% of which chose the mall as their first Canadian home. An increasing number of international luxury brands are looking at Yorkdale as the top destination for entering the Canadian market thanks to its reputation as one of Canada’s premier shopping malls. Some of these brands include IWC Schaffhausen, Officine Panerai, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels and Breitling.

Of the retailers that made their first foray into Toronto last year, luxury led the pack and accounted for over a third of new entrants (14). The majority of which hail from Europe, including Rolex, APM Monaco and Zadig & Voltaire. The restaurants & coffee category followed with 17% of new entrants (7), and mid-range fashion and eyewear with 7% each (3 each). Over a third of the new international retailers in the city come from the U.S. (15), including the Cheesecake Factory, SoulCycle and Restoration Hardware.

“Not only is Toronto a North American testing ground for brands, its affluent consumer base has an appetite for luxury products. Luxury brands are finding success in the city thanks to the strong economy, low unemployment, discounted loonie and record breaking tourism – over 43.7 million visitors in 2017.”

“Retail accounts for 77% of overall Chinese tourist spending in Toronto, with luxury goods contributing a high percentage. The cumulative effect of these factors on retail sales is not lost on these brands,” said Markowitz. “In fact, pre-existing luxury retailers in the city are doubling down on the success of their brick-and-mortar stores by upgrading and expanding their spaces. For example, Hermès’ new Toronto flagship store on Bloor Street West now occupies almost 13,000 square feet, 10 times the size of its previous Toronto location. That’s a measure of success that new entrants are looking to replicate.”

Mohawk College awarded Zero Carbon Building – Design certification

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Mohawk College’s Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation has been awarded Zero Carbon Building – Design certification from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). It is the first institutional building to receive the certification and the second building overall. The first was a multi-tenant office building in Waterloo, Ont.

In 2017, the Joyce Centre was one of 16 projects from across Canada selected as a pilot project for CaGBC’s new Zero Carbon Building Standard. New construction projects can earn Zero Carbon Building – Design certification by modeling a zero carbon balance, highly efficient envelope and ventilation systems to meet a defined threshold for thermal energy demand intensity, and onsite renewable energy systems capable of providing a minimum of five per cent of building energy consumption. Project teams are required to evaluate overall energy use, including impacts on peak electricity, and determine the GHG emissions associated with structural and envelope materials. Both new and existing buildings are able to achieve the standard.

“Achieving this standard has been a huge team effort. In addition to generating all of the building energy needs through renewable solar photovoltaic panels, we worked diligently to enhance sustainable features using natural materials, maximizing natural light and views, applying finishes strategically, integrating water conservation measures and green roofs,” said Joanne McCallum, CEO of mcCallumSather, in a press release. “We believe this facility will serve as inspiration for what can be achieved through a unified team process to integrate innovative design solutions and proven building system technologies to achieve Net Zero energy and zero carbon facilities.”

Mohawk achieved the building standard in part due to its curtain wall technology, which offers better insulation value than typical curtain walls. The facility is also all-electric, using no natural gas onsite. The Joyce Centre will feature nearly 500 solar panels mounted to canopies on its roof, as part of a campus-wide clean energy retrofit, which will see Mohawk installing nearly 2,000 solar panels overall. This solar panel system will produce 550,000 kilowatts of clean energy per year. The facility also features 28 geothermal wells that draw energy from more than 600 feet below the building.

“The Joyce Centre represents a new archetype for learning environments in Canada that recognize and encourage innovation. It’s not just a lab building. In many ways, it’s also a teaching tool for students, training them to deliver a more sustainable future,” added Lisa Bate, managing principal for North America at B+H Architects. “Its environment explores the symbiotic relationship between all stakeholders and underscores the importance of a cultural shift in how we interact with our built environment—from unrestricted consumption to personal accountability.”

The Joyce Centre will house new and existing programs as part of Mohawk’s School of Engineering Technology. It will feature high-tech labs and classrooms specializing in fields such as clean and renewable energy, sustainable design, technology automation, cyber security and materials manufacturing, among others.

New RICS standard aims to mitigate risks of financial crimes

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RICS is consulting on a new standard that aims to inform property professionals and regulated firms on the risks posed by financial crimes, such as bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.

The new draft standard, called the “Countering bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing” Professional Statement, outlines the obligations faced by RICS professionals and regulated firms to minimize their exposure to these risks and prevent these financial crimes from occurring in their own business operations.

Through an extensive global consultation, RICS hopes to engage professionals and industry stakeholders on whether this proposed Professional Statement meets their needs and properly outlines their obligations to diminish the impact of these risks on their business practices.

The Professional Statement seeks to provide a clear description of how to manage the risks posed by bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing and is aligned to the RICS Rules of Conduct. It outlines professional and ethical behaviour by providing practitioners and firms with consistent principles on what represents a breach of conduct.

Once finalized, the Professional Statement will apply globally to all RICS professional disciplines. The consultation runs until July and is available at www.rics.org/amlps.

Real estate vulnerable to Canada-U.S. trade war

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High-rise development is expected to be the hardest hit real estate activity in an unfolding Canada-U.S. trade war, but fallout across a wider range of consumer goods has potential negative implications for commercial warehouse and distribution facilities. Industry advocates estimate a 25 per cent surtax on construction steel manufactured in the United States — to match the tariffs the U.S. government has imposed on Canadian steel products as of today — could translate into a double-digit increase in total building costs.

“The Canadian government has to retaliate. There is no question about that,” observes Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). “But it can retaliate on different things that aren’t so damaging to the housing sector.”

A list of nearly 130 products that could carry new surcharges as soon as July 1 was posted for public comment on the Department of Finance website yesterday afternoon, following a day of discord in neighbourly relations. That began when U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross confirmed his country would exact a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

Justification for the actions, which in most circumstances would contravene international trade rules, was set out in two reports the Department of Commerce released in mid January. They maintain steel and aluminum imports weaken the internal economy of the United States and pose a threat to national security. Canadian officials and at least 25 U.S. industry associations reject that supposition.

Earlier this year, those associations — which represent many major players in the manufacturing, agricultural and food services sectors — voiced their concern in a letter to Commerce Secretary Ross and U.S. President Donald Trump. They noted that “downstream users” of the imported products employ significantly more workers than the steel and aluminum sectors, and argued that tariffs would increase production costs, divert funds away from investment in innovation and likely trigger retaliatory measures that would be hurtful to the U.S. economy.

Flow-through penalty for condo buyers

Business and consumers’ groups on this side of the border are now contemplating the same scenarios, arising from Canada’s notice of intent for CAD $16.6 billion worth of “surtaxes or similar trade-restrictive countermeasures” on steel, aluminum and “other products”. The list posted yesterday includes 44 steel products subject to a 25 per cent surtax and 84 other products, which would carry a 10 per cent tariff. “The Government is also considering whether additional measures may be required,” it states.

Lyall foresees homebuyers will be the ultimate losers. The flow-through cost penalty will be greatest in the housing type that has, until now, been seen as most affordable. It could also undermine housing supply at a time when the inventory of new units is already trailing demand in cities like Toronto.

“The implications for rebar translates into a huge cost increase, well into the double digits on development,” he projects. “This would push some projects that are on the edge now into the cancellation zone.”

Earlier in the day yesterday, he had been hopeful that retaliatory measures would be similar to the response, last year, when the Canadian International Trade Tribunal concluded that the U.S. was dumping drywall in Canada, but that imposition of punitive tariffs would be damaging to Canadian interests.

“They tempered their response because of the impact that it would have on the housing sector,” Lyall recalls. “This is exactly the same thing.”

Potential damper on light industrial performance

A potential chill in the cross-border trade of consumer goods comes at a time when industrial real estate is delivering impressive returns for investors in both Canada and the United States. MSCI’s recently released summary of 2017 investment results in 25 countries, encompassing 85 regional markets, identifies the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy as the three countries where “outperformance was most notable” for directly held industrial assets.

Companies in the U.S. property index saw a 14 per cent return on industrial properties versus an average total return of 7 per cent across all properties. Industrial properties delivered a 10.2 per cent total return, on average, to the portfolios participating in the Canada Property Index versus an average total return of 6.7 per cent across all properties.

“The industrial sector has benefited from changing consumption patterns and the growth of e-commerce and logistics. Demand for warehousing and distribution solutions has helped drive industrial performance,” Bryan Reid, MSCI’s vice president of global real estate research, concludes.

“Consumer goods distribution is the main driver behind the industrial sector’s recent outperformance in Canada,” concurs Carl Gomez, senior vice president, research and strategy, with QuadReal Property Group. “You can’t help but worry that the spirit of this tariff is a step in the wrong direction for supporting industrial demand’s long-term prospects.”

Notably, Calgary was alone among the 85 global cities that MSCI tracks in suffering an overall loss on value in 2017 — registering a negative total return of 0.3 per cent. Yet, industrial properties helped to pull up that average against the far more significant loss of value for office buildings.

“One of the only positive aspects of the downturn is that we have emerged as a logistics and transportation hub,” says Lloyd Suchet, executive director of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Calgary. “If you drive to the industrial outskirts of Calgary, you really see this surge of brand new facilities.”

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

What Alberta’s health and safety changes mean for employers

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A new Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) system comes into effect in Alberta on June 1, a move the province promises will better protect workers and ensure they have the same rights as other Canadians.

“Every year, hardworking Albertans are killed or injured on the job. A strong health and safety workplace culture is essential to preventing work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths,” reads the Government of Alberta website.

The passing of the Act to Protect the Health and Well-being of Working Albertans in December 2017 updated the OHS Act and the workers’ compensation (WCB) system for the province, the first significant changes in over 40 years.

The June 1 changes provide clarity on three main issues for Albertans.

  1. The right to refuse dangerous work
  2. The right to know
  3. The right to participate

Right to refuse dangerous work
Workers have the right to refuse dangerous work and are protected from reprisal for exercising this right:

  • Workers must continue to be paid while a work refusal is being investigated.
  • Employers must ensure workers understand the hazards at the workplace, know what needs to be reported and have the support to exercise their right.
  • Employers must investigate the matter in cooperation with the joint worksite health and safety committee or health and safety representative, if applicable.
  • Employers cannot take or threaten discriminatory action against a worker for exercising their rights and duties under the legislation.
  • Other workers may be assigned to the work if they are advised of the refusal, reason for it and are made aware of their own right to refuse work after the employer determines there is not a risk.

Right to know
Workers have the right to know of potential hazards and have access to basic health and safety information in the workplace:

  • All employers must inform workers about potential hazards.
    All worksite parties must ensure information on health and safety hazards is available onsite.

Right to participate
Workers have the right to be:

  • Involved in health and safety discussions.
  • Participate in health and safety committees.

“Alberta’s OHS Act sets the minimum standards for workplace health and safety and outlines the roles and responsibilities of employers and employees. When injuries do happen, a fair compensation system should support injured workers and help them get back to work. Improvements to the WCB system came into effect on January 1, 2018,” the Govt of Alberta site adds. “We’re committed to working with employers and employees to make sure all Albertans have access to safe, fair and healthy workplaces.”

Katerra acquires Michael Green Architecture

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Katerra, a technology company redefining the construction industry, has acquired Michael Green Architecture Inc. (MGA), a Vancouver based recognized leader in mass timber architecture.

The two companies share the same vision for the future in which quality and efficiency align with reducing costs and affordability, from initial design, through the life of the building. This new partnership will bring together technology, manufacturing, and design excellence to offer more sustainable, cost effective, and elegant architecture options to North American and global markets.

“MGA is excited to become a part of the Katerra ecosystem,” said Michael Green, CEO and president of MGA. “MGA and Katerra both aim to provide elegant, sustainable, high-performance, affordable buildings. Katerra’s goal to accomplish this on a large scale aligns with MGA’s long-term ambition. MGA is determined to create a meaningful and lasting legacy for our clients, the planet, and the social well-being of the people living on it.”

In becoming a Katerra Company, MGA’s leadership and team will remain fundamentally unchanged and continue to provide their clients with thoughtful and sustainable solutions of all scales and typologies. With the support of Katerra’s technology expertise and production capability, MGA’s impact will grow through an increased project scope that will offer clientele a broader range of cost and construction options.

“Katerra is thrilled to welcome MGA,” said Michael Marks, chairman and co-founder of Katerra. “Michael Green and his team have built a reputation for engaging design and leadership in the use of mass timber. This goes a long way to support our mission to utilize cutting-edge technology and systems to revolutionize the construction industry.”

MGA is a pioneer in mass timber projects, designing two of North America’s largest CLT structures: the Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George (photo) and T3, a 220,000-square-foot seven-story office building in Minneapolis.

 

Emergency preparedness tips ahead of National Safety Month

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June marks the start of National Safety Month in Canada, a campaign aimed at reducing leading causes of injury and death in the workplace, on the road and in our homes and communities.

Split into four weeks (Emergency Preparedness, Wellness, Falls and Driving), the National Safety Council said the campaign is “focused on saving lives and preventing injuries, helping to reduce motor vehicle crashes and improving safety practices in workplaces all across the country.”

In anticipation of week one’s focus, Emergency Preparedness, Johnson Controls has provided some safety tips for facility managers to consider.

  • First and foremost, it’s crucial to regularly test your fire, life-safety and security systems. This might seem like a no brainer, but unfortunately some facilities are neglected for years.
  • In addition to regular equipment testing, enlist a trained professional to conduct a fire protection and life-safety risk assessment to ensure your systems are working properly and are up to code.
  • Be proactive and train building operators on emergency preparedness procedures and plans, rather than waiting to encounter an emergency to implement training guidelines.
  • Install technologies that work together to create a safer, smarter building and communicate critical information in an emergency. If you have standalone systems, consider investing in a single-source fire and life safety provider that can streamline installation and maintenance.
  • Forge relationships with local security and law enforcement resources to better understand threats and activities around your facility. They’ll also be the ones rushing to help your facility in the event of an emergency.

“Safety is a priority all facility managers must maintain,” said Bill Maginas, president of Johnson Controls Canada. “Whether safeguarding against intruders, or taking preventative measures using fire detection systems, connecting your building’s systems with smart, integrated technologies can help ensure the safety of your facility and, most importantly, the occupants.” 

Human-centric lighting can create healthy buildings: report

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A new report from Navigant Research looks at the role human-centric lighting plays in healthy buildings, discusses the challenges surrounding standardization and provides recommendations for stakeholders on how they can help ensure lighting plays a positive role in healthy buildings. The report, Quantifying and Standardizing the Measurement of Human-Centric Lighting, examines the growing interest in building occupant health, well-being and productivity.

The growing interest in healthy buildings is opening up new opportunities in the commercial lighting industry. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and lighting controls are some of the technologies that are helping to provide actionable data that may create a healthier atmosphere for building occupants, while also providing cost savings. However, the report finds that technology to measure and help quantify human-centric lighting is underdeveloped.

Standards organizations provide a starting point for understanding how human-centric lighting can help create healthy buildings, but a clear measurement is still needed to impact the industry. Currently, this lack of agreement on measurement is expected to delay industry progress. In the meantime, the report recommends that government organizations work to make the components of green, healthy buildings the norm, which is expected to be critical for the long-term success of these types of certifications.

“Human-centric lighting has been a growing buzzword within the lighting industry and is gaining attention by manufacturers, building owners, operators and occupants, and researchers,” said Krystal Maxwell, research analyst at Navigant Research, in a press release. “But while interest and available products are increasing, there is still a lack of research available on human-centric lighting, how to quantify the benefits of it, and the best way to measure it.”

Dow Chemical Company set to open sales centre in Toronto

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Dow Chemical Company is set to open its new Eastern Canada Regional Sales Centre in Toronto on Thursday.

The firm has invited key strategic customers and Canadian government officials to attend the official ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow.

“This facility is a declaration of our ambition to lead with innovation and collaboration to shape the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world,” said Andrew Liveris, chairman and chief executive officer of Dow. “The future Dow is putting customers at the centre of what we do, to understand their ideas, their needs and how they want to work with us in this dynamic region of Eastern Canada. We want to sit with them at the design table locally at their facilities and here in our new Toronto centre to create value together.”

The Regional Sales centre will serve as a strategic commercial hub for Dow in Eastern Canada, in a move which the company claims will improve its customer experience and help foster co-innovation with clients during a time when the Canadian economy is rapidly expanding.

“I want to congratulate Dow for expanding its Canadian footprint to Toronto. Opening this new regional sales centre shows the dynamism of Canada as a market for materials science and chemistry solutions. It is also a testament to the strategic trade relationship between Canada, Mexico and the United States,” said The Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of International Trade. “This time of integrated investment – bringing together Dow’s American manufacturing with Canadian innovation – demonstrates the value of NAFTA as a means to leverage supply chains for the best possible commercial environment. I wish Dow the best with their endeavors, and look forward to our continued partnership to expand trade between our nations.”

Dow also operates two manufacturing sites in Ontario. The company has long-term roots in Alberta where it opened its head Canadian office in 1942. Post Dow’s separation from DowDuPont in the first quarter of 2019, the company will have approximately 850 employees in Canada.

“Dow’s growth in Canada demonstrates the strength of our partnership,” said Canadian Ambassador to the United States, David McNaughton. “Combining American and Canadian innovation is an unparalleled opportunity for growth, in our bilateral partnership and for North America’s competitiveness in the global economy.”

Stantec Tower reaches new heights in Edmonton

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The Stantec Tower in Edmonton’s downtown Ice District has reached 54 storeys (197 metres). It will continue to rise three metres each week to a total of 251 metres. Once complete, the Stantec Tower will be 66 storeys high, making it the tallest building in the city and tallest in the country outside Toronto.

Stantec Tower will be home to commercial development and mixed-use workplaces, multi-family residences and retail space. Atop of the commercial level sits SKY Residences condominiums, featuring 483 premium residential suites with luxury lifestyle facilities. Resident’s will have access to 20,000 sq. ft. of amenity space including a hot tub, fitness facilities, a billiards lounge, yoga/Pilates studio and more.

Located on the corner of 102 Street and 103 Ave, Stantec Tower is expected to be topped off this fall, with the first residents being Stantec Edmonton personnel, who will be moving into their new headquarters in the fall.

“Employees from across Stantec have a lot of pride in our new company headquarters, a project our architects and engineers have worked on for the past four years,” says Stantec president and chief executive officer, Gord Johnston. “We have watched the Stantec tower grow from our ground breaking in 2015 to the topping off of the commercial portion of the building in November 2017. Today, our head office makes history, becoming the tallest tower in Edmonton, and we won’t stop growing for months.”

Since groundbreaking, Stantec has provided full architecture and engineering services and the Tower has been designed to be sustainable and energy efficient, with a target to be LEED® Gold Certified. PCL Construction is general contractor.

Master planned community M City breaks ground

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Edward Rogers and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie were on hand to officially signal the start of construction on Phase One and Two of M City, Mississauga’s new master planned community. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on the future site of the development, located at the corner of Burnhamthorpe Road and Confederation Parkway.

The two flagship M City towers will anchor the legacy project by Rogers Real Estate Development Limited, a private holding company owned by the Rogers family. In development since 2007, the firm brought on Urban Capital Property Group to manage the process of turning the 15-acre site, which was owned by the Rogers family, into a $1.5 billion master planned community development.

“In the last few years especially, we’ve seen Mississauga not only undergo incredible transformation, but embrace it,” said Rogers, chairman of Rogers Communications Inc., in a press release. “M City shares the city’s vision to create a vibrant downtown core that prioritizes parkland, public space and walkability.”

“Building investments like M City help strengthen our city’s tax base and allow us to fund important priorities we all rely on including libraries, community centres and public transit,” added Crombie. “I’m pleased to be breaking ground today at M City, a development inspired by our city’s Downtown21 Master Plan, our blueprint to create a more liveable, downtown core that is home to public spaces, educational institutions, a vast public transit network, walkable streets, and intensified residential and commercial developments.”

With a team of planning and design experts, Rogers Real Estate Development Limited and Urban Capital brought in leading Canadian firms CORE Architects and Cecconi Simone to manage building design and interiors. New York-based urban design firm Cooper Robertson was enlisted to re-imagine the 15 acres as a liveable, sustainable mixed-use community, which includes over two acres of public parkland. The site’s new framework will extend existing city streets on an angular plane to create a walkable fine-grained network of blocks, while typical residential blocks will provide two-way roads with on-street parking, large sidewalks and residential frontages.

Photo (left to right):  Eric Hixon, Martha Rogers, John Anderton, Vice President, Treasurer, Rogers Private Companies, Andrew Whittemore, Planning Commissioner, City of Mississauga, Edward Rogers, Chairman, Rogers Communications Inc., Mayor Bonnie Crombie, City of Mississauga, Loretta Anne Rogers, Councillor Nando Iannicca, Ward 7, Alan Horn, President & Chief Executive Officer, Rogers Private Companies, Mark Reeve, Partner, Urban Capital.

CMHC delivers results for Q1 2018

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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its Q1 2018 financial report in late May, recapping its contributions to the Canadian housing markets and support to Canadians in housing need.

CMHC also published supplemental data on its Assisted Housing, Securitization and Covered Bonds activities, along with an expanded Mortgage Loan Insurance business supplement.

According to the Q1 2018 financial report, CMHC:

• provided mortgage loan insurance for more than 43,000 new units across the country, including over 24,700 rental units;
• maintained the quality of its portfolio with an overall arrears rate of 0.29 per cent. The typical CMHC-insured borrower had, on average:
o Credit score – 752
o Purchase price – $ 281,123
o Equity – 7.8%
• and, provided guarantees for $36.7 billion in securities to support residential mortgage financing. This includes $27.2 billion for National Housing Act Mortgage-Backed Securities and $9.5 billion for Canada Mortgage Bonds.

CMHC helped Canadians gain access to suitable, affordable housing by investing $1 billion through its Assisted Housing activities to create housing for low- and middle-income families.

The Rental Construction Financing Initiative

Budget 2018 proposed to increase the amount of low-cost loans provided by the Rental Construction Financing Initiative by $1.25 billion over the next three years, bringing the total to $3.75 billion in available loans for this initiative, which is open until December 31, 2020.

Delivering results for Canadians

CMHC’s mortgage loan insurance and securitization guarantee programs operate on a commercial basis. As a result of these activities in the first quarter, CMHC generated net income of $293 million.

As a responsible risk manager, CMHC holds capital for its commercial activities in line with its risk profile and with regulatory capital requirements. Its overall insurance-in-force as at March 31, 2018, was $472 billion and for this it had $14.3 billion in capital available, representing 177% of the minimum regulatory capital target.

“We continue to navigate a changing regulatory environment that has impacted our mortgage loan insurance volumes,” said Lisa Williams, Chief Financial Officer. “Nonetheless, we generated a net income of $293 million from our commercial activities, including securitization. This quarter, we also invested $1 billion to create much-needed housing units for low- and middle-income Canadians across the country.”