MANITOBA Construction starts soon on the second phase of Winnipeg's new Sport for Life Centre The $25 million, 124,000 sq. ft. fa- cility in the Exchange District will cater to inner city teens, families and will also provide space for sports training and programs. Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said the centre will be a legacy for the 2017 Canada Summer Games. "Every athlete I think needs a great space where they can train to get to the next level of their sport and de- velop their leadership skills,” Bowman said in a published report. "I know that the Sport for Life centre right here in downtown Winnipeg will be exactly that place." The Manitoba government has in- vested $16 million in the project. The city has committed $1 million to the fa- cility from the 2017 Canada Games Capital fund. The remaining funds are from private donations. cember and reported on his mandate to study and report on the rules re- garding creating new mandatory trade certifications, and in resolving “scope of practice” issues for trades, the Council of Ontario Construction Asso- ciations (COCA) reports in its newslet- ter. The newsletter quoted Dean as say- ing he “has assembled a small team of three or four people, some who are full time on the review and others who are only part time,” some from the Min- istry of Trades, Colleges and Universi- ties, and “others from the OCOT, to support him in this review.” “He has already had animated and positive discussions with Tim Arm- strong and Kevin Whittaker (who wrote reports that were the genesis of the College) and also spoke with Garfield Dunlop MPP who has been one of the college's most outspoken critics,” COCA reported. “He has already spoken with ap- proximately 30 representatives of sig- nificant stakeholders, some who support the college and others who are critics; there was uniform support for the review and offers of help.” OAA seeks diversity in 2015 awards submissions ONTARIO Tony Dean makes presentation to OCOT board, describing his mandate and approach he will take to resolve questions Tony Dean, appointed to review the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT), at- tended a meeting of the organization's board of governors in Toronto in De- the industry as well as some of the province’s most established architec- tural firms,” the OAA says in a state- ment. This year, the OAA is emphasizing the importance of submitting multi-unit residential and mixed-use projects, in- cluding condominium buildings, within the nominations. “As populations continue to grow and shift back towards urban centres, architects will need to present creative residential structures that promote density and accommodate mixed-uses while engaging within their given con- text and environment,” says OAA pres- ident Bill Birdsell. “It’s important to recognize the architects that are de- signing exceptional and diverse ex- pressions of our modern lifestyle.” As well this year, the OAA is empha- sizing that anyone, from members of the public, to industry partners, as well as architecture firms, can nominate a deserving project on behalf of the ar- chitect. The submissions deadline is Jan. 26 at 4:30 p.m. Third party verification services – OGCA legal opinion and petition encourage contractors to use COR instead of com- mercial verification services The Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) has launched a multi-pronged attack on third party ver- ification services. The Ontario Association of Archi- tects (OAA) has invited entries for the 2015 OAA Awards. “The awards high- light the best in architectural design and innovation by Ontario architects, recognizing both emerging talent in The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Winter 2015 – 11