NEWS BRIEFS These measures include starting a petition campaign, obtaining a legal opinion that the use of these services doesn't meet the standards for due diligence and, most significantly, ob- taining a decision by York Region to allow contractors to qualify for work with a COR (Certificate of Recognition) designation through the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA), in place of the ISNetworld, one of the third-party services that has attracted the greatest level of controversy. The third-party services charge fees both to owners and contractors and sub-contractors to gather and monitor compliance with various regulations, including health and safety and work- ers compensation rules. However, several contractors have complained that the services create unnecessary bureaucratic burdens, increase costs (both in time and cash) and don't truly confirm regulatory compliance. The petition, addressed to the provincial labour minister and the On- tario legislature, says: “We, as members for the Ontario Construction Industry, request that the Hon. Minister of Labour and the On- tario Legislature address the problem of Third Party Safety Verification. We collectively request that immediate ac- tion be taken to accredited employers who meet the standards for health and safety excellence via programs such as COR.” “There are numerous private unreg- ulated companies that verify safety compliance, many do not verify that the programs are delivered. As a re- sult, owners and contractors will be left with the mistaken belief that they meet or exceed their legal health and safety obligations; further, programs such as COR exist which verify that that the contractor is in full compli- ance.” Diamond and Schmidt design $110.5 million National Arts Centre revitalization Diamond and Schmidt architects are designing a $110.5 million project to “transform and revitalize” the Na- 12 – Winter 2015 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report tional Arts Centre (NAC) on Elgin Street in Ottawa. The project will be built through a collaborative construction-manage- ment design team approach, and the NAC will follow a two-step approach to seek out expressions of interest from qualified contractors, says NAC director of operations David McCuaig. “We're looking for a partnership, someone who will want to work on this project in the spirit of integrated project delivery.” The initial notice will be posted on MERX fairly early in the new year,” he said. This will result in a list of pre- qualified firms, which will be narrowed down in a separate step, to possibly four or five candidates at the Request for Proposal stage. “One important thing we really want, is to get the construction man- ager early to work with the architects and engineers, and give us con- structability advice, from the design process right through construction.” QUEBEC Quebec City museum expansion reaches highest point NEW BRUNSWICK Two companies receive ACOA support Two New Brunswick companies have received financial support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the federal government has announced. Timberparts Ltd., an aftermarket re- manufacturer specializing in refitting and repowering fabricated products, will construct a new 13,000 sq. ft. fa- cility and purchase a 10-ton crane with a $500,000 repayable AOCA contribu- tion. Meanwhile, Kings County Mechan- ical Ltd., a welding and fabrication shop, will acquire the building it cur- rently leases, purchase equipment and construct a small adjoining building for its blast and paint shop with its $500,000 repayable contribution from ACOA. In addition, the company will receive $12,375 from the government to hire productivity expertise to im- prove the plant's layout to reduce waste and increase efficiencies. “Our government is committed to creating jobs and economic growth, while returning to fiscal balance," Re- gional Minister for New Brunswick and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) Rob Moore, said in a statement. NOVA SCOTIA Non-union businesses protest “any given day” rule for union certification OMA’s first Canadian project, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) expansion has reached its highest point. Extending from Quebec’s Parc des Champs-de- Bataille to the Grande-allée, the cas- cading gallery’s three stacked volumes have taken full form as the museum works towards completion in early 2016, archdaily.com reports. OMA New York won the design competition for the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in 2010. The project began construction in Sep- tember 2013 and is expected to open to the public in early 2016. Fifty non-union construction com- panies are protesting a union certifica- tion decision made by the provincial labour board, CBC has reported. The issue is whether everyone who works for a construction company should be allowed to vote or only the people working on the day a union drive is held. The latter is something known as the any given day rule. Non-union shops say the rule is un- fair, open to abuse and should be changed. The decision stems from a situation where at a parking garage under con- struction, six of the seven labourers