to ask its members to hold 2015 rates for consulting services at 2014 levels, as part of a wider effort to encourage continued infrastructure spending, The Edmonton Journal has reported. The association had recommended a 3.3 per cent increase to 2015 con- tacts. But after a vigorous debate, board members voted unanimously to ask all firms to hold the line, CEA president Matt Brassard said in early February. The association repre- sents 100 member firms, employing more than 10,000 professional engineers, tech- nologists and support staff. “When we heard about the poten- tial uncertainty in what’s going on, we started throwing around ideas about how we might support the govern- ment to achieve some of their shorter- term and longer-term goals,” Brassard was quoted as saying. The rate hold-back could cost mem- ber firms as much as $70 million, “but we think it is in the best interests of Al- bertans to be leaders in this province, and to take that bold move to set us on the right path,” Brassard said. In previous downturns, spending cuts have allowed existing infrastruc- ture to deteriorate, leading to major cost increases later, the newspaper quoted Brassard as saying. Even if spending is cut back, planning and de- sign should continue so that projects will be ready to go when funds be- come available, Brassard said. “During the era of the national en- ergy program, we lost a generation of people from our industry, and we are continuing to feel the impacts of that loss today,” he said. “We cannot afford to lose another generation.” The Alberta Association of Archi- tects and the Alberta Construction As- sociation (ACA) support the CEA's initiatives “Now is actually the perfect time to be investing in infrastructure,” said ACA executive director Ken Gibson. “We’ll get better pricing because the industry is slowing down. And in turn, if we keep those people employed, we’ll get better pricing when things pick up because we’ll have the capac- ity to deliver then.” MANITOBA SASKATCHEWAN The Daily Commercial News re- ports that the Manitoba Prompt Pay- ment Committee has been formed to provide a united voice in support of a Prompt Payment Act to enforce timely and predictable payments for contrac- tors. “Canada is one of the few civilized countries in the world that does not have prompt payment legislation. Un- fortunately, the lack of this legislation is driving a lot of companies out of business. It’s long overdue,” said Brad Mason, president of DMS Industrial Constructors Inc. A Prompt Payment Act would intro- duce new rules that would ensure any money owed between parties on a construction job is paid within 30 days. It would also provide payees with more options to collect on late or de- faulted payments and introduce provi- sions for milestone payments instead of traditional progress payments, among other changes. The committee’s goals mirror that of many organizations throughout Canada, including Prompt Payment Ontario. Mason was quoted as saying that the Manitoba Prompt Payment Committee will learn from Ontario’s experience, where a Prompt Payment Act was defeated in May 2014. (The provincial government has decided in- stead to conduct a thorough review of the province's Construction Lien Act – see below.) “I think the basic thing that came out of Ontario is that some of the peo- ple or some groups of people didn’t feel they had input into the draft legis- lation,” DCN reported him as saying. “It is certainly easier for us to do it sec- ond time around because we got the word from some of the mistakes made in Ontario.” Prompt payment legislation re- mains a top concern for many trade or- ganizations and companies. In April, the National Trade Contractors Coali- New $278 million Regina stadium construction proj- ect nears end of first quarter PCL Construction Management Ltd. reports Regina's new Mosaic sta- dium reached the 22 per cent comple- tion mark in late January. Work started in 2014 and the proj- ect should be finished in time for the 2017 football season. CBC quoted PCL project manager Steve Hamelin as saying: “This is a very challenging project. You don't build a stadium every day.” He said some of the stadium's structural components (in the Regina Revitalization Initiative) are complex. As well, the logistics are complicated because the structure is being de- signed just before its construction. Despite a few very cold days in De- cember and early January, Hamelin said the recent warmer weather has been good. Hamelin cited these statistics, re- flecting volumes since the project started: • 12,000 cu. m. of concrete have been poured. • 1,200 tonnes of reinforcing steel have been used at the site. • 190 tradespeople are currently working on the stadium each day. • A total of 189,700 hours have been logged by the PCL construction team on the project to date. Push on prompt payment legislation: Learning lessons from Ontario experience The Canadian Design and Construction Report — February - March 2015 – 13