AROUND THE COUNTRY ing that the LRT provided the greatest site challenge. “In the end, the Ren- dezVous Lebreton group handled that challenge very well.” Both proposals suggested that the new Ottawa Public Library (possibly combined with the National Archives/Library) would be a worthy part of the development, but the NCC evaluators ignored the RLG proposal in part because the team proposed the li- brary to be built on land outside of the designated development area. However, second place finisher DCDLS Group’s legal representative, Nelligan Powers lawyer Debbie Bellinger, sent a letter to the NCC – posted on the deadline for public com- ment about the decision – expressing concerns about the fairness of the process, and questioning the feasibil- ity of covering the LRT tracks. The NCC says DCDLS Group’s pro- posal will be considered if negotia- tions with RendezVous Lebreton fail to result in a suitable agreement. QUEBEC Construction corruption probe results in seven arrests of high ranking provincial Liberal party members Quebec’s anticorruption squad has arrested seven high ranking members of the provincial Liberal party, including two former cabinet ministers. Individuals arrested in April in- cluded Nathalie Normandeau, the for- mer Liberal deputy premier of Quebec and former minister Marc-Yvan Cote. Côté was also a vice president at the Roche engineering firm, and at least two other former Roche employees were also arrested. UPAC, the Unité permanente anti- corruption had been investigating po- litical financing of both the Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois, accord- ing to La Presse. In June 2014 Normandeau ap- peared before the Charbonneau Com- mission. Her name had come up in previous testimony at the commission. Quebec to invest $4.7 billion in transportation infrastructure in next two years The province’s transport minister Jacques Daoust has announced that $4.7 billion will be invested in trans- portation infrastructure, of which 90 per cent will be used to maintain exist- ing infrastructure and $478 million will be applied to new projects. More than $1.4 billion will be in transportation infrastructure around Montreal and another $67.3 million in Laval, funding 2,139 projects on 3,200 km. of roads around the province and supporting 31,500 workers between 2016 and 2018, the government said in a news release. Daoust said that the investment will heed the recommendations of the Charbonneau Commission on corrup- tion in the awarding of construction contracts in Quebec. For example, Transports Québec will assume responsibility for inspec- tions at a majority of work sites and undertake a thorough analysis of new materials available on the market in order to ensure quality control. NOVA SCOTIA CANS wins CCA Gold Seal Association Award The Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) has received the CCA Gold Seal Association Award at the Construction Association of Canada’s (CCA) Annual Conference in New Orleans. “As part of our Strategic Plan we set out to be a leading provider of industry education and training to the construc- tion industry,” CANS president Duncan Williams said. “Over the past four 24 – May-June 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report years we have continued to increase the sophistication of offerings and have been promoting Gold Seal Certi- fication as the industry standard.” The CCA Gold Seal Association recognizes outstanding Award achievements by CCA partner associ- ations to promote and support the CCA Gold Seal program. “Our entire course catalogue is Gold Seal Accredited,” says Williams. “This translates to more than 80 courses, and approximately 44 Gold Seal credits or 220 hours of training, that members can then take and apply towards their Gold Seal Certification.” Two construction industry conferences scheduled for Halifax Halifax will host two significant con- struction industry related conferences in late May. The Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) national conference, which attracts specifiers, architects, engineers and contractors from across the country, will take place May 25 to 29. Meanwhile, the Canadian Roofing Contractors’ Association will hold its fifty-seventh annual general meeting and conference May 28 to 30 in Hali- fax. NEW BRUNSWICK Moncton: Construction starts on new downtown centre The construction phase of Monc- ton’s new downtown sports and enter- tainment centre has started with an official sod turning ceremony. “This is good news as the construc- tion phase will stimulate the economy