News & Information
Media Releases (2004)
CCA Pays Tribute to Excellence in Construction
Las Vegas, March 26, 2004 - The Canadian Construction Association today announced the recipients of its National Awards recognizing excellence in the Canadian construction industry at its 86th Annual Conference taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards were presented at the Awards Breakfast that also featured keynote speaker Bill Carr.
The recipients of the CCA awards handed out this morning include the following:
Person of the Year Award - The Robert Stollery Trophy was named for the person of the year and is CCA's most prestigious award. Sponsored by PCL Construction, the recipient this year is the late Mr. Curtis Washer.
He is fondly remembered for unselfishly volunteering his time to tackle issues facing the industry. He was Chairman of the Ontario General Contractor's Association, and a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Board of Trade. Curtis Washer has left an indelible mark on the construction industry and on the hearts of all the people who knew him. He continues to be an inspiration.
National Safety Award - The Gordon M. Vipond Memorial Safety Trophy recognizes a company's commitment and achievement to workplace safety. The recipient this year is Waiward Steel Fabricators Limited.
Last year, Alberta Human Resources and Employment requested that Waiward become a Partner in Health and Safety. As safety information should not be kept a secret, Waiward has recently joined with the Manufacturer's Health and Safety Association (Alberta) to share the company's safety successes with other companies in the industry. As a result of the owner's commitment to safety, Waiward has enjoyed the lowest WCB premium rate possible for the past five years, for both the shop and the field.
Member Association Award of Excellence - Awarded for exceptional efforts in programming for its members, the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association was recognized this year for the Jake Thygesen Trophy. The Hamilton-Halton Construction Association is a small association whose members are consistently offered big benefits. One of these benefits is the HHCA Safety Group, which since its inception, has achieved great success in reducing injuries and accidents. Their safety group received $1.7 million in WSIB rebates in 2002 alone. HHCA has established partnership with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, the Construction Safety Association of Ontario, and the Ministry of Labour, widening the impact it has on industry health and safety. The HHCA-developed Safety Group Binder is recommended by the WSIB for all new Safety Groups.
Excellence in Innovation Award - The recipient of this year's Hugh Montgomery Memorial Trophy, for their Caisson Dredging Procedure used for remediation projects on the Fraser River, is Fraser River Pile & Dredge Ltd. of New Westminster, British Columbia.
Fraser River Pile and Dredge LTD's caisson dredging technique is an innovative application to remove underwater-contaminated sediments whenever minimal impact to the surrounding ecosystem is required. This technique can also be applied whenever the isolation of continuous dredging areas is needed adjacent to existing man-made or natural structures.
General Contractors Award of Excellence - Presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the CCA General Contractors Council and to the Canadian construction industry in general. The recipient of the 2003 Robert Saunders Trophy is Mr. Terry Brown.
For the past two years, Terry has been on the CCA National Gold Seal Committee and a representative for CCA on the Construction Sector Council. Terry has also been serving on the Board of Directors of the BCCA Council of Construction Associations, and is a member of the Canadian Construction Document Committee. His tireless efforts on behalf of the construction industry have earned him the distinction of being named the recipient of the 2003 General Contractors Award of Excellence.
Trade Contractor Award of Excellence - The Ernest Dobbelsteyn Memorial Trophy is presented to a member of the CCA Trade Contractors Council who has made an outstanding contribution to the Council and to the construction industry in general. This year, the recipient is our Council's own outgoing Chairman, David Oulton.
Gold Seal certified and a strong proponent of Gold Seal Designated Projects, Mr. Oulton has also shown particular leadership through his emphasis of a safe working environment for all employees. He is the recipient of the NSCSA Leadership Award, and the Bob Coffey Award - a special achievement award recognizing his life-long contributions to the development of the steel industry, involvement in the community and for promoting networking within the steel business sector.
Roadbuilders Award of Excellence - The Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Council presents the Award of Excellence to an individual for outstanding contribution to the roadbuilding and heavy construction sector. This year's winner is Leo McArthur.
Leo McArthur is viewed in the construction industry as a leader, an innovator and a businessman with integrity. Leo has been an active participant in his industry through the Canadian Construction Association, the Ontario Roadbuilders Association, the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association, and the Better Roads Coalition, just to name a few.
Environmental Achievement Award - The Environmental Achievement Award is intended to recognize the exceptional implementation of an environmental innovation in construction practices. The recipient of this year's Environmental Achievement Award is Kindred Construction Ltd. of Vancouver, BC for their Mole Hill Community Housing Project.
Since 1950, Mole Hill, an area in Vancouver containing 36 of the city's oldest houses, had been under threat of demolition for redevelopment. Kindred Construction Ltd. was the project's construction manager, and its work on Mole Hill stands as an example of leadership in sustainability in such areas as:
1) Energy efficiency through its ground source heating system design and implementation - the first of its kind in a social housing development that has completely separate buildings sharing a common ground loop.
2) Building preservation - Their preservation methods resulted in 34% less debris going to landfills
3) Pedestrian priority and open space planning design
4) Urban agriculture
5) And finally, storm water management - 95% of pre-existing trees and shrubs were retained which promoted natural absorption. Any rainwater collected was diverted to an ornamental pond, rather than being drained to the city's storm system.
CCA Community Leader Award - This award recognizes individuals, associations and firms that have contributed to the betterment of their communities. Two recipients were announced this year. The first recipient of the inaugural CCA Community Leader Award is Reid Schwabe, of Ledcor Construction Limited.
As a journeyman carpenter, Reid participated on several sports teams. Reid was a valued player, not only because of his talent, but because no matter how busy he was, he always showed up for the games and practices. This dedication continued, as he became a senior partner for the Boys and Girls Club. He was partnered with a 12-year-old boy, Oakley, whose life he continued to be a part of long after they were no longer partnered through the Club. Sadly, Reid was diagnosed with an untreatable illness. He passed away on September 16, 2003.
The second recipient of the CCA Community Leader Award goes to PCL Constructors Inc. In 2002, PCL raised over $400,000 for United Way through employee donations. PCL matches employee donations dollar for dollar, and their total contribution totalled over $725, 000.
Gold Seal Association Award - The Ted Wyatt Gold Seal Trophy was created to recognize the good work that CCA's member associations are doing to promote and support the objectives of Gold Seal programme. Having demonstrated a strong commitment to Construction Management excellence and education among their Board and general membership, as well as overall promotional activities, the inaugural award was presented jointly to the Ontario Roadbuilders Association and Ontario Sewer and Watermain Association.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Canadian Construction Association
Mark Buzan
Manager, External Communications/ Quebec Membership Liaison
(613) 236-9455, ext. 430
mbuzan@cca-acc.com