Small businesses – including thousands in construction – looking for relief from higher taxes, suffocating red tape and other anti-employer policies enacted by the BC NDP Government over the past three years, got nothing in today’s 2020-21 BC Budget, says the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA).

“For job creators and employers, this was a Seinfeld ‘budget about nothing’ – but far less funny,” said Jordan Bateman, ICBA VP-Communications. “Finance Minister Carole James offered absolutely nothing to businesses staggering under the weight of higher taxes, red tape, and anti-employer policies. Small business, the economic engine of B.C., is being left to rust away.”

The Budget, balanced on a razor’s edge but with growing debt, failed to include any meaningful funding for a Massey Tunnel replacement, no tax relief for employers, a tepid reannouncement of some union-focused trades apprentice programs, and no new major capital projects.

“The Massey Tunnel replacement continues to be stalled, which should anger tens of thousands of commuters at B.C.’s worst bottleneck,” Bateman said, noting the cancelled BC Liberal-started bridge would have been 60% complete today. “The NDP are running out of money after unnecessarily overspending by as much as a billion dollars on the Pattullo, Broadway subway, and Highway 1 expansion – just to give its building trades union supporters a monopoly on those projects. They’ve blown the money they should have put toward Massey, and commuters pay the price.” Read more

Are you a home builder in BC? We have a brand-new course for you! Our Building Code for Residential Builders session is in Langley November 14.

Participants will learn how to read, interpret and use the BC Building Code (2018). The course is specifically targeted for constructors of small buildings and residential construction in order to allow them to discuss with confidence issues brought up by inspectors, plan checkers and/or consultants.

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Have a working knowledge of the BC Building Code (2018) and be able to reference relevant sections quickly in their day-to-day dealings with inspectors, plan checkers and/or consultants;
• Understand the differences in construction where Part 9 of the Code is used for Small Buildings
compared to Part 3-8 for larger and more complex building systems;
• Understand how various Building Codes (National, Provincial and Local) and Bylaws operate in various jurisdictions;
• Understand the 38 sections within Part 9 of the Code and their application within residential construction;
• Understand where Part 10 applies to residential construction projects;
• Recognize the shortcomings of the Code and understand how to deal with multiple interpretations.

This course is ideal for those who have little or no background in using the BC Building Code or for those wanting an update on the changes from the 2012 version. Plus, you’ll earn 7.5 CPD Points from BC Housing!
Register at www.icba.ca/courses.

Are you an effective manager? Could you be better? Check out our Effective Management Skills workshop!

How much untapped potential, energy, commitment and creativity currently exists within your organization, team or department?  What would it mean to your culture and bottom line if you could learn to unleash just 10% more of the latent human potential?

This course is for all managers, supervisors, team leaders or anyone who is responsible for achieving results through people and who want to bring the best out in people.

Here’s some of what’s covered:

• Understanding group dynamics and how to develop team synergy
• Developing clear performance expectations for the team
• The four core elements of a high-performance team
• The principles of effective delegation
• The vital importance of developing clear “outcome-based” performance expectations whenever possible
• How to listen so that people feel understood
• How disagree someone without being disagreeable
• The essential difference between influence and persuasion
• How to deliver reinforcing or positive feedback in a manner that makes it meaningful

And much more! Plus you’ll earn 1 Gold Seal Credit and 7.5 CPD Points from BC Housing.

The next session is in Burnaby on August 13, followed by August 20 in Victoria, September 16 in Prince George, and October 10 in Fort St John. Visit www.icba.ca/courses for more information and to register for this or any of our other upcoming courses.

ICBA’s Chris Gardner and Jordan Bateman make the announcement you’ve been waiting for – Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer (and FOX Sports commentator) Troy Aikman will be our guest at the 44th ICBA AGM Gala Dinner in Vancouver on Nov. 5. Aikman won three Super Bowls with the 1990s Cowboys, cementing his place as an icon with “America’s Team.” Tickets go on sale Sept. 5 at icba.ca/agm.

Do you serve on a joint health and safety committee in your workplace? Our Responsibilities of Joint Health and Safety Committees course is here for you! As of April 2017, all new committee members must receive eight hours of training. This course will help you fulfill that requirement.

Participants will:

• Know how to use the OHS Regulation and WC Act to access health & safety requirements;
• Explain the roles and functions of the Joint Committee and the Worker Representatives;
• Learn how to perform an incident investigation;
• Learn how to perform a formal site inspection; and
• Develop a foundation in knowledge to:
  • Promote workplace health and safety
  • Assist in ensuring the health and safety program elements are implemented;
  • Conduct and participate in Joint Committee Meetings; and
  • Work cooperatively to address workers’ health and safety concerns.

Topics covered:

1. Use of WorkSafe OHS Regulation;
2. Joint Health and Safety committee and workers representatives;
3. OHS Program;
4. Safety Inspections;
5. Incident investigations;
6. Refusal of unsafe work;
7. How to work as a committee;
8. Different types of recommendations; and
9. Hazard management.

You’ll also earn 8 Group A CPD Points from BC Housing! Our next session is May 17 in Burnaby, and again June 7 and July 9. Register for this or any of our other upcoming sessions at www.icba.ca/courses.

Annual budgets are probably the truest measure of a gov­ernment’s priorities and vision, or lack thereof. The most recent B.C. NDP bud­get, passed with the help of the Greens, was widely characterized as a “stand pat” exercise – so much so that reporters didn’t have enough questions to fill their allotted time with the finance minister.

But it’s hard to square the outlook that underpins this budget with global economic trends. While we have enjoyed a lengthy period of economic expansion, a slowdown has already taken hold in China and Europe, and the predominant view among economists is that 2018 is likely to have been the economy’s high point for some time to come.
If ever we needed a focus on productivity, competitiveness, and maximizing the economic benefit from every public dollar spent, now is the time. Yet we saw none of that in the NDP budget. In fact, debt accumu­lation, spending and tax levels are all heading in the wrong direction and at a troubling pace.

Added burdens like these will be a further drag on already slowing investment, growth and job creation. The budget was frightening in acknow­ledging such an impact in the construc­tion sector – a projected 30 per cent drop in housing starts over the NDP’s term of office. Winter is coming, economically speaking, and NDP mis­management is going to make it tougher to weather the storm that is closing in. Read more

What are you doing April 9 and 10? You should register for our Project Planning and Cost Control workshop in Burnaby!

The course is designed to provide owners, managers, estimators, and field personnel with a general knowledge of the process of planning and controlling a project from beginning to end utilizing ways and means of monitoring, saving and controlling costs. Here’s what’s covered:

• Understanding the impact and methodology of construction cost control.
• Ways and means of minimizing and controlling costs on site.
• Project cost forecasting and accounting functions on site.
• Project planning and its purpose and effect on project cost control.
• How to communicate & assist management re: cost methods and control.
• Gain additional insight into the process of work and cost analysis.
• Cost reporting systems – new technology in monitoring costs and reports.
• Understanding the effect improper field reporting has on cost control. Maintaining and managing documents, material, tools and equipment.
• Understanding the Contract process from bidding to project close-out.
• Review of 100 companies and their methods in controlling & saving costs.

You’ll also earn 3 Gold Seal Credits and 16 Group A and 16 Group B CPD Points from BC Housing. You can register for this or any of our other upcoming courses at www.icba.ca/courses.

Interested in booking a private session of any of our training courses? Email our training team at training@icba.ca and they will handle all of the logistics for you.

Our Training Department loves breakfast, and we want you to join us on March 28 for our new Challenges with Shoring Design breakfast session in Burnaby!

Our presenter, Robert Bourdages from Stantec Consulting, will walk you through various earth shoring techniques for building construction including aspects of design and safety. The following shoring methods will be covered:

• Cantilevered walls
• Tied-back walls
• Braced excavations.

There will also be case studies presented relating to the risks of instability during excavation.

Plus, you’ll earn 1.5 Group A CPD Points from BC Housing!

Register for this or any of our upcoming courses at www.icba.ca/courses. While you’re there, subscribe to our biweekly training newsletter at www.icba.ca/trainingnewsletter, or learn about ICBA membership at www.icba.ca/become-a-member. ICBA members save on their registration fees, have access to our apprenticeship program, and more!

We look forward to seeing you in one of our upcoming courses!

Do you feel that change is ever constant and that you’re struggling to keep up? Are you looking for practical tools and approaches that you can take in managing changes that occur? Do you want to successfully lead projects that involve significant changes?

Our Leading and Managing Organizational Change course can help! It will prepare you to manage organizational change and will teach you how to lead and mentor others through these changes. You’ll understand the impacts change has on employees, and what you need to do manage and address any resistance. You’ll also learn practical tips and techniques on how to get your organization or client ready for upcoming changes and impacts. Through a series of hands-on workshops, you’ll develop a deeper understanding on what is involved in successfully adapting to and implementing change, both from a personal and professional perspective.

In this seminar, you’ll:

• Understand the impact change and transitions have on you and your employees;
• Learn how to adapt to and be resilient to change, whether the change is from a people, process, or technology transformation;
• Develop approaches to managing and leading change;
• Use pragmatic tools to help you with anticipating and addressing resistance to change, engaging with stakeholders, and facilitating change.

Our next session is March 18 in Kelowna, followed by May 27 in Victoria and June 11 in Burnaby!

You’ll earn 1 Gold Seal Credit and 7 Group B CPD Points from BC Housing; for more information and to register for this or any of our other upcoming courses, please visit www.icba.ca/courses.

VANCOUVER – The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) has won six prestigious Reed Awards, including being named the 2019 North American Trade Association of the Year, at a ceremony last week in Austin, Texas.

“This is a tremendous honour and reflects the caliber of work being undertaken by the ICBA team in workforce development, public policy advocacy and communications and marketing,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President. “It also highlights ICBA’s willingness to fearlessly speak out on policy issues consistently. Winning North American Trade Association of the Year is external recognition of the team we have built at ICBA and all of the hard work they do every day on behalf of our members.”

ICBA also won Overall Best Web Video – Public Affairs for its Big Gas ad, which has been watched more than 400,000 times on social media. Said Shane Greer, co-publisher of Campaigns & Elections and host of the Reed Awards dinner, “Oh Canada: the Overall Best Web Video – Public Affairs went to the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association for their ‘Get Canada’s Big Gas Moving’ ad… We’ve seen it many times now and still laugh every time.”

ICBA’s Big Gas campaign also won:

• Best International Web Video
• Best Canadian Web Video
• Best International Outdoor Advertising
• Best Canadian Outdoor Advertising

“Our Big Gas campaign caught lightning in a bottle and we’re very proud to see it recognized with these awards,” said Jordan Bateman, ICBA VP-Communications. “Our communications and advocacy work stands with the best in North America and we will continue to strongly, articulately, creatively and passionately make the case for a strong economy and our members’ issues.” Read more