LATEST NEWS
March 31, 2008
Trades Contracting
Trade contractors’ coalition adopts VRCA’s best-practices guide
The Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) best practices guide for trade contractors has gone national.
The document was recently adopted by the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) at a recent meeting
“We agree with pretty much everything in the document,” said Richard McKeagan, with the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada and the NTCC.
He said that the coalition first became aware of the document when it was brought forward as an information item with the Canadian Construction Association’s (CCA) trades council.
The NTCCC liked what they saw.
“We took a look at the document and said, well done. This should go out to all contractors,” McKeagan
He added that his group received permission from the VRCA to circulate the document to its membership.
McKeagan said that he’s already received feedback from an electrical contractor in Alberta who called the best practices guide ‘the greatest thing since sliced bread’.
The document covers a number of areas of interest to contractors.
It includes statements on responsibility for extra charges, project schedules and even having a suitable space on a jobsite for storage of materials included in the construction document.
The best practices guide also covers general site safety requirements and warranty periods.
McKeagan said that the NTCCC realizes that some parts of the VRCA best practices guide are regional in nature, but that the document is still an important tool.
“It’s to advise the industry at large about the rights and privileges of trade contractors,” he said. “We are together and we do agree on the document.”
Keith Sashaw, VRCA president, said that he’s glad the best practices guide was adopted by the NTCCC.
“We’re pleased that others see value in the best practices guide,” he said. “It’s designed to provide some guidance.”
Sashaw said that developing the document took effort.
“It took our members a long time to come to an agreement,” he said. “It’s what we feel is a well balanced document.”
The NTCCC was formed in 2004 and is a forum for Canada’s national trade organizations.
The NTCC’s decision to adopt the document comes weeks after similar consideration was turned down by the CCA during their annual convention in Victoria. The general contractors’ council had several issues with the wording of the document.
| MOST POPULAR STORIES |
- Government takes over Northwest Territories P3 bridge project
- Venues decommissioned in Olympic afterglow
- Construction restarting on hospital in Fort St. John, British Columbia
- Dominion Construction gets two B.C. contracts
- Hogg’s Hollow tragedy changed Ontario’s construction industry
- 20 Most Popular Stories
| TODAY’S TOP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS |
These projects have been selected from 371 projects with a total value of $1,380,346,147 that Reed Construction Data Building Reports reported on yesterday.
$55,000,000 Winnipeg MB CANCELLED/ DEFERRED
CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT, COMMERCIAL & HOTEL ALTS
$50,000,000 Vancouver BC Prebid
$30,000,000 Wainwright AB Prebid
| CURRENT STORIES |
- Venues decommissioned in Olympic afterglow
- Canadian Construction Association chair bids farewell
- Wood being considered as preferred building material for federal projects
- Grizzly Oil Sands seeks approval for project near Fort McMurray
- Search continues for sustainable architecture
- Seven British Columbia communities sign Wood First agreements
- U.S. construction employment declines in January
- Ottawa unveils plan to cut red tape
- Canadian Construction Association awards highlight excellence
- Pride, sadness as Hogg's Hollow memorial unveiled
- Commemorative quilt gets permanent home
- ‘Sandhogs’ who perished had diverse personal stories
- Coverage of Hogg’s Hollow tragedy anniversary should be required reading
- Pursuit of LEED could result in professional negligence, insurance executive warns
- New Brunswick to cover debts of troubled Atcon Group
- Ex-Quebec minister says Liberals got ‘generous’ donations from construction sector
- Regulatory delays hinder start of Mackenzie Gas Project
- Las Vegas CityCenter general contractor Perini Building suing MGM Mirage
| ALEX’S ECONOMICS BLOG |

Reed Construction Data Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in the North American economic environment with emphasis on the construction industry.
- Sub-sector investment spending intentions from Statistics Canada’s latest survey (March 17, 2010)
- A dozen incredible measurement sets on Canada’s changing ethnic mix (March 9, 2010)
- How fragile is recovery around the world? (March 3, 2010)
- More

| PROJECT NEWS BRIEFS |
Updates on Canadian construction projects from Reed Construction Data’s research team. More 
- Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects begin work on arena plans for Flamborough, Ontario (Aug 17, 2009)
- Orillia Market Square aims for LEED Silver certification (Jun 25, 2009)
- Designs for new York Region District School Board building features energy efficiency (Jun 23, 2009)
- IPC Energy considers Milford location for future wind farm (May 22, 2009)
- Waterloo partnership seeks LEED Silver for West Side Family YMCA and District Library (May 22, 2009)



