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Green Building

July 3, 2008

RAIC supports 2030 Challenge with carbon-neutral building wiki

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has launched a “wiki” site to enable architects to exchange information on making buildings carbon-neutral by 2030.

July 3, 2008

Communities still waiting for Building Canada Fund to disperse infrastructure money

The Toronto Star is reporting that many Canadian cities have yet to see a dime of the billions of dollars in federal funding that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set aside for infrastructure projects last year.

July 3, 2008

Sydney Tar Ponds Agency bars Sierra Club from clean-up committee

The Sierra Club of Canada has been barred from having a voice on a Sydney tar ponds cleanup committee because of its constant questioning of the $400-million project, says an official for the environmental group.

July 3, 2008

IFD Library Partners work to establish standards for creators of BIM software

In April 2008, four groups collectively called the “IFD Library Partners” mdash; along with buildingSMART Alliance and International Code Council (ICC)— co-sponsored a North American workshop in Washington, D.C. Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) was among the groups participating in the effort to promote standards that will help to bring BIM into wider use

July 2, 2008

Saskatechewan construction industry recruiters head overseas

The Saskatchewan government recently led a delegation, including representatives from the construction industry, on a recruitment mission to the Philippines and Ukraine.

July 2, 2008

Analysts call end to housing boom in Canada

The Canadian housing market has ceased to be a sellers’ market in both the residential and the recreational sectors, meaning the boom experienced over the past few years is over, analysts say.

June 30, 2008

Diamond + Schmitt incorporate water stewardship into Cambridge city hall design

When Diamond + Schmitt Architects set out to design Cambridge’s new green city hall, development of a comprehensive water management strategy was a key agenda item.

June 30, 2008

Canadian Construction Association committee suggests owners educate contractors involved in LEED projects

The Canadian Construction Association’s (CCA) chief operating officers’ committee would like to see owners step up to the plate and ensure contractors are up to speed on LEED.

June 27, 2008

Funding boost for Algonquin College’s skilled trades training centre earns construction-industry praise

Ontario’s $35 million funding boost for Algonquin College’s new skilled trades training centre is the type of commitment needed to tackle future industry labour shortages, says the Canadian Construction Association (CCA).

June 26, 2008

Video Interview: Jeff Morrison prepares to take helm of Association of Canadian Engineering Companies

The Association of Canadian Engineering Companies (ACEC) has chosen Jeff Morrison as its new president and chief operating officer, beginning July 14, 2008. In this video interview, Morrison talks about some of the on-going concerns of the ACEC and the organization’s priorities in the future.

June 26, 2008

Durham Consolidated Courthouse project team targets LEED Silver

The Durham Consolidated Courthouse project, currently under construction in Oshawa, will be the government of Ontario’s first building to receive the Canada Green Building Council's (CaGBC's) LEED Silver certification for incorporating environmentally-sustainable construction practices and energy-efficient design.

June 26, 2008

RCCAO calls for Lake Simcoe infrastructure plan consistent with provincial growth strategy

The way growth in the Lake Simcoe area proceeds is important to the construction industry because planned and diverse growth will provide more project opportunities, one association says.

June 25, 2008

TAI WIND Consortium aims to build wind-power turbines and equipment in Canada

The creation of an offshore wind-power consortium to develop capacity for this green technology in North America will make Ontario a leader in the sector, says John Kourtoff, president and CEO of Trillium Power.

June 25, 2008

Wind power offers long-term potential for Ontario jobs

The launching of the TAI WIND Consortium to help push the offshore wind-power manufacturing agenda in Ontario can result in thousands of jobs.

June 24, 2008

British Columbia housing minister explains province’s “green” building code

The government of British Columbia is taking a leading role in Canada to reduce greenhouse gases with the “greening” of its building code, the province’s housing minister Rich Coleman says.

June 24, 2008

Saskatchewan opens door to nuclear power

A “bonanza” of uranium and a government keen on opening the door to nuclear power has energy companies circulating Saskatchewan in hopes of flipping the switch on a reactor.

June 23, 2008

Consulting Engineers of Ontario to become Association of Canadian Engineering Companies of Ontario

The board of Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO) has been given a mandate to proceed with changing the organization’s name to the Association of Canadian Engineering Companies of Ontario (ACEC Ontario).

June 23, 2008

Culture of Canada’s design, construction industries turns green, too

Judging from comments at the recent Shifting Into the Mainstream conference in Toronto, the design and construction industries are practising what they preach about sustainable building and care for the environment in general.

June 23, 2008

AGC’s “Building to LEED for New Construction” course wins approval

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) has announced its Building to LEED for New Construction: Overview and the Impact on Construction Practices course curriculum has been reviewed and approved through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Education Provider Program.

June 20, 2008

Ultra high-performance concrete formulation extends material’s limits

When I first wrote about ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) almost seven years ago, it was a new product that had grown out of a concept that was, itself, little more than a decade old, writes Daily Commercial News columnist Korky Koroluk.

June 20, 2008

Construction begins on Evergreen, Canada’s largest low-rise, green community

Evergreen is $100-million joint development by Toronto-based Monarch Corporation and the Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO).

June 20, 2008

Design, construction help Trillium Health Centre attain LEED Silver status

The Trillium Health Centre’s recently completed Clinical and Administration Building in Mississauga could be one of the first, if not the first, building of its kind to achieve a LEED Silver.

June 20, 2008

Construction and engineering firms Verreault and Dessau join forces

Dessau President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jean-Pierre Sauriol, and the President of Verreault, Mr. Michel Verreault, announced on June 19, 2008, that they are uniting their companies to create one of Canada’s largest engineering-construction groups.

June 18, 2008

Trillium Power and First Nations Technical Institute strike training, education agreement

Trillium Power Wind and the First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) have completed a bilateral agreement which will offer a wide range of training and educational opportunities to First Nations members.

June 18, 2008

CaGBC pilot project proves value of energy-measurement tools for commercial buildings

A recently completed Canada Green Building Council pilot project on the management and operation of commercial buildings proved to be a valuable experience for the owners and managers of those buildings, delegates to the Shifting into the Mainstream onference in Toronto were told.

June 18, 2008

Saskatchewan Transportation builds Regina bus terminal to LEED standards

Construction crews are busy putting the finishing touches on the new $25.5 million Regina terminal and offices for the Saskatchewan Transportation Co.

June 17, 2008

Design, construction industries prove quick to adapt to climate change

With their embrace of green principles, the design and construction industries have proven to be more adaptable in responding to climate change than governments and auto manufacturers, says Canada Green Building Council chair Peter Busby.

June 17, 2008

Local 793 strikes back at Runciman

Recent comments made by provincial opposition leader Bob Runciman about funding for an operating engineer training centre being politically motivated are way off base, say officials for the union involved.

June 16, 2008

CCA develops public-private partnership education program for members

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is setting up a task force to ensure its members are up to speed on public-private partnerships.

June 16, 2008

Caribbean offers opportunities for Canadian construction industry

The Caribbean is not just a place for sunny vacations but also a destination of work opportunities for the Canadian construction industry, according to Export Development Canada (EDC).

June 13, 2008

Lack of infrastructure investment could stall Saskatchewan economy, report finds

Saskatchewan is experiencing an economic boom driven by the agriculture and commodity sectors, but the province must address specific challenges if this growth is to be sustained in the long run, according to TD Economics.

June 13, 2008

Korky Koroluk: Ferrous metallurgy takes leap forward into the future

The ancient field of ferrous metallurgy has taken a leap forward that could lead to stronger steel for use in everything from cars to buildings, oil rigs to bridges. It could also mean using less steel in those applications.

June 13, 2008

IBM signs on to “green” data-centre project in British Columbia

IBM has signed an agreement to help build a $75 million, 150,000-square-foot “green” data centre in the heart of British Columbia with gigaCENTER Services Corporation, in partnership with RackForce Networks.

June 12, 2008

Trillium Power and St. Lawrence College sign “green-collar” training deal

Ontario offshore and onshore wind-power development received a large gust of support with a recently minted agreement between Trillium Power Wind Corporation and St. Lawrence College.

June 12, 2008

Toronto’s green development policies earn passing grade

Toronto’s green development standard is slowly taking flight, construction advocates and city officials say.

June 11, 2008

Early reports suggest that newer commercial buildings did withstand Chinese earthquake

Amid the sorrow and recovery, the early forecast is that many newer commercial buildings in the earthquake-ravaged provinces have sustained little or no damage from the May 12 quake and continued aftershocks rattling the rural region.

June 11, 2008

CaGBC sets a green example with LEED CI Gold designation for Vancouver office

If you want to change the world, you have to be prepared to show how it can be done. The Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC), the national industry organization advancing green building practices and holding the first national summit on green building today and tomorrow, is trying to do just that, most recently through the certification of its Vancouver office as LEED CI Gold.

June 11, 2008