Canadian Glass Association
The Canadian Glass Association hosted its Annual General Meeting on June 3 at the CGA Glass Connections conference in Saskatoon, Sask. Filled to maximum capacity, it was the largest AGM the association has held to date. In keeping with the record-breaking theme, the association also almost doubled the size of its board of directors, increasing from six to 10 members. The increase was due solely to interested participants who want to continue the growth and direction of the association, and each will serve a two-year term. The new board also elected its officers for the next two years: Chris Johnson, president; Richard Verdon, vice-president; Dennis Haatvedt, treasurer; and Brent Wihlidal, secretary.
Due both to the active participation of association members, and the new individuals who are interested in growing the glass and glazing industry in Canada, the CGA has a host of notable achievements that it shared with the membership. The association has joined the GANA Glazing Industry Code Committee, which will provide CGA a voice and vote on code issues relating to the industry. It has re-established the CGA Technical Committee. The Committee will work on code positions within GICC, along with working on other technical issues as they arise in the association. We are also collaborating with GANA to provide CGA members the ability to attend GANA events at a reduced rate. The CGA has committed to working with the provincial associations to connect each other and the work that they do to serve all of Canada. CGA members will have access to GANA manuals at a reduced rate, providing a CGA member rate and a non-member rate.
Ontario Glass and Metal Association
The Ontario Attorney General has commissioned a review of the Construction Lien Act. The OGMA has approached the commission to present the concerns of our industry to the review panel. In addition, we have invested $10,000 with an organization of construction trade associations called Prompt Payment Ontario, which was formed for the sole purpose of ensuring the interests of our industry and other trades are heard throughout the review process. The outcome of this review could be the most important piece of legislation in decades and could make a huge difference in your ability to be paid for work. For more information, please read Frank Fulton’s column in the June issue of Glass Canada and get involved. We’ll only get one shot at this and your input could make the difference.
We’d like to extend a warm welcome to members who have recently joined the OGMA: Abaco Glass, Gridline Design Drafting, Panda Windows and Doors/Façade Plus and Samuel Specialty Metals Ontario. Please extend them a greeting at an upcoming event.
Race Nite took place on June 24 and was a resounding success. Everybody had an outstanding time in the posh surroundings of the Munning Room at the Woodbine Racetrack. Some even made enough money to take a day off.
OGMA Fall Golf is just around the corner on Thursday, Sept. 17. For the first time, we’re going to be playing the New Course at the Hidden Lake Golf Club; one of the latest additions to the ClubLink stable of courses. Our Spring Golf event was sold out and we were forced to turn people away so make sure to book early when you get the flyer.
Provincial Glazing Association of Alberta
One of the initiatives of the PGAA is our participation in the Skills Canada competition. The annual province-wide event draws 10,000-plus high school students from all over Alberta. Its purpose is to introduce young people to the 80 trades that make up the event. While our glazing trade does not participate in the competition side of the event, we are able to introduce potential glaziers to the trade with our “Try-A-Trade” booths. The volunteer-intensive event was a huge success thanks to the 40-plus volunteers who assisted at our booths. Our glazier Try-A-Trade booths were among the busiest at Skills. Over 60 students attended the booths – an increase of 20 per cent over last year. These potential glaziers got a taste of the glazing trade with hands-on experience at three different stations. Station One was glass cutting, the second was curtain wall cap application and the third was base shoe glazing. These three stations kept our volunteers busy from opening to closing on both days and often there was a line-up to participate. For most of the students, this was their first exposure to the glazing industry. Every student who successfully completed the three stations received a t-shirt. The PGAA also added a women-only interactive booth that was new to this years’ event. The booth was separate from our main booth and required a duplicate set of displays for the ladies. Demonstrations were handled very competently by a group of female glaziers from PGAA member companies. Your association has put a lot of time and energy into this event. We need more trades people and Skills Canada provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our trade. Your support enabled us to attract these future glaziers. An event of this magnitude does not happen without the support of many dedicated people. Thanks to Lynn Allan, our PGAA director of education, Rick Makepeace, our Glass Trades Association of Northern Alberta president and Clint McCulloch, our Edmonton SAIT campus glazing instructor. To our participating PGAA members, thank you for allowing your staff to support the event. They were enthusiastic and represented the trade and your company well. We look forward to working with you at next year’s Skills.
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