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Canada’s Glass Associations: April 2021

Fenestration Association of BC
By the time you read this, we will have held our Annual Technical Conference and AGM in an online format. The program included “Fenestration: A technical accessibility perspective” by Samantha Proloux of ABE Factors;  “Designing with structural laminated glass interlayers” by Mark Jacobson of Kuraray America; the Code Talkers acoustics panel;  “Process to certify to Passive House Standards” by Chris Petit of Passive House Canada;  “Decontaminating glass surfaces by Mike Hammond of Vitro Architectural Glass; and “How to uncover the truth about ERP before you buy by Andy Pratico of Essential Software Solutions.

The FenBC Annual General Meeting was held at the beginning of the day’s events. Compulsory certification is included in the B.C. Ministerial Mandate Letters.  Some of you remember when compulsory certificate was in effect here in BC in the 1990’s.  FenBC is looking for your feedback. What do you think about the current government wanting to reinstate compulsory certification here in BC?  Right now there are no details on what this program will look like. We are conducting very preliminary surveys to see what the FenBC membership would prefer. 

AVFQ
On Feb. 17 and 18 the AVFQ held its virtual Annual Conference. Despite being virtual, it had a very strong participation. The conferences and workshops covered several important subjects. It ended with financial forecasts from the chief economist at Desjardins. The AGM was also held. Lisa Bergeron is continuing as the chairperson of the board of directors for 2021 to 2022.  An official collaboration agreement between the AVFQ and the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance has been finalized, allowing the development of mutual synergies that will enable the two organizations to support their respective members. The collaboration agreement was formalized on Dec. 17, 2020. We are very proud of this new partnership with FGIA! In January, the AVFQ offered a new service to its members: an Action or Consequence awareness program aimed at preventing psychological and/or sexual harassment in the workplace. Thanks to the financial support of CNESST (the Quebec labour safety agency), we have developed various tools that can be used within companies. The program is free and reserved only for employees of member companies of the AVFQ. The new chapter 1.1 Building Efficiency Act in Quebec has been in effect since June 27, 2020, and our industry must comply with it no later than Dec. 27, 2021. The AVFQ has, therefore, requested UL experts to develop a specific training module to help AVFQ members prepare for this transformation. Quebec has adopted a bill that moves 181 major infrastructure projects ahead, all of which will be beneficial for our industry. 

Provincial Glaziers Association of Alberta
PGAA activities have been on hiatus due to the pandemic. We will return to normal operations as soon as it is safe to do so and have more updates for the industry.

Architectural Glass and Metal Contractors Association
Once again this month, the AGMCA turns the spotlight on its volunteer directors. This month, we salute Tim Isaak of Peninsula Glass. Peninsula Glass was founded in 1972 by Tim’s dad, Peter. Tim started working for his dad on weekends during high school. Upon graduating with a diploma in technology, Tim worked for several industry companies, including Tri City Glass, Merit Glass, Commercial Aluminum and U.S. Aluminum. He also worked for Riverside Glass in B.C., and for a while joined Aralco in the Cayman Islands. Tim returned to the Niagara Region and Peninsula Glass in 2001 when his father became ill. The next year, Tim and his sister Nancy took over the business, which they jointly run to this day. The business has grown from a base of seven employees to a level of 20 to 30 employees. In 2011, Tim and Nancy decided to relocate Peninsula Glass to a larger home on Niagara St. in Welland, Ont. Today, Peninsula Glass has both a commercial and residential component. A large part of its commercial work is curtain walls, storefronts and automatic doors, as well as a host of other offerings, while its residential division handles anything from broken windows to shower enclosures. In 2018, Tim took an interest in the Service and Commercial Agreement negotiations with the union and became a director of the AGMCA. Tim provides the board with valuable input, and represents the Hamilton Niagara region on our provincial steering committee. He was an important voice on our negotiation team during the 2019 collective bargaining period. Tim can be reached at tim@peninsulaglass.ca

Ontario Glass and Metal Association
The OGMA is pivoting to find new ways to deliver value to our members since our bread-and-butter live events can’t go forward. Watch your inbox and ogma.ca for a series of educational white papers prepared by OGMA members. The first one, by OGMA vice-president Jeff Makimoto (TAGG)  will address the issue of inspecting finished aluminum products. More will be rolling out through the year. The year 2020 has been very difficult for many of us and it has been especially challenging for the OGMA.  All of our events are geared towards physical attendance, which we were not able to do.  Because of this the OGMA will not be charging any dues in 2021 to companies that had paid their 2020 invoice. Although we will not be holding our spring golf tournament in 2021, we are hopeful that circumstances have improved to the point that we will be able to pull off our fall golf tournament that is booked for Sept. 23 at the Country Club in Woodbridge. With the release of multiple vaccines there is light at the end of the tunnel and we plan to resume events next year as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.  We hope to see all of you in person next year and resume our role as the networking facilitator of our industry.  Also, don’t miss OGMA president Andrew Dolphin’s turn at the microphone on the GlassTalk podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.•