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Canada’s Glass Associations: August 2023

AVFQ
Once again this year, the Omnium AVFQ golf tournament was a great success. Taking place in the very beautiful region of Mont-Tremblant, the 288 golfers and nearly 400 guests for the evening had a memorable day. Places in the tournament sold out in 48 hrs! AVFQ members will be present at the GlassBuild America 2023 exhibition, which is being held at the end of October in Atlanta, thanks to a trade mission organized by our association.

Provincial Glaziers Association of Alberta
The PGAA entered a Try-a-Trade booth at the provincial Skills Canada competition held in Edmonton on May 3 and 4. Volunteers from the industry manned the booth and showed hundreds of junior and senior high school students how to do various tasks within the glazing industry. Students that tried the various aspects of the Try-a-Trade were entered into a raffle to win a new television, which was donated by the PGAA. The individual that won told our volunteers that their family is not wealthy and that their television had just quit working that morning! It was meant to be. Gary Porter has been carrying the torch for the PGAA for some time and has been actively involved in various industry endeavors such as liaising with the Alberta Trade Contractors Council on prompt payment and providing input on the Alberta government’s new Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Education Act (STAE) and Designated Trades Restricted Activities (DTRA) regulation. He called for an annual general meeting of the PGAA on June 16 and through a lot of personal invitations we had 27 member companies in attendance, which was great to see. At the meeting, Jim Brady (against his previous vows not to) volunteered to be president. We also had five new members volunteer to sit on the executive. We have started a committee to work with our education providers to review and update their content. At a meeting yesterday, we discussed revitalizing our member database to communicate effectively; reviving our Certificate of Leadership program; creating a committee to deal with STAE/DTRA; and creating a committee to create a best practices guide with the hopes of creating a PGAA warranty (similar to the Alberta Roofing Contractors Association) in the future. We would then go to specifications writers and ask them to put the warranty requirements into their specs. This would be a long way off, but every journey starts with the first step. Updates to follow.

Architectural Glass and Metal Contractors Association
Our association has a long-standing interest in trade training and skills development and, to that end, we helped establish the Architectural Glass and Metal Technician training program over 40 years ago, with the assistance of the Ontario government and the IUPAT union. Our member contractors believe that apprenticeship training as well as journeyperson skills upgrades are key to maintaining a healthy industry. We have played a major role and continue to participate and oversee the provincial training program administered at the Finishing Trades Institute on Toro Road in Toronto, with a second location on Collonade Road in Ottawa. FTI is the only Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development-authorized training delivery agent for the in-school portion of the apprenticeship program known as 424A, Architectural Glass and Metal Technician, a recognized Red Seal trade. Please note the following upcoming scheduled apprenticeship classes:

TORONTO

• Level 1 and 2 , August 28                     
• Level 2 and 3 , Oct. 23                                            
• Level 1 and 3 , Jan. 2, 2024                                                
• Level 1 and 2, March 4, 2024                                                

OTTAWA

• Level 1 Aug. 28
• Level 1 Oct. 23
• Level 3 Jan. 8, 2024
• Level 2 March 18, 2024

Fenestration Manitoba
On June 1, Fenestration Manitoba launched a tour of the Building Efficiency Technology Access Centre located in the Carsi building at Red River College Polytechnic in Winnipeg. The BETAC research facility offers building envelope research programs for engineering technologists and engineering students to test systems that lead to making buildings more efficient . Many  programs centre on fenestration products and installations. Manitoba has severe climate conditions with temperatures ranging from minus 40 to plus 40 C. The equipment that is needed to test to those temperatures is located in BETAC. Also included are test facilities for water and wind load. Programs are supervised by highly qualified engineers that have spent decades involved in window and door projects in residential and commercial conditions. Funding for the research and development for fenestration products is also available. Many in attendance were able to get a good knowledge of the detail that the centre offers. 

Ontario Glass and Metal Association
The OGMA spring golf tournament was held on June 14 at the Glen Eagle Golf Club in Bolton, Ont. We had an excellent turnout for the tournament and the weather cooperated for the most part. The fall golf tournament will be held on Sept. 14 at Woodington Lake Golf Club in Tottenham, Ont. The OGMA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Brian Wiles at the spring golf tournament. Brian has been in the glass industry for more than 45 years, working for Indal Products, Armourguard, Richmond Hill Glass, Protemp, Walker Glass, and BVGlazing. Brian has been an active member of the OGMA and its predecessor, the Metro Toronto Glass Association, since 1990, serving as director for more than 30 years and acting as treasurer for many of those years. Steve Ringler, president of the OGMA, and Noel Marsella, president of the AGMCA, presented the joint $1,000 spring bursary award to Luke Parkin at the spring golf tournament. Congratulations, Luke, on being selected by your instructors.