Features Association news
Canada’s Glass Associations- March 2023

AVFQ
The entire AVFQ team is already preparing for its 2023 Annual Conference, which is being held at the beautiful Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in the Charlevoix region from April 26 to 28. This year’s theme is:  Transition: Will you be part of the movement?  The conferences will focus on digital transformation, equipment but also on human resources and how to support them well through these changes. An exhibition is in the program as well as the Gala des Prix Lumieres aimed at rewarding projects across seven categories. Registrations are underway at avfq.ca. With regard to digital transformation, the AVFQ has obtained significant funding to support its members and their teams. We are offering several training courses on team management in the context of changes as well as building information modeling. These training videos will allow the AVFQ to offer a range of tools and training to its members, helping them to successfully enter the digital world. The AVFQ is currently working in conjunction with the Regie du batiment du Quebec, which is the organization that issues licenses for construction contractors. The steps are aimed at modifying the categories of licenses for doors and windows so that future holders are required to pass exams to obtain their license in addition to taking mandatory training. Thus, the objective of increasing the quality in construction would be pursued. The scarcity of labour is of course affecting window and door manufacturers and glaziers. The AVFQ has developed a video presenting the professions in our industry and hopes it will attract new people. A solid visibility plan will allow wide distribution in order to reach a very large number of prospects. The AVFQ continues to offer the FIT window installers training which presents good practices with regard to the CSA A440.4:19 standard. The training is available in English and French. It allows you to acquire the knowledge to take the installer certification program exam. Several other trainings are also offered, including curtainwall installation, CSA A500:16 standard for building guards and project management in construction. The AVFQ is the industry’s leading association for its 220 members.

Provincial Glaziers Association of Alberta
The Provincial Glaziers Association of Alberta has seen relatively little activity due to time constraints and a lack of volunteers. Shortages of workers in the industry has led to shortages of time for all. We did find the time to read through the Alberta government’s new Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Act and a subsidiary document, Designated Trades and Restricted Activities Regulations, which lays out glazing as a restricted trade with a specific set of restrictions. These include only having registered journeypeople or registered apprentices doing our work, with a ratio of two apprentices to one journeyperson – but allowing those deemed qualified by the employer, with no criteria listed, to carry out the work of a journeyperson. And no mention of how this will be enforced. It appears that there are no longer compulsory trades. Subsequently, the PGAA sent a list of queries to Mike Fernandez, the assistant deputy minister of advanced education, on Feb. 10 and received a response with partial answers the next day. Mike himself is the registrar and administrator for all trades. On the balance of our queries, there seems to be no criteria and no enforcement. Mike had proposed a meeting with our group and asked John Brosda from apprenticeship delivery and support services to set up a meeting to discuss our queries, but this had yet to happen as of Feb. 24.  The PGAA has committed to a Try-A-Trade Booth at Skills Canada’s Alberta Competitions, May 3 and 4 in Edmonton. Volunteers are currently being sought for this event. Our website, pgaa.ca, was down on Feb. 10 but was back up the next day. The assumption is that the website was hacked. In early March, as the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology first-year glazier class begins, the PGAA will be supplying all students with a $500 bursary to help them bridge the transition to employment insurance, as was done for Southern Alberta Institute of Technology students in January. The PGAA will also need to have an annual general meeting in March and will need a quorum of members to move forward. Gary Porter and Mei Whyte also attended the Alberta Trade Contractors Coalition Champagne Toast for Terry Milot, chairman, to celebrate his Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for his work on the Prompt Payment Act. It was a nice event attended by a number of ATCC people and Bill Black of the Canadian Construction Association, who also received the same award, for his work on COVID documentation and safety procedures. There were a lot of great conversations on the new Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Education Act. Terry was meeting with the minister for advanced education, Demetrios Nicolaides, the following Monday and Gary forwarded several of our concerns on to Terry over the weekend.

Architectural Glass and Metal Contractors Association
From time to time, the AGMCA uses this space to highlight some of our member companies. This month we salute Redspire Architectural Glass. Redspire is a long-standing AGMCA member glazing contractor, with a strong history of performance and reliability in our industry. It was founded in 2012 by John Mastrofini, John Stewart and Steve Mastrofini. Each founding partner brought with them unique and valuable skill sets. John Mastrofini has been providing design and engineering services to our industry for over 40 years, and in fact wrote the Glazing Systems Specification Manual in cooperation with the AGMCA and OGMA. John Stewart is Redspire’s operations manager with many years of hands-on experience gained from his background as a journeyman glazier. He has overseen several high-profile projects in the Greater Toronto Area. Steve Mastrofini has been providing design and engineering services to our industry since 2002. As a computer engineer, Steve combines his software skills with his understanding of curtainwall systems to provide unparalleled efficiency to the Redspire team. When Redspire was first formed, they worked out of a 4,000 squafre-foot shop in Caledon, Ont., with an original team of six employees. Over the years, through hard work and determination, Redspire gained a reputation for quality and reliability and today has grown into a new 14,000-square-foot facility in Brampton, Ont., with a team of 42 employees. They specialize in podium glazing, custom facade and entrance glazing, interior glazing, glass guards and balustrades, oversized glass, decorative glazing as well as curtainwall. Architects and owners look to the AGMCA as a source for trusted glazing contractor services, and Redspire certainly fits that bill. To contact the team at Redspire, please email them at info@redspire.ca. To find out more about the AGMCA, please contact us at info@agmca.ca.

Fenestration Manitoba
The board of directors of Fenestration Manitoba, with support from executive director Marcie Wilson, continues to abide by its mission to continue to promote high quality manufacturing, design and marketing of all types of window and door products. We are proud to be serving our members and are excited for what 2023 holds for our organization and industry. Manitoba has a long history of developments for window and door products. Triple IG units, low-E coatings, use of non-conductive spacers, PVC window frames, fiberglass window components, composite components and wood window systems all had their launch in the factories of manufactures in Manitoba. In my travels to meet many of our members, I am amazed at seeing the use of new products and manufacturing systems and it is clear to me that Manitoba has not lost that entrepreneurial spirit and continues to lead our industry. Because Manitoba is a province of less than 1.3 million people, our local fenestration industry has always been focused not only on selling quality windows and doors within our province, but also markets across Canada and the United States. Knowing that the innovations that originated in Manitoba are used around North America and in some cases the world, is a source of pride for Fenestration Manitoba and its members. This year, Fenestration Manitoba will have a strong focus on building relationships with educational facilities here in Manitoba. RRC Polytech is developing certification programs for the proper installation techniques of windows and doors. We are excited to work with RRC Polytech on this important step for the fenestration industry that is of great importance to our members. We will begin discussions of what this will look like at a tour and presentation at the Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure (CARSI) at RRC Polytech’s Notre Dame campus in April. Watch for more details at fenestrationmanitoba.ca and we hope you can join us. Glass suppliers such as Cardinal, Vitro, and Guardian are also making some significant upgrades to new performance coatings. Fenestration Manitoba continually seeks to have them involved in updating our membership on new codes and product developments for Manitoba’s cold climate. We continue to have important conversations with the Manitoba provincial governments to advocate on behalf of our members for the continuation of incentives for the replacement of windows and doors as well as to expand these programs to other areas of new construction. These programs are key and we are working hard to ensure the government understands how important they are to Fenestration Manitoba members. Our board has made the difficult decision to postpone the FenCon Show to spring of 2024 for many reasons that all connect back to ensuring that FenCon is the well-attended and informative discussion for the window and door industry it has always been. Fenestration Manitoba is excitedly planning for next spring and we look forward to seeing you all at FenCon in 2024. Fenestration Manitoba is grateful for the important relationships with other industry organizations such as Fenestration Canada, FGIA , AVFQ and many others. We are grateful for what we learn from one another when we work together. We encourage members to seek out additional memberships that will strengthen their operations and invite members from other organizations to join Fenestration Manitoba and attend our events. It is through these important partnerships that we all can make the industry stronger and better. Thank you to all our fenestration partners across Canada for all that you are doing.

Ontario Glass and Metal Association
The Ontario Glass and Metal Association is excited to announce the addition of five new members to our board of directors:  April Donvito, Eric Diotte, Mahendra Ohujja, John Rania, and Robert Casinelli have accepted positions on the board, joining us at our board meeting in March. Visit ogma.ca in the coming weeks for more information about these new appointments. The OGMA is happy to announce that, for the first time since 2019, we are once again recognizing outstanding work in glass and metal construction in Ontario with our Awards for Excellence.

April Donvito

Eric Diotte

John Rania

Mahendra Ojh

Robert Casinelli

There are two awards: one for excellence in execution and one for excellence in design. Any OGMA member in good standing and/or Ontario Architect Association architect is eligible to win an award for a project completed in Ontario. Members of the OGMA (in good standing) may submit as many nominations as they wish. Visit ogma.ca/award-for-excellence-in-design-and-execution for a full list of criteria and to download the nomination form. Projects nominated will be reviewed by a volunteer panel of judges. Nominations close on March 31, with the awards being presented at Top Glass on April 19. Winners will receive their award at the show and have their submissions promoted on our website. To nominate yourself or another project participant, email Steve Gusterson at s.gusterson@alumicor.com.  Speaking of Top Glass OGMA will be exhibiting at the show, with members of our board of directors in attendance. Be sure to stop by our booth to say hello. We will also be returning to the Glen Eagle Golf Club in Bolton, Ontario, for our annual Spring Golf Tournament. Be sure to note Wednesday, June 14, and watch your inbox for more details. •