As we start a new year, the CGA board has decided it is time for a new mission and focus for the association. We are determined to deliver value for our members and do what we can as a national association to help the architectural glass industry across the country.
The consistent challenge in every region is access to the skilled labour we need as an industry. This is not a local or even provincial phenomenon, but something that concerns fabricators and contractors in every part of Canada. Yet the response has been regional, with different approaches tried in different areas with little communication of success or failure and little sharing of knowledge when we find something that works. As a national organization, the CGA is in a unique position to knit together the various threads and create a cross-Canada strategy. This could include:
- Promotion of the glazing trades at the high school level
- Creation and promotion of college-level trade courses that meet requirements in any region
- Lobbying governments to invest in apprenticeship programs
- Hosting career fairs
- Populating a national online job board
- Promoting Red Seal certification among glaziers
As a first step, the CGA will be contacting our regional partners to collect information on what works, what doesn’t and what is needed in your area. We need your help! To offer your input, or volunteer your time, please email CGA president David Langton at
dlangton@compglass.com.
Architectural Glass and Metal Contractors Association
The AGMCA is pleased to announce that Noel Marsella became the new executive director of the association at the start of 2018. Noel graciously accepted the position after making the difficult decision to close his glass business of the past 35 years. Having Noel at the helm will provide valuable industry expertise to the many aspects of our association’s representation within the unionized sector of our industry. Noel has clearly demonstrated his dedication to our association over the past four years having served as a director of the AGMCA. Please join us in welcoming Noel onboard. We are confident Noel will guide our association, in the coming years, with enthusiasm, dedication and commitment.
Provincial Glaziers Association of Alberta
Our last meeting was held Nov. 15 and we will have had another one by the time this goes to press. Minutes and reports from our last meeting are on the PGAA’s website. Our Master Glazier program development continues. We remain underway on the development of both structural glazing and specialty glass, with a mandate to maintain efficiencies and to have both courses finished in the first quarter of 2018. This will leave us five courses to develop later in 2018 and beyond. However, the last courses offered up for the fall all had to be rescheduled for lack of participants and we have struggled to get subject matter experts. Just prior to Christmas, we sent out a survey to confirm continued support for the program with our members and we are awaiting responses. The upcoming year looks like another year of mixed blessings. Oil prices rising is a positive, met by the negatives of our NDP government’s changes to the Labour Act, the Workers Compensation Board and occupational health and safety regulations. These are not positive from a business perspective and now we face the spectre of a possible end to NAFTA. These are mixed signals and anything but a clear picture for our economic future.
ONTARIO GLASS AND METAL ASSOCIATION
CLA UPDATE
The Ontario legislature held its third reading of Bill 142 – Construction Lien Amendment Act 2017 on Dec. 5. It was unanimously passed by a vote of 87 to zero and was granted royal assent on Dec. 12. For the whole story, take a look at Frank Fulton’s You Bet Your Glass column in this issue.
Welcome new members!
We’re ecstatic to welcome these great companies who joined us in 2017: AKR Consulting Canada, Goldray Glass, INT machinery, Modular Window Systems, Noram Glass, Ten Plus Architectural Products, Tri-Temp Glass, Vicone High Performance Rubber, and Vision Aluminum.
GRIDLINE DESIGN DRAFTING
Owner Alen Geronimo asked us to let you know that they have outgrown their downtown quarters and have moved to a larger and more accessible office in Mississauga. You can find out more by visiting gridlinedesigndrafting.com.
TOP GLASS
Do yourself a favour and come spend a few hours seeing everybody that’s anybody at Top Glass on Tuesday, April 17. Make sure to stop by OGMA’s table to say hello. If we have it in the budget, we’ll give you a candy.
SPRING GOLF
Mark your calendar for Thursday, May 31, make your plans, arrange your group, and be at Pipers Heath Golf Club. Keep your eyes out for notices as the date approaches.
FALL GOLF
Mark your calendar for Thursday, September 20, make your plans, arrange your group and be at the Country Club in Woodbridge. Keep your eyes out for notices as the date approaches.
AODA’s NEXT HURDLE
In case you missed it, companies had until the end of 2017 to put a new set of accessibility policies and procedures into place. To find out your legal obligations, go to
ontario.ca/page/accessibility-laws.
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