BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2017–2018
Executive Committee
Chairman
Allan Barilla
Morsky Construction Ltd.
1st Vice Chairman
Kevin Arneson
Allan Construction
2nd Vice Chairman
Trevor Nabe
AECON Transportation West Inc.
Past Chairman
Carmen Duncan
C. Duncan Construction Ltd.
President
Shantel Lipp
SHCA
Directors
Sean Wilson
G.W. Construction Ltd.
David Paslawski
ASL Paving Ltd.
Michael Cardinal
Consolidated Construction Co.
Devin Rushton
Inland Aggregates, a Division of LeHigh
Hanson Materials Limited
Jonas Short
BLS Asphalt Inc
Ron Smith
W.F. Botkin Construction Ltd.
Harley Diederichs
Potzus Paving & Road Maintenance Ltd.
Josh Safronetz
H.J.R. Asphalt Ltd.
Mary Panteluk
Kelly Panteluk Construction Ltd.
SHCA Staff
Finance Officer
Ellie Weare
Administrative Assistant
Monisha Joysuree-Caullechurn
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
We saw the storm clouds
on the horizon for some
time. Forecasters had
given ample warning.
The 2017–18 provincial budget, we were
told, would be a difficult one to digest.
When Premier Brad Wall and Finance
Minister Kevin Doherty unveiled the bud-get,
many Saskatchewanians were levelled
with a deluge of shortcomings.
Our industry was no stranger to bud-get
cuts, as we received nearly $15 mil-lion
less than we did one year ago. But we
in the heavy construction sector feel we
have dodged much of the storm’s feroci-ty.
We know the damage could have been a
lot worse.
Thanks to a solid relationship with the
provincial government, we feel they lis-tened
to our requests and agreed with us
that now is the time to continue our push
to grow Saskatchewan through trade and
transportation infrastructure.
We received $860.8 million in this year’s
budget to use to enhance our existing
roads and highways and build more. We’re
confident this funding will allow us to
reach our goals we set at the beginning of
the year.
AL BARILLA, CHAIRMAN, SHCA
However, we do understand there are
new challenges associated with this budget.
Yes, the PST rose and its imposition on
numerous new items, including the total
contract price that our customers pay. In
the past, the inclusion of PST was simply
embedded in the price as part of the cost.
Will this slow business in our indus-try?
There might be an initial sticker price
shock before we settle into the norm, but
we’re hopeful that when it comes to proj-ects
like highway upgrades, it will be busi-ness
as usual.
Be thankful our provincial sales tax
didn’t jump higher – Manitobans are pay-ing
eight per cent PST. Industry leaders in
Alberta are grappling with a newly imposed
carbon tax, a reality we don’t contend with
on our side of the border.
The sun still shines in Saskatchewan de-spite
an unpopular budget. Our government
remains committed to road and highway in-frastructure,
with close to $2.7 billion over
four years earmarked for the enhancement
of our provincial highway system, in addi-tion
to the completion of the Regina Bypass.
We’re thankful the government contin-ues
to invest in our industry. After all, it
does help to drive our economy.
Investing in
Saskatchewan
“But we in the heavy construction
sector feel we have dodged
much of the storm’s ferocity.
We know the damage could
have been a lot worse.”
saskheavy.ca | Quarter 2 2017 | Think BIG 7
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