CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION
CCA Leading the Industry by
Championing the
Issues that Matter
The By Mary Van Buren, president, Canadian Construction Association Canadian Construction
Association (CCA)’s centennial
anniversary last year put
in motion several strategic initiatives in
support of our five-year plan, and more
importantly, identified concrete steps to
follow to deliver on our vision to “Build a
better Canada.”
Increasing our influence
with government
With the federal election only months away,
CCA is building on the momentum from
last year’s Hill Day with a website dedicated
to advocate our issues directly to members
of parliament and election candidates.
The website, launched June 20, champions
national issues that matter to our
members around strengthening investor
confidence, long-term infrastructure planning,
supporting innovation and attracting
a skilled and diverse workforce. It also
includes an online advocacy tool whereby
members can easily send a pre-populated
letter to their local MP or election
candidate to push our agenda forward
with government.
Planning for our Hill at Home day is also
well underway. CCA is setting up meetings
for chief operating officers of local associations,
our board and corporate members
to meet with their local MP to discuss the
issues we want to advance during the election
and beyond.
The association has also spearheaded
a campaign to celebrate the industry and
its importance to Canada with the very
first National Construction Day on Nov. 26,
2019. Stay tuned for more details on this
special day.
Through these initiatives and others,
CCA has increased its advocacy efforts, developing
targeted campaigns and responding
proactively to issues that arise.
Advocating against
foreign lobbying in
Canada
Initiated by the Alberta Construction
Association, CCA worked with the Industry
and Regulatory Affairs (IARA) committee
to develop a policy to address foreign
agents who are investing millions of dollars
in groups that are lobbying against the
construction of pipelines. CCA’s board approved
a policy for CCA to now advocate
for a ban on foreign money for domestic
organizations and groups seeking to lobby
the federal government on issues that could
have an impact on investor confidence in
Canada and the development and approval
of projects.
Enhancing member
services
Gold Seal online
The Gold Seal Certification program’s transition
to online exams included everything
from an update to the application portal to
the actual exams themselves. Moving to a
digital platform enhanced the experience
as well as enabled faster marking and feedback
collection.
Becoming a best-in-class
association
CCA’s board has grown to 80 directors, well
outside association standards for optimal
and effective decision-making. At the last
board meeting in May, directors strongly
endorsed the final recommendations
brought forward by the governance renewal
working group. The new model will result
in a smaller board; a new national advisory
council to represent five sector voices,
including civil, trade contractors, general
contractors, manufacturers and suppliers
and local construction associations; and
two new board committees (audit/finance
and nominations/governance), leading to
increased opportunities to engage more
people with the CCA.
Please email me at mvanburen@cca-acc.com if you have any feedback or comments on how CCA can serve
you better. Hear what is going on by subscribing to CCA’s newsletter at bit.ly/ccasubscribe, by following
@ConstructionCAN on Twitter or by looking up Canadian Construction Association on LinkedIn.
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