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This episode highlights:
• Prompt Payment Legislation is advancing in BC with the introduction of Bill 20, the Construction Prompt Payment Act. If passed, the legislation will set clear payment timelines, requiring owners to pay general contractors within 28 days and contractors to pay subcontractors within 7 days, while also including an adjudication system for disputes.• Industry groups, including the BC Construction Association, the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, and the Electrical Contractors Association of BC, are celebrating the proposed law but are urging officials to avoid following Alberta's prior path of excluding some public sector projects.
• Montreal-based Deep Sky has announced plans for a large-scale carbon removals facility in southwestern Manitoba. The initial phase of the project is valued at $200 million and is scheduled to begin construction in 2026.
• The Deep Sky facility aims to capture 500,000 tons of CO2 annually when at full capacity, utilizing Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology powered by Manitoba's renewable hydroelectric grid. Performance data from the company's 3,000-ton per year Deep Sky Alpha facility in Alberta will inform the technology selection for the Manitoba site.
• Metrolinx has initiated a 30-day final test, known as the revenue service demonstration, on Toronto's 19-kilometer Eglinton Cross Town LRT, which features 25 stops. The project, which began construction in 2011 and was originally slated to open in 2020, has faced repeated delays, technical issues, and cost overruns.
• The project delays have drawn substantial public criticism, including calls for the Ontario government to launch a full public inquiry into the matter.
• A consortium of Pomelo and Aecon has launched the next phase of the Port of Montreal expansion in Contrecoeur, a $69 million project which is positioned as Eastern Canada's largest container port development. The work includes constructing two berths totalling 675 meters to accommodate larger container ships, with operations expected to start around 2029.
• PCL Construction is donating $1.5 million to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to curate programming and education tools designed to help construction workers and their families address addiction and mental health challenges. This initiative responds to staggering statistics, including the fact that 64% of construction workers wish employers would do more to support mental health initiatives, and the industry represents nearly 8% of opioid toxicity deaths.
• Plus, a bonus story reveals the secrets of the "subway deer," or Toronto Seros. This scientifically significant fossil fragment of a skull with antler stubs was uncovered in 1976 during excavation for a subway extension in Toronto's West End, and recent DNA analysis has resolved decades of debate regarding its relation to modern deer species.
