Are you in the know?
I'm Andrea McChesney, the Executive Director of the CCMPA, and we want to ensure you and your team have all the access to the latest and greatest in CCMPA activities and industry buzz.
Sincerely, Andrea & your CCMPA team.
CCMPA Q1 Newsletter
What has CCMPA been up to this year?
Happy April CCMPA Members & Friends – I hope this newsletter finds you happy, healthy and thriving in the first quarter of 2023. We’ve been a little quiet over here, but rest assured we are on the case for block! First and foremost, CCMPA has a new look! Our Board of Directors, together with Mainstream Marketing, have created our new logo. We hope you love it as much as we do!
& Save the Date(s): We have locked in our next two in-person meetings:
Midyear Membership Meeting
Thursday, June 15th
Mississauga, Ontario
CCMPA Annual General Meeting
Thursday, Sept 14th
Hockley Valley Resort, Ontario
My main focus has been, and continues to be, driving value for our membership. I am working hard to connect with all of our members in your local market areas, so that I can see and hear what issues are most important to you- and then put action plans in place for CCMPA to support a solution. Driving membership value includes leveraging our national status and working closely with our industry alliances. You will see several report updates from them below.
Secondly, as reflected by the membership feedback on our strategic plan, my key areas of focus this year have been Available & Skilled Workforce Development, and the Codes & Standards arena. This newsletter consists of many fun (and positive!) updates on both!
One thing remains clear; living in a Post-Covid world is FULL of change! I will work to keep you updated as we navigate the year and provide resources that you need to drive your businesses forward.
Keep healthy & safe,
Andrea
Ps. If you haven’t met them yet….check out our new Board of Directors for 2023-2025! .
Save the Date!
September 14th, 2023
CCMPA’s Annual General Meeting & Grimo Cup Golf TournamentHockley Valley Resort, Mono, Ontario. We hope to see you all there! Registration forms will be available online shortly.
Student Testimonial:Thank you message from a CCMPA grant recipient at Kitchener-Waterloo’s Conestoga College for Skilled Trades
“My name is Alexander Alexandrov and I am a Level One student in the Masonry program at Conestoga College. I wanted to thank you for your generous donation to help me pursue my studies in this field. I chose this program for a variety of reasons, but my main reason is very dear to me. In my grandparents’ country, we have a house that my grandfather built back in the day. It was a Balkan style brick and stone house surrounded by a stone wall with no mortar. Since we have moved to Canada, it has not been taken care of and has fallen apart. In courtesy of my grandfather, I would like to rebuild it and keep it as faithful as possible to the original. This donation allows me to pursue my education and one day to achieve my dream of rebuilding my heritage. Ever So Grateful, Alexander Alexandrov”
On March 23rd, CCMPA & Brampton Brick hosted 37 Conestoga College students (Level 1 & Post-Secondary) to tour both the block and brick plants at the Brampton location. It was a great day and awesome to meet a talented group of tomorrow’s masons! Special Thanks to all of the instructors, volunteers and faculty at Conestoga College for their ongoing support of masonry.
Above is Conestoga graduate Sarah Cowie wearing her CCMPA sponsored Red Seal Jacket. Sarah was one of five masons presented this distinct honor for the fall of 2022. Sarah is a positive, (usually laughing!) ball of energy with incredible masonry skills. She is also a passionate mentor to the #NextGen of masons and CCMPA is incredibly proud of all of her accomplishments so far. We have every confidence Sarah has a long and promising future in masonry!
As usual, we are staying vigilant in our CCMPA social media presence, and the results show it! Please give us a follow on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date on association activities and resources!
Special thanks goes to Andrea Boddy for her ongoing support to our social media efforts and contents – she’s our guru! **Coming Spring 2023: CCMPA on Instagram!
CCMPA continues to document the success our levy funded student research and development for easy access by our membership. By creating high impact, short, informative clips, we are able to get the message out to market, membership and industry on all the great research being done to drive block even further!
This month’s feature was Maysoun Ismaiel, Ph.D Civil Engineering; and her work on outlining a practical method estimating the thermal resistance of exterior masonry walls. (Also available, en francais!) – Click the link below to learn more!
Besser Bootcamp 2.0 was a success!
CCMPA hosted another Besser Bootcamp at the CMDC headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario this past January. I was well attended, with members sending participants from across Canada. We are always grateful for the support of Ralph Schlereth, and the teaching of Robert Amos, to keep all our employees up to speed on the latest in all things block and block production. This course is a 2 day course, and if you have new hires or are looking for a refresher, this is an excellent place to send any employee! See you next year!
Industry Alliances Unite!
Cement Association of Canada hosts Lobby Days in Ottawa, Ontario.
From May 1 – May 3rd the Cement Association of Canada and its Allies, are hosting federal lobby days on Parliament Hill. With an aim of having over 60 meetings with MPs, Ministers, Senators and staff over the 3 days, it is an opportunity to showcase the industry to the federal government with a particular emphasis on our collective actions to reach net-zero by 2050. The three day event will also feature the launch of the Concrete Zero Action Plan on the evening of May 2nd, followed by a reception attended by parliamentarians, civil servants, industry, and others. If you would like to participate or would like more information, please reach out to info@cement.ca
The Masonry Council of Ontario Government Relations team was very active in the first quarter of 2023. A majority of the team’s efforts focused on advocating for masonry in the context of the More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23). In an effort to bring more homes to market faster in Ontario the Ford government loosened and/or eliminated a number of planning regulations in the Province. This included the part of section 41 of The Planning Act which enabled municipalities to exert control over matters of exterior design. This legislative change stands to affect the masonry industry profoundly in the Province of Ontario. The MCO government relations team mobilized to work with both provincial and municipal governments to find a policy solution that strikes a balance between allowing municipalities to maintain control of exterior building design and expediting the approvals process to bring more homes to market faster. Over the course of the winter the MCO team has advocated for changes to Bill 23 through:
-
-
- Engagement of Planning Thought Leaders: In order explore viable policy alternatives the MCO team worked with a number of professionals in the planning field from various jurisdictions from across North America. These individuals included:
-
-
-
- Michael Mahaffy: Current or former appointments in teaching and/or research at eight universities in seven countries (architecture, urban planning and philosophy departments). Over two decades of experience in consulting to national, regional and local governments, businesses and NGOs, with experience in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Over a decade of executive leadership experience in private and NGO organizations. Author of five books and over twenty book chapters as well as over 100 refereed and professional articles. Frequent public speaker and contributor to professional blogs and media interviews. Graduate education in urban planning, architecture, design, philosophy, public affairs, and business administration at the University of Texas at Austin, UC Berkeley and Delft University of Technology.
- Form Based Codes Institute
- David Wise City of Ottawa
- City of Laval Quebec
-
Through these consultations the MCO team was able to develop a policy position based in zoning by-laws which can be presented to municipal government as a an option to maintain control over matters of exterior design. In addition, the MCO team provided a policy proposal to the Premier’s Office and the Minister of Municipal Affairs, providing recommendations on strengthening the policy language which enables zoning by-laws in section 34 of the Planning Act.
In the first quarter of 2023 MCO also engaged with ten municipalities from across the province.
Any questions or comments can be sent to Andrew Payne, andrew@masonryworks.ca
Written by:
