Manitoba Heavy Construction Association

C M Y K A SUPPLEMENT TO THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 7 AGGREGATE EQUIPMENT YOU WANT. PARTS YOU NEED. SERVICE YOU DESERVE. www.genagg.ca I f you've never been smudged, you're missing out. I was smudged this spring, in a private meeting that preceded Mayor Brian Bowman's 3rd annual signing ceremony for new partners to the Winnipeg Indigenous Accord. As the smoke waed over, I was acutely conscious of the profound purpose of the morning and the covenant being made, publicly. e MHCA Board of Directors approved signing on to the accord early this year, to continue and enlarge our industry efforts to engage Indigenous communities and employ Indigenous workers. For MHCA and our industry leaders, it was an easy decision. Heavy construction reaches all parts of Manitoba, remotely or in urban places and spaces. We hire locally. We leave legacy benefits. ose are lasting economic spinoffs. Entering a neighbourhood or community is like entering someone's home – we are conscious of the intrusion and disruption. Settling in is easier when community members are part of the crew. But as with most Canadians, we recognize we have a lot to learn, more opportunities to seize and – to the central point of Mayor Bowman's initiative – to do more to reconcile the damaging legacy of Canada's history of colonialist and racist policies and practices, the impacts of which we can see all around us on our city and province's streets. e heavy construction industry is on the streets every day, for long hours. Our workers are sighting lines, shoveling base, laying and tying in sewer and water pipes, pouring and rolling asphalt or concrete, finely finishing the curbs and flagging motorists to keep everyone safe. We have an intimate feel for the streets; we get to know the neighbourhoods and residents. Our workforce draws from all neighbourhoods. No one in this city can say race relations are rosy. Far from perfect. But, like most Winnipeggers, we are figuring it out, and the goal is to ensure all Manitobans share and grow in the prosperity that comes with economic and social progress. I was comfortable, at the signing ceremony June 18, in publicly attesting to our industry's commitment toward working harder to that goal. When the smouldering sage came to me in the circle of signatories, public officials and elders on the 2nd floor of City Hall, prior to the courtyard ceremony, I felt the gravity of the undertaking. e heavy construction industry is proud of the progress made to include Indigenous people in our work. In signing the accord, it also attests to the heavy hauling it has before it. And we say: As with the founding role First Nations, Inuit and Metis people played in creating what we know today as Canada, we cannot build strong communities without them. Next time you're passing through a road construction site, look at those with their sleeves rolled up. You'll see all Canadians there, repairing streets, constructing highways, laying water and sewer lines to serve our communities, building the water- control structures to defend towns and cities against floods and – for the few who travel as far – carving ice roads on frozen waters so a year's worth of critical supplies to northern and isolated communities can be delivered. at's us. All of us. B Y C H R I S L O R E N C MHCA/ WORKSAFELY- INDIGENOUS HEAVY CONSTRUCTION HISTORY AND PARTNERSHIPS INDIGENOUS ENGAGEMENT GUIDE MHCA initiated and the MHCA President chaired the task force that developed the Canadian Construction Association's Indigenous Engagement Guide, which was distributed nationally for the heavy civil and ICI construction industries in 2016. The guide, a first in Canada, is the manual for construction companies looking to work with and in Indigenous communities. Its intent is to build a respectful partnership and to ensure legacy value, through economic and workforce training, for the communities when the construction project itself is complete. HEAVY CONSTRUCTION FUNDAMENTALS – GRADE 12 EMPLOYMENT TRAINING COURSE MHCA is working with the Manitoba Construction Sector Council and Southeast Collegiate to launch in the fall of 2020 a training course on the fundamentals of heavy construction. The goal is to make high school graduates ready for employment in entry-level positions. The course will cover basic aspects of construction work, including safety and skills. It will set up the student for higher levels of training, for career advancement INTRO TO HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATION - SIMULATOR TRAINING Our introduction to heavy construction equipment operation course has partnered with a number of Indigenous groups, associations and northern communities in the past few years. The course puts students in the virtual driver's seat of a variety of pieces of heavy equipment, such as excavators. Students completing the course are ready for the second level of training, which would permit them to be hired to operate. IN-SEAT HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR TRAINING Since 2015, MHCA has been working with First Nation and Metis organizations to bring heavy equipment operating training to a number of communities, to train operators on dozers, rock trucks, excavators and loaders WINTER ROADS/COR CERTIFICATION Since 2007, MHCA's WORKSAFELY advisors have delivered training on safety and health to 23 Indigenous communities engaged in winter-road construction. MHCA delivers the Certificate of Recognition program to Indigenous communities, heavy construction companies and individuals working on Manitoba Infrastructure's winter roads system SAFETY TRAINING In partnership with Manitoba Construction Sector Council, MHCA delivers safety training to a number of Indigenous communities. UNDER CONSTRUCTION: THE ROAD TO RECONCILIATION Chris Lorenc is president of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association

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