The Construction Record Podcast – Episode 306: Clean energy tax credits with Paul De Jong and Bea Bruske

On this episode of The Construction Record Podcast, digital media editor Warren Frey discusses the federal government's clean energy tax credit initiative and attached labour conditions through interviews with both Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCAC) president Paul de Jong and Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) president Bea Bruske.   De Jong pointed to the hiring requirements as an impediment to competitive work on clean energy projects while stressing PCAC and other industry associations fully support skilled tradespeople getting high wages and benefits for the work they perform. Bruske stressed the importance of the transition to a clean energy economy but added workers should benefit from these changes and that the CLC fully supports the federal government's "strings attached" approach. In Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce headlines, Richard Lyall, the president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario, says the federal government's announcement that GST will be removed on construction of new rental apartment buildings as "a positive step in the right direction." The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has announced it will commemorate the 2023 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with a two-part webinar series during the week of Sept. 25 to 29. The open access webinar sessions were created in partnership with the RAIC's Indigenous education provider NVision. the west, The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) has announced $33 million in private funding has been raised for its new Trades and Technology Complex on its Burnaby, B.C. campus, and the Alberta government is investing $7 million through its Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Fund to assist a Cenovus Energy study looking into how small modular nuclear reactors can be used in northern Alberta oilsands operations. You can listen to The Construction Record on the Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce websites as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music's podcast section. Our previous interview featuring ConstructConnect chief economist Alex Carrick and senior economist Michael Guckes about the current housing crisis, how it affects construction and the wider economy is here. Thanks for listening. DCN-JOC News Services GST removal on new rental builds good news, but still 'a long way from being out of the woods': Lyall RAIC presents Truth and Reconciliation webinars ACEC-Ontario elects six new board members with Holland as chair BCIT announces $33 million in private funding for Trades and Technology Complex Alberta invests $7 million in Cenovus SMR study