The Construction Record Podcast – Episode 361: The B.C. election with Jeannine Martin and Chris Atchison

On this episode of The Construction Record Podcast, digital media editor Warren Frey interviews Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) president Jeannine Martin and British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA) president Chris Atchison about the upcoming B.C. election. The B.C. election race was upended on Aug. 28 when BC United leader dropped out and the party withdrew from the race, leaving David Eby's NDP and John Rustad's BC Conservatives going head to head. Rustad also spoke that same day at the VRCA offices in Vancouver as part of the association's "Constructive Conversations" series, which previous featured both Eby and Falcon. Both association leaders took stock of the changed electoral landscape and focused on what's needed for the B.C. construction industry regardless of who takes government on Oct. 19. Prompt payment legislation was top of min for both Atchison and Martin, as was addressing the ongoing labour shortage both by retaining the workers now in the province and gaining new workers through migration from other provinces and abroad.   Martin also discussed the idea of a "minister of construction," a concept both associations advocate for as a way to streamline regulatory hurdles and focus on an industry that contributes significantly to the province's GDP, and both leaders tackled how all three leaders addressed an ongoing affordability crisis. You can listen to our recent podcast with Wesgroup CEO Beau Jarvis about housing supply and regulations here and our episodes are available at the Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce websites, on Libsyn and at  Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music's podcast section. Thanks for listening. DCN-JOC News Services