May 15, 2020
This week Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce national managing editor Vince Versace, digital media editor Warren Frey and staff writer Russell Hixson all report in from their respective home offices (or in Warren’s case, a backyard in East Vancouver) to talk about the industry’s continued work as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change our lives in ways big and small.
One of the main things we noted was that while construction had to deal with the initial steps of the pandemic, there hasn’t been a substantial slowdown in work in either Ontario or British Columbia, and the industry seems poised to continue building and contributing to the economy as it reopens.
The government has also announced it will stream infrastructure funding towards projects affected by COVID-19, and industry reaction in B.C. is generally favorable though stakeholders caution there’s more that needs to be done.
Russell also talks about stories he’s working on about how occupational health and safety will take center stage in future as people adapt to the new reality of a post-pandemic world, and Vince points out while there are playbooks for health and safety and inspections, this was unexplored territory and there will be a chance for introspection and a mountain of data on hand to examine in the months ahead.
DCN-JOC News Services