In this Issue:

President's Message

Notice of AGM

Central Regulatory Agency

Committee Reports

     President's Message

                                       by Rob Istace

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Electrical Contractors Association of Saskatchewan, I hope you are having a safe and profitable summer.

Our province is continuing to see prosperous times.  While we are not immune to the economic downturn being experienced in other provinces, Saskatchewan continues to see relatively strong economic growth.   Our two major cities, Saskatoon and Regina, continue to be at the top of the list for economic growth and job creation.  We are seeing strong investment by the provincial government in infrastructure – the so-called booster shot – along with continuing private sector investments, which is helping our province weather the economic storm.

As for our industry, while we are busy, some challenges remain.  This newsletter provides information on a number of key issues and how your association is addressing them.  You will find details of a valuable initiative being pursued by ECA of Saskatchewan – a central regulatory agency that will provide one-stop shopping for the electrical contracting industry. Information on our electrical contracting trade board is also included, along with an update on the SaskPower Liaison Committee meeting.  Information on our upcoming Annual General Meeting is included.  We hope you will attend the meeting which takes place at the Davidson town hall on August 19, 2009. 

Your Board of Directors is made up of a strong team of dedicated and energetic people who are working hard on your behalf.  They are:

President:                Rob Istace, Alliance Energy Ltd.

Executive Director:    Michael Fougere

Annual General Meeting

will be held on

August 19, 2009 at the

Town Hall in Davidson, SK

at 11:00 am

Central Regulatory Agency for

Electrical Contracting Industry

Great news for the electrical contracting industry.  After years of persistent lobbying the government, the ECA of Saskatchewan is pleased to learn that the Government of Saskatchewan will be considering the development of a central regulatory and inspection agency for our industry.  This could mean that electrical inspection and licensing will be housed within one agency.  This potential change will make our industry operate more efficiently and quickly because we will have one-stop shopping for our industry needs.

Our association is also working closely with the Mechanical Contractors Association of Saskatchewan (MCAS) to develop a practical and effective model to streamline our regulatory requirements.  MCAS has similar issues with their licensing and inspection branches being split between various Ministries and agencies.

This is good news, and we look forward to working collaboratively with the Government of Saskatchewan in researching and developing a model that will benefit industry and consumer alike.  Stay tuned for updates in the coming months.

Committee Reports

Electrical Trade Board

On March 17, 2009 an Apprenticeship Curriculum and Examination Development Board meeting was held in Davidson. In attendance were the committee members as well as the SIAST Program Heads.

- We reviewed the training material for data cable and lighting controls and determined that training in Level 3 is sufficient.  An awareness piece will be added to Level 1 to include Cat 5 & Coax cabling and terminations, in the current BT131 course. Also Level 3 would be updated to the latest Version of standard.

-    The Board discussed that 10% of new high-end homes are being wired for home automation and 50% of new homes are being wired for home audio systems.  More and more of this work is being done outside of the electrical trade.

-   The Board also reviewed Trade Time Credits and suggested several changes.

-    The next Trade Board Meeting will be May 07, 2009 in Davidson with OH&S and SIAST.  The Electrician High Voltage Curriculum will be discussed and the Trade Board will discuss Non-Red Seal Journeyman Licensing and Employee Contractor Licensing. 

Respectfully submitted: Wayne Kirby - Apprenticeship Trade Board Chairperson.

Liaison Committee                                                                                                  Meeting was held on May 7, 2009

NEW BUSINESS: 

• The installation of transformers in plenum space will be allowed, this will be included in the Interpretation booklet to the new code.
•  The enforcement date for the 2009 Code will be June 1, 2009.
• A separate circuit is not required on detached garages or sheds.
• No tamper proof devices are required in garages if they are detached.
• Code meetings have been presented and SaskPower feels they have been well attended.  If contractors would like a copy of the presentation, contact Wes at 934-7720 or Cliff at 566-2516.
• SaskPower is now on Sask First Call and this should improve the process.  Inspections have nothing to do with locates.
• Inspections are completed on permits on a risk basis. SaskPower has ranked companies and inspect the ones that they feel would be at risk.
• We discussed the meeting that was held with the licensing branch. They agree with our concerns on the proposed changes allowing electricians the ability to hold licenses while working for other companies. We will be able to look to them for support.
• We discussed communication cabling. They eco our concerns that the cabling will no longer be inspected. They agree with our concerns and that this installation could for a huge safety concern as it will be installed by non-qualified installers. They would like a copy of the letter that Michael drafted on April 25^th 2008. They will support us if we want to re-visit this issue.

 Membership Concerns:

• Customer service: Inspections have nothing to do with the customer service, 1-800 number, we will need to contact customer serve to voice our concerns. They have indicated that some of the issues they have recognized are the wrong address has been given on the permits.
• Inspections: When we are experiencing problems with the dictions making process we should bring them to the supervisors attention. Cliff Kenny has indicated that he would be available to answer any of our concerns, his phone numbers are 306-566-2516, cell 306-536-4122.
• Licensing act: Inspections have the same frustration with licensing. They do respond to each report and issue the concern to licensing. They are not aware of the consequences to the issues. In the future we would like to t concerns brought to the attention of the Contractors association and we will formalize them to inspections.                                                           

Rob Istace chaired the meeting.

     NOTE:  We would like you to contact us if you have any

                 concerns or comments on these issues or on others

                 that you would like us to raise.

AGM

August 19, 2009

Town Hall

Davidson, SK

11:00 am

ECA Sask

Committee Representatives

SaskPower Liaison Committee

Rob Istace

Glen Gerow

Barry Iles

Andy Kuderewko

Trade Board

Wayne Kirby

Gold Seal

Bryan Leverick

SBDI

Ken Pickering

SCSA

Ken Pickering

SCA Advisory Council

Glen Gerow

SIIT

Michael Fougere

Upcoming Events

- WorldSkills Calgary 2009

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