01-32_GENERALS_SUMMER25_PT - Flipbook - Page 5
CHAIR’S REPORT
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
By CRAIG LESURF , OGCA Chair
One of my main objectives
when I started this journey
as OGCA Chair was to help
improve workplace safety
I apologize for the timing, but Boston
is still a great city to visit despite the
political climate. Ironically, the American Revolution was initiated over the tea
tari昀昀s and the Boston Tea Party….
Focus on Safety
HIS PAST YEAR has been one of growth
and development for the Ontario
General Contractors Association
(OGCA).
In addition to the countless initiatives facilitated by
the OGCA, this year also brought many
challenges on a global scale; speci昀椀cally,
the U.S. threatening and then imposing
tari昀昀s on many products, including steel
and aluminum.
The threat of tari昀昀s created disruptions in the supply chain and general
economic uncertainty, which had an
impact on OGCA members and their
projects. It was imperative for the OGCA
to help members navigate through these
challenging conditions and provide regular communications and updates.
Additionally, this “51st State” nonsense brought a growing sentiment of
nationalism to Canada and a push to buy
Canadian products, or products produced
anywhere but the U.S.A.
Unfortunately, the Boston location for
the OGCA AGM was selected and deposits
were paid long before Trump was elected.
T
THEGENERALS.NET
One of my main objectives when I started
this journey as OGCA Chair was to help
improve workplace safety. Throughout
my term, I continued to attend safety
committee meetings, supported OGCA
safety initiatives, and helped drive a
renewal of our commitment to safety
culture and worker awareness.
As a staunch safety advocate, the
introduction of a Safety Summit was one
of the high points of the year for me.
At the Safety Summit, approximately
160 industry representatives, including
Dr. Joel Moody, Chief Prevention O昀케cer
(CPO), along with industry leaders and
health and safety professionals from
across the province, came together to
tackle one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: protecting construction
workers and preventing critical injuries
and fatalities.
The summit was not only a call to
action, it was also a collaborative e昀昀ort
to shape the future of safety in Ontario’s construction sector. The summit
was held in response to a request from
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
(MLITSD), particularly the O昀케ce of the
CPO, which was seeking insight from
industry partners to help explain and
address concerning trends identi昀椀ed in
recent data. Information, observations,
and recommendations were compiled
from the discussions with those in
attendance and shared with the Ministry
and industry.
There is an additional companion
article written to provide a more detailed
review of the Safety Summit included
in this magazine. Of speci昀椀c interest to
our members are the recommendations
we have tabled to the MLITSD in order
to address and better our industry, and
which directly speak to the items tabled
by the CPO O昀케ce. I encourage everyone to
read the article and join the OGCA Safety
Advisory Committee.
Those of you who know me know that I
love to utilize social media. Over the past
year, I have been very active on LinkedIn and Instagram to promote and raise
awareness of all OGCA initiatives. In addition to the focus on the Safety Summit
and on Safety Week, I have ensured that
I have captured all of the work that the
OGCA is doing, with the purpose of keeping the OGCA top of mind in the industry
and beyond.
Looking forward, the planning is
already underway for the 15th annual
OGCA Construction Symposium, which
will take place from April 15 to 18, 2026,
at Blue Mountain Resort and Convention Centre. We encourage everyone to
attend this premier industry event, which
includes insightful educational sessions,
networking opportunities, and a trade
show. Multiple streams of educational
sessions will be o昀昀ered, and you can rest
assured that Health and Safety will take a
central role. I will de昀椀nitely be there, and
I encourage all OGCA members to bring
large numbers of their teams to attend.
From C-Suite to boots on the ground,
there is something for everyone, and it is
a fabulous networking event.
As I step down as OGCA Chair, I would
like to welcome and congratulate our new
Chair, Greg Brokenshire of Alberici Constructors, who has some big ideas in store
for moving the organization forward. I
am excited for him to share his plans and
priorities with us in the near future.
I would like to take this opportunity
to express my sincere gratitude to the
OGCA leadership, sta昀昀, and members for
your support this past year. It has been an
honour to serve as your Chair.
My goal over the past year was to make
a positive impact and e昀昀ect change for
the betterment of the industry. With your
contributions and ongoing support, we
achieved that goal together.
SUMMER 2025 • the generals 5
