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MCAC CONFERENCE REPORT
Mechanical contractors
celebrate 110 years
Worker safety issues at forefront
By Simon Blake
The Mechanical Contractors Association
of Canada celebrated 110 years
of service to the industry at its 64th
annual conference in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
In fact, MCAC honored three contractors
– Moose Jaw (Sask.) Plumbing
& Heating Inc., Randall Plumbing &
Heating Ltd., Winnipeg. and Adam
Clark/Lockerbie & Hole, New Westminster,
B.C. – for 100 years of membership.
About 25 guests and 311 delegates
enjoyed this year’s event, held Sept. 14-
17 at the Delta Prince Edward Hotel in
Charlottetown.
Worker safety issues were front and
centre at the conference. A new federal
law passed in 2004 (Bill C-45) means
employers can face criminal negligence
charges for jobsite injuries. Seminars
covering injuries and drug abuse went
far beyond the obvious.
“Stuff that happens off the jobsite
often has as much impact as an injury
on the jobsite,” remarked Dr. Louis
Francescutti, an emergency room doctor,
University of Alberta professor and
the director of the Alberta Centre for
Injury Control. Losing a key tradesman
because of a weekend snowmobile accident,
for example, can be just as devastating
for the contractor.
Dr. Brendan Adams, a physician from
Calgary, noted that drug and alcoholrelated
incidents are seldom the result of
the worker “being stoned on the job.”
Hans Schneider, right, of Moose Jaw
Plumbing & Heating Inc. accepts his
plaque from MCAC chairman Tom
Vincent, centre, and president Richard
McKeagan. Schneider’s company is
one of three 100-year MCAC members.
They more often occur because an
employee is hung over, coming down
from drugs and/or tired after a night out.
HRAI at Deerhurst
Continued from page 11
Contractors or Canada (HRAC – the
HRAI contractor division), Pierre Martin
– secretary treasurer and chair of the
Canadian Heating, Refrigeration and
Air Conditioning Wholesalers (CHRAW
– the HRAI wholesalers division), Mark
Boncardo – Manufacturers Division
chair, Gerry Cellucci – CHRAW vice
chair, Make Latreille – HRAC vice chair
and Warren Heeley – president.
A number of awards were presented
including a Merit Award – HRAI’s
highest honour – to Neil Smith of
Arvin Air Systems Ltd., Stoney Creek,
Ont. for his long involvement with
HRAI and HRAC.
However, Smith said that he probably
gained as much as he gave,
and urged others to volunteer.
“I was exposed to a lot
of people, all of whom
contributed a few nuggets
to making Neil Smith a
Neil Smith
smarter person and making Arvin-Air a
more successful company.”
Life membership awards were presented
to P&HVAC’s Ron Shuker and
Carrier’s Dennis Moyer for their contributions
to the industry over the years.
The 38th Annual General Meeting
will take place at the Delta Prince
Edward in Charlottetown, PEI from
Sept. 7-9, 2006. For more information,
contact HRAI at 1-800-267-2231 or go
to www.hrai.ca.
Chairman John Murphy presented
P&HVAC’s own Ron Shuker with a
Life Membership award for his
support of the industry.
Circle Number 139 for More Information
www.plumbingandhvac.ca November/December 2005 – Plumbing & HVAC Product News 33