ASPHALTopics | Summer 2020 | VOL 33 | NO 2

CHAIR’s
CORNER
Ivan Levac
Chair
Redefining essential
I will begin by stating how fortunate I am and what an honour
it is to represent OAPC’S directors, members and associates
as the 2020 chair.
This has quickly become an unprecedented year, and there are
some obvious challenges to our industry with the restrictions
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, it is important to
point out the good. Our industry is comprised of motivated,
hardworking and skilled individuals who never cease to rise
to a challenge.
Over the past two months, our industry has clearly
demonstrated a tremendous ability to quickly adapt and
react to a situation not previously encountered. Our increased
focus on safety over the past several decades has put our
members in a position where identifying, eliminating and
mitigating unsafe situations through the development of safe
work practices and safe job procedures have kept the vast
majority of our workforce less affected then other industries.
OAPC has worked collectively with ORBA to provide constant
and aligned messaging to the asphalt and roadbuilding
industry. We have been quick to develop best practices and
communicate through webinar sessions to provide support
to our members throughout this pandemic. I truly hope that
all of our members have been able to benefit from these
sessions and that they have helped you to carry on through
these uncertain times with some certainty that we can do
so while keeping our employees safe.
Our multiple committees have continued working towards
improving our industry by adapting to web-based tools
to ensure ongoing communication with all stakeholders,
including the MTO. In fact, the MTO was quick to reach out
to ORBA/OAPC as an industry partner to establish a weekly
conference call to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the road
building industry. The efforts put forth by the committees and
ORBA staff have continued to be commendable.
I will close off by giving credit to our workforce. The vast
majority of the employees in our industry do not have the
benefit of working from home. You proudly come to work
every day to build and maintain municipal and provincial
infrastructure so that all of society can benefit from its use.
The work you perform has been deemed essential and that is
a testament to the significance of the great work you do. To all
of the employees in our industry who come to work every day,
while confronting the inherent risks of our work, THANK YOU!
SUMMER 2020 5