Common Ground Alliance Information

Media Planet is producing a publication on Workplace Safety that will be included in The Province on February 28th, 2012.   Their goal is to raise awareness around the importance of workplace safety in BC, showing the role of preventative action and the effect it has on employee and public wellbeing and the employer’s bottom line.  Distribution will be to 610,000 + readers, designed to ensure publication reaches both the general public as well as key opinion leaders and influencers.

Media Planet has asked BCCGA for help with an editorial that will build awareness around underground infrastructure risks and mitigation strategies.

They have also asked us to approach our stakeholders to offer sponsorship opportunities in the publication.    The cost of participation is $500 ~ and for that you get your logo in the 1/3rd page ad.  We need a minimum of 10 participants to move forward.

If you are interested in participating, please email Ann Marie Bennett (annmarie@commongroundbc.ca) by noon on Friday February 17th, 2012.

April 2012 will once again be National Safe Digging Month, the time of year when all Common Ground Alliance stakeholders come together to communicate how important it is that professionals and homeowners call before they dig and follow the safe digging process to help prevent injuries, property damage and inconvenient outages.

Help us promote National Safe Digging Month by including our website banner our on your website for the month of April and by proclaiming it Safe Digging Month in your municipality.

Our Members Meeting is scheduled for February 7th starting at 10 am at the Roundhouse Community Centre at 181 Roundhouse Mews in Vancouver (Yaletown).  The Roundhouse is half a block from the Yaletown stop of the Canada Line and there is paid parking under the Community Centre.  Lunch will be provided.

The Agenda for the day and the Strategic Priorities that will be discussed are attached.  We look forward to seeing you – please RSVP to info@commongroundbc.ca so we have numbers for lunch.

Note – An Agenda and materials for the Board Meeting that will follow the Members Meeting will be distributed next week by email.

The 2012 face to face meeting schedule is as follows:

• Member / Board Meeting ~ Tuesday, February 7, 2012 — PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE FROM THE 9th DUE TO A CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE
• Annual General Meeting / Board Meeting ~ Thursday, April 12, 2012
• Member / Board Meeting ~ Wednesday, June 20, 2012
• Member / Board Meeting ~ Thursday October 18, 2012

The 2012 CGA Excavation Safety Conference & Expo, Uniting the Industry, will be held from March 6 to 8, 2012 at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.  For more information and to register, visit their website at http://www.cgaconference.com/.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support in making the BCCGA a recognized leader in safety.  The BCCGA will continue to evolve in 2012, providing a clear voice for improved public and worker safety in connection with underground infrastructure throughout the Province of British Columbia.  We look forward to working with you in the coming year.

May your holiday season and the new year be filled with much joy, happiness and success.

Happy Holidays!

2011 has been another extraordinary year of advancement for the Alliance in terms of profile, engagement and service delivery.    For a complete report of accomplishments for 2011, please see our Strategic Priorities Summary for the Year Ending 2011.

CSA Standards has developed an on-line S250 Mapping of Underground Utility Infrastructure information session that will address:

• The driving forces behind the development of the CSA mapping standard
• An overview of the S250 Standard, and
• The intended benefits for, and impacts on, various community stakeholders and their operations

Registration is on-line @www.csa.ca/s250-webinar.

Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey (PC) and Hamilton East – Stoney Creek MPP Paul Miller (NDP) presented their private member’s bill, Bill 8 – ‘The Ontario One Call Act, 2011’ – to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Second Reading Debate this afternoon. ‘The Ontario One Call Act, 2011’, if passed, will establish Ontario One Call Ltd. as a not-for-profit, single point-of-contact for all underground utility location services in Ontario.

See the full Press Release.

The Canadian Common Ground Alliance 811 campaign is in the final stages.  In order to demonstrate to the CRTC that we are working with provincial health ministries and to demonstrate the breadth and spectrum of our stakeholder support for this initiative, we are asking members of the BCCGA (and its supporters) to send letters to the BC Ministry of Health emphasizing the need for the shared use of 811.

Attached is a template that can be used for this purpose.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the BCCGA office.   Please copy the letter to the CCGA by emailing Mike at msullivan@canadiancga.com.  For maximum effect, you may also wish to copy the CRTC and the Premier’s office as well.

As a final note, time is of the essence – the CRTC may be weeks away from rendering a decision.  This is potentially the last opportunity to influence their decision.

For more information on the CCGA 811 initiative, please see the summary here.

Thank you for your support.