Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity today to discuss a key issue for our country, especially this week.
I emphasize this week because, for the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association and our 400 member companies across Canada, we are celebrating roofing in Canada. June 2 to 7 is “National Roofing Week”. By using social media platforms, we bring public attention to the role our industry and the people in it play in society.
The Canadian Roofing Contractors Association represents over 400 Canadian industrial, commercial and institutional roofing contracting companies and needed suppliers. Some of our members do both non-residential and residential roofing. In fact, many started in residential and moved over to non-residential. Companies vary in size, from as many as 6,000 employees across North America to as few as 12. Most contracting companies would likely be classified as small to medium-sized enterprises.
What follows are our thoughts on the current state of housing affordability and related challenges. On the surface, affordable housing and industrial, commercial and institutional roofing companies may have little in common. Beneath the surface is the reality that CRCA member companies are likely the ones not only re-roofing existing muti-unit buildings and their respective building envelopes, but CRCA member companies also do new builds. New housing investments of any nature create communities. Communities need infrastructure services, be they schools, hospitals, recreational complexes or shopping facilities. CRCA members will be called upon to meet the demand.
Government investment into housing will have a positive impact for many CRCA members. That said, there is a related challenge. In the roofing and building envelope industries there is an acute need for people in all facets of the business. We need skilled and unskilled labour. We need superintendents, project managers, estimators and so on. This is why, over the past year, the CRCA has lobbied for changes to the immigration system, changes that would treat the roofing trade equal to that of someone with a Ph.D. in the humanities.
No matter the technology, innovation or enhancement of other types, we still need people to build and manage the construction of buildings. On May 13 we announced a first in construction: a partnership that makes use of the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's economic mobility pathways pilot program. We teamed up with Talent Beyond Boundaries, a non-government organization, to bring economically displaced workers into Canada as permanent residents. Already there are a dozen CRCA member companies that have begun the process with Talent Beyond Boundaries, and we expect that number to increase. Over the next two weeks, in fact, we're hosting a series of webinars for our members on said initiative.
The impact of federal investments into housing will have an impact on non-residential construction. However, we cannot lose focus on the need for workers. CRCA member companies have the business capacity to meet increasing demand. We need the people to build.
What can governments do, you may ask? To be honest, it's something we can all do, and I stated this in my closing remarks during an online meeting with the Minister of Immigration last fall. We can all encourage our children and grandchildren—or anyone else for that matter—to pursue a career in a trade.
We are all touched in some way by the current housing situation in Canada. The CRCA does not see a one-size-fits-all solution going forward, and the housing crisis will not be resolved overnight. It's going to take time. As I stated earlier, the connection between the federal government, housing investment and non-residential roofing companies may not be an obvious one. Our members want to see governments and industry work together to build the communities Canadians want to live and thrive in.