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Informer Issue #10October 2015

Mechanical Contractors Association of British Columbia223-3989 Henning Drive, Burnaby, BC V5C 6N5 P: (604) 205-5058 F: (604) 205-5075 www.mcabc.org 1

IN THIS ISSUE2

Message from MCABC Executive Vice President, Dana Taylor

4 What Your Website Needs Most...

6Taking Advantage of B.C. LNG Opportunities

7Helping Contractors Get the PST Right

9BCSA’s Lieutenant Governor’s Safety Awards

10MCABC’s Annual X-mas Open House - SAVE THE DATE!

MCABC upcoming events are listed throughout.

Sunny WayS

The New Canadian Government Dawns a New Era...



Message and Update froM execUtive vice president of McaBc, dana taylor

The Liberal victory so broad and deep across this country underscored what the polls and pundits had been saying

for months; namely, that the country wanted change. It took the full 78 day election campaign to figure out exactly in

what direction that change would occur. In the polls, the leading parties that began in first and third place ended up

in inverted positions when the final election poll was tallied – this speaks to the indecision that must have occurred

during the course of the election campaign.

In my experience, the politics of contractors are generally conservative, and thus politically-speaking, tend to prefer

conservative parties (both Conservative Federally, and Liberal Provincially in BC). The NDP might get the occasional

nod for doing a good deed, but they tend not to draw many votes from this sector come Election Day.

That being said, the latest Federal election represented an exercise in politicking for MCABC and other trade

contractor associations, as we joined forces to lobby candidates to support federal Prompt Payment Legislation.

The Mechanical Contractors Association of British Columbia (MCABC), in conjunction with the National Trade

Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) concluded a poll amongst the candidates of the four major national parties

in British Columbia.

MCABC took the campaign one step further. In addition to the information from NTCCC enabling individuals to

contact their riding candidates, we distributed a one question questionnaire asking the four major western parties

(Yes this would include the Green Party): “Do you support the introduction and passage of federal Prompt Payment

legislation – Yes or No?” We received a 23% response, and no one answered specifically - No!.

Here’s what happened: Individual replies started to come in almost immediately in addition to the automated replies.

The individual replies ranged from a succinct ‘yes’ to 3-4 paragraphs that mixed party platform with considered

opinions showing knowledge of the issue. In terms of most to least replies, NDP candidates had the most responses,

followed by Liberals, Greens and Conservatives.


Mechanical Contractors Association of British Columbia223-3989 Henning Drive, Burnaby, BC V5C 6N5 P: (604) 205-5058 F: (604) 205-5075 www.mcabc.org


A few days into the survey campaign, something interesting occurred of which we tried to take advantage. Individual

candidates with the Liberals, Greens and NDP, claimed that their parties supported prompt payment. One Liberal

candidate on Vancouver Island claimed: “YES! The Liberal Party definitely supports Prompt Payment Legislation”.

Armed with these email replies, we shipped the claims to MCA Canada’s lobbyist who in turn went to the national

party campaign headquarters seeking the party or party leader’s endorsement. This was late in the game just days

before the election. One party – the NDP – responded issuing a statement in support of prompt payment.

Equally curious was the silence (save one candidate) of the conservative party. We received robo-replies from three

Conservative party representatives either thanking us for stating our concerns, or indicating that the recipient would

reply in due course. No one did.

For MCABC this was an exercise in direct democracy. We have no idea exactly how effective our effort was to get

the message across to candidates and to be taken seriously by those candidates to elicit a reply, but we do know

that many did reply.

Furthermore, we learned that if we assemble the right information and create the right tools we can communicate our

message effectively and get results.

When we advised the membership of the campaign and asked for cooperation to reinforce the message by utilizing

the NTCCC automated letter, we committed to publishing the survey results. The published results appeared in

a Press Release and notice to members. Some of you didn’t like the message, which was interpreted to be an

endorsement of non-conservative parties. Issues of prompt payment has been deemed by trade contractors and

MCAs across Canada to be the most important legislative reform on our government relations agenda. Given that the

entire Conservative political party (with the exception of one individual), would be silent and show no commitment

of support for this issue when all other parties seemed willing, MCABC’s message was an endorsement of our

supporters.

The campaign for Prompt Payment legislation does not stop with the election. Letters are being sent to all of BC’s

elected MPs with a reminder either reiterating their party’s support for the legislation or in the case of conservative

MPs, a re-statement and backgrounder of the issue with the argument why this initiative deserves all-party support.

The government has a lot on its plate. As the new government dawns a new era of ‘Sunny Ways’, it will be up to all

of us to keep the legislators’ ‘feet to the fire’ in arguing that the passage of Prompt Payment Legislation is a good

beginning for Canada’s economy.

Dana Taylor, Executive Vice President, MCABC

What Your Website Needs MostIn 2011, I wrote an article called “What Your Website Needs” (http://outcomemarketing.com/marketingcoach/website-creation/website/). Although all of that information is still true today, I want to update it with the three things your business website needs MOST today.

Each of the sections below contains suggestions you can take to improve the traffic to your business website.

1) Your Site Must Be Mobile-Enabled

This year, we passed the “mobile tipping point”. For many of you, more than half of your prospects may be coming to your website on a mobile device!

Today’s website has to support a wide variety of mobile devices with varying resolutions. Somehow, the same website code has to format itself for devices ranging in size from your cell phone to your big screen TV – and it can, if the site is built correctly. The best choice for most small to medium-sized businesses is a mobile-responsive WordPress theme created by a reputable developer.

With that solution, you don’t have to create different versions of your content. You maintain one website, and it reconfigures itself to be appropriate for the device it’s viewed on.

If you’re not sure if your site is responsive, try viewing it in a window, then dragging a corner to resize it. You should see all of the contents adjusting itself to the new window size. If parts are cut off, it’s not responsive.

You’ll want to find out if Google is satisfied with your site’s responsiveness. This is important for search engine ranking these days, as Google penalizes sites that don’t work well on mobile. You can check your Google Webmaster Tools Account, or you can go here to check your site: https://www.google.ca/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

2) Your Business Traffic Grows With Content

Google, and your website visitors, love relevant, original and useful website content. Content production is a very viable marketing strategy in a competitive market, and it’s the most “secure” SEO strategy. Google is never going to penalize you for (good) content. I produce ghostwritten articles for several retainer clients on each month, and the power of this content is often overlooked.

• Content makes you money, and “pays” again and again. An ad runs only once, but an article pulls in new site visitors every month if it’s properly structured for search engines. The right content and site design turns many of those visitors into leads.

• Content marketing helps beat your competition. A business with a long-term, consistent, quality content campaign cannot be displaced easily by a competitor, even one with deep pockets.

• Relevant articles build respect and credibility from your peers in the industry, and position you as a helpful resource to prospective clients.

• Properly optimized content is arguably the most effective SEO strategy today to help your site rank higher in search results (and so bring in more visitors).

• Content performance can be leveraged further with the use of appropriate images. An article with the right images sees a 94% increase in viewership.

• Content is useable in multiple ways: it pulls traffic to your site, provides interest in your social media feeds, fills your newsletter or client emails, and can often be reused in brochures and white papers or other handouts for clients.

3) Citations Are Essential For Local Business Success

Citations are listings of your business on other reputable sites which provide directory-like services. Examples would be your local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Better Business Bureau, or directories such as http://www.canadianbusinessdirectory.ca/. Google views these listings as proof that you have a legitimate business (and website), so they are important.

The key with citations, besides having them at all, is that that your address needs to be consistent among all listings. The best way to do this is to look at how Canada Post lists your business address on their site, and make sure that every place you provide your address displays the exact same information. You want an exact match to the Canada Post listing. Don’t use “St.” or “Street” when they use “ST”, for example. Capitalization doesn’t matter, but spelling and punctuation do. Make sure your business name is also listed exactly the same way each time. https://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/postalcode/fpc.jsf?LOCALE=en

If you find you could use assistance with any of these improvements, or other updates your website needs, give me a call at 778-895-2311 or email me at [email protected]. Many of my clients find that they make more money if they focus on what they do best, and let me take care of the things I’m most skilled at.

Karilee Orchard is a marketing coach, website designer and SEO who helps businesses create websites that bring in more of the right clients and serve as the hub of their marketing strategy.



taking advantage of B.c. lng opportUnities

There is a growing need for natural gas outside North America. To address this need, over the past several years approximately 20 proponents have applied for export licenses, paving the way for British Columbia to establish a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry. Like all new economic development, it takes many years to build an industry. There is still work ahead including important First Nations engagement, as well as engineering and environmental work. As a whole, this represents a strong show of confidence in B.C. and in our diverse and growing economy.

While not all of these LNG projects are expected to proceed, those that do will drive jobs and economic activity. Projects require significant investment in infrastructure, including the construction of liquefaction facilities and pipelines, resulting in a wide array of products and services that need to be sourced, often locally. If only five LNG plants are constructed they could create a total investment of $175 billion and up to 100,000 jobs.

All British Columbians – and B.C. businesses – are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities that will arise from these projects. If you would like your business to benefit, take a look at the recently introduced LNG-Buy BC tool.

The LNG-Buy BC Tool is a web-based platform that helps businesses discover new opportunities and build partnerships. By creating an online profile describing your company’s products and services, capabilities and expertise, you will be able to connect with buyers seeking suppliers, network with other suppliers and business partners, and keep informed of major project procurement activity. The tool offers useful features including a search engine to locate suppliers by capability and geography, automatic matching and tracking of opportunities posted by buyers. LNG-Buy BC can be a valuable resource in opening doors for companies seeking to take advantage of LNG project investment in the province.

Learn more and register online by visiting the LNG-Buy BC website. http://engage.gov.bc.ca/lnginbc/lng-buy-bc-program/


BC Safety Authority’s

Lieutenant GovernorSafety Awards

Join us as we honour individuals and organizations that have madean outstanding contribution to the safety of technical systems in BC.

Public policy expert, open source strategist and recognized publicthinker, David Eaves, will be speaking on the future of technology,social change and safety.

Order your tickets today!www.safetyauthority.ca/lgawards

Monday, November 23, 2015River Rock Casino Resort

Gold Level:

Thank you to all of our generous sponsors:

Silver Level:

Bronze Level:

Media Sponsor:

Save the date!MCABC's Annual Christmas

open house

Thursday December 3rd, 2015MCABC Offices, #123-3989 Henning Drive, Burnaby

2:30pm - 5:30pm

Food, Drinks & Entertainment provided by MCABC - our treat!

Start your holiday season off in style and join MCABC staff for a swinging good time.

This Annual Christmas Open-House is our opportunity to warm your bellies, collect charitable donations, mingle with our members, and raise a toast to industry friends and business associates.

This year, we’ll be raising money for the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR) - a national charity seeking to eliminate the challenges of Prader-Willi Syndrome through the advancement of research. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder that is recognized as the most common genetic cause of life-threatening childhood obesity due to insatiable hunger, and intellectual disability.

As we do each year, we’d like to ask you for help in our fundraising efforts.

We are currently in need of silent auction items, so please help support our cause by donating an item or making a financial contribution. Please fill out the donation form provided, or contact our office: [email protected] | 604.205.5058

MCABC Charitable Donation FORMName: Company:

Address: City:

Postal Code Phone:

Email: Fax:

Card number: Name: (as it appears on the card)

Signature: Donation Amount:$

Expiry date (mm/yy): Payment Type:(Visa, Mastercard, CASH, Cheque)

Please Send Completed Forms and Make Cheques Payable to: Mechanical Contractors Association of BC #223 3989 Henning Drive Burnaby, BC V5C 6N5

Tel: (604) 205-5058 | Toll Free: 800-663-8473 | Fax: (604) 205-5075 Email: [email protected]

MCABC Christmas Drop-in Social & Charity Fundraiser Thursday Dec 3rd, 2015

(2:30pm - 5:30pm)

MCABC Holiday Silent Auction - Donation FORMName: Company:

Address: City:

Postal Code Phone:

Email: Fax:

Item(s) Donated: Short Description of Item:

Approx. Value of item(s) Donated: Will you be attending MCABC’s holiday social on December 3rd?

Yes | No

How many people will you be bringing with you?



EXECUTIVES

PRESIDENT

Wayne DavidsonDavidson Bros Mechanical Contractors Ltd.

SECRETARY TREASURER & PAST PRESIDENTDean Loewen Independent

VICE PRESIDENTS

Dale MillerDivision 15 Mechanical Ltd

Andrew WongAlpha Mechanical Contracting Ltd.

DIRECTORSBrian BradshawAltac Services Inc

Brad HaysomTight 5 Contracting Ltd

Mark HumphreyBartle & Gibson (Associates 1st Vice-Chairman)

Ross MacdonaldControl Solutions Ltd

Angus Macpherson (IMIRA Chairman)Cairnview Mechanical Ltd.

Richard McLatchieLockerbie & Hole

Mike OhlmannFred Welsh Ltd.

Brad PopoffEquity Plumbing & Heating Ltd

Earl StoreyB.A. Robinson (Associates Chairman)

Dan Taillefer

Viaduct Sheet Metal Ltd

Len VoonAarc West Mechanical Insulation

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Dana Taylor

MCABC

Get in touch with us! Send us your feedback, your comments and your

thoughts on this issue - We want to hear from you!

Contact us for more info: [email protected]

MCABC Calendar of EventsNOVEMBER 2015

MCABC’s Estimating 201November 7th & 8thMCABC Classroom (Burnaby)

MCAC’S 74TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCENovember 16 – 19Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa (USA)

DECEMBER 2015

MCABC’s Annual Christmas Open HouseThursday December 3rdMCABC Classroom (Burnaby)

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