RC122 JanFeb 2026 - Magazine - Page 39
TORONTO
CCA Best Practices in
Construction Symposium
CCA
The Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA)
Redevelopment Project received the P3 Transaction—
Gold Award at the 2025 National Awards for Innovation
and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships.
Day 2 of P3 2025 was highlighted by an
appearance by Ontario Premier Doug Ford,
who addressed the rapid pace of global
change and the need to strengthen Canada’s
economic resilience through infrastructure,
innovation and partnership.
The session was introduced by James
Scongack, COO and EVP at Bruce Power,
who set the stage for a discussion on the
importance of energy, investment and collaboration in building a stronger Ontario.
Premier Ford spoke about Ontario’s position as an energy and manufacturing powerhouse and the province’s e昀昀orts to remove
internal trade barriers, streamline approvals
and advance major projects across sectors,
from schools and hospitals to some of North
America’s largest transit extensions.
He highlighted the importance of measuring progress, setting clear timelines and
working with private partners to deliver results. His remarks underscored the need for
continued collaboration to keep Ontario—
and Canada—competitive and well prepared
for the future.
The CCPPP also handed out their annual
National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in P3s, including a trio of Champion
Awards to Geo昀昀rey Smith, executive chair
of EllisDon (Lifetime Champion), David
Lindsay, chair, Infrastructure Ontario Board
of Directors (Lifetime Champion), and Laura
Gagnon, Infrastructure Ontario (Emerging
Champion).
RENEWCANADA.NET
THE CANADIAN CONSTRUCTION
ASSOCIATION (CCA) hosted its inaugural
Best Practices in Construction Symposium
in Toronto for more than 100 construction
leaders in attendance. The aim of the twoday event was to deliver practical, realworld insights that attendees could apply
immediately to their projects, teams, and
processes.
Keynote speaker Dan Playfair, VP of
Major Component Replacement Future Unit
Planning at Bruce Power discussed some
of the approaches he helped introduce in
his role at the Tiverton, Ont. nuclear facility
that provides 30 per cent of Ontario’s power
supply.
As part of its $13-billion refurbishment
program, which is refurbishing six nuclear
reactors to extend their operating life by over
14 years, Playfair revealed some of the innovations he led Bruce Power through, noting
that the nuclear industry is extremely cautious about trying new processes. Drawing
on his background in consumer-packaged
goods, at food and beverage manufacturer Mars, a place where innovation cannot
be deployed fast enough, Playfair said he
brought a new approach to the facility.
“I was hired by Bruce Power speci昀椀cally
to bring outside approaches to the nuclear
industry. Our refurbishment commitment
at Bruce power required us to get faster and
cheaper with each reactor, so we had to overcome change aversity.”
The use of LEAN along with digital twins
and AI are just some of the ways the project
has stayed on time and on budget, according
to Playfair.
Playfair said that by taking a businesscase approach he was able to show the
bene昀椀ts of the innovations deployed,
and he highlighted for the audience, the
value of collaboration as he worked on the
refurbishment project that is making use of
an IPT model.
“We’ve ensured mutual bene昀椀t, and that’s
a key thing to take away. A mutual bene昀椀t is
an enduring bene昀椀t. Transactional bene昀椀ts
tend to fall apart.”
The results Bruce Power experienced
from Playfair’s approach relied on a mindset
that can be extended to any business, and
especially, he said, to projects and companies
in Canada’s construction sector. “No matter
how you perform as an industry or individual companies, we can always do better.”
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 – RENEW CANADA 39
