Industry Holds Its Own in Year of Disease, Blackouts and Forest Fires

摘要

Canada is shaking off a year of shocks to its economy ranging from massive forest fires in British Columbia, mad cow disease in Alberta, the SARS outbreak in Toronto and last August's power blackout in Ontario. But contractors and design industry leaders are upbeat, since construction was relatively unscathed. "The construction industry is doing well and has done well for several years," says Ross Grieve, president of PCL Construction Group Inc., Edmonton. Its projects include construction management of the $761-million casino and resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario, scheduled to open this spring and considered Canada's largest private commercial building project. PCL, along with Toronto-based Aecon Group Inc., is also joint venture construction manager of the 261,000-sq-m terminal at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The first phase of this $2.53-billion project was completed in December.