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Message from the President
 

Tony Araujo
President
Canadian Council of Independent Laboratories
This has been a tough year for everyone, and we can probably all agree that we’re relieved to be saying goodbye to 2020.
 
Our hearts go out to those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who have lost loved ones, whose jobs and businesses have been crushed, who have suffered anguish and despair because of isolation.
 
But even in the midst of the darkness, we saw an indomitable spirit among Canadians and a resolve to work together to defeat the virus. We witnessed the tireless efforts of those providing health care, delivering food, keeping our lights on and our transportation systems moving.
 
We saw our members doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of their employees, suppliers, and customers. And we saw everyday acts of heroism as some members worked quietly to provide masks and other personal protective equipment to local first responders.
 
Like other organizations, CCIL rose to the challenges and adapted to the new realities. Knowing how critical infrastructure projects are throughout Canada, the CCIL Certification Office in record time developed protocols and processes to offer virtual certifications / audits so that our certification clients’ projects would not be negatively affected with delays.
 
We had to cancel our plans to meet in Vancouver for our Annual General Meeting, and instead we gathered online for our first-ever virtual AGM.
 
As part of the national effort to support and increase the manufacturing and testing capacity for PPE, we facilitated two information sessions between the National Research Council and members to discuss particulate filter efficiency level testing for N95 respirators and respirator material.
 
We continued to carry out our aggressive and busy advocacy program (see Year-End Review below). But instead of Ministers’ offices and meeting rooms, we found ourselves discussing our important issues in video conferences.
 
With vaccines soon to be available, there is now light at the end of the tunnel, and we hope to be back to some semblance of “normal” next year. From all of us at CCIL, we thank you for everything you’ve done to help during these trying times. We wish you and your family, friends and colleagues Happy Holidays and a healthy and more prosperous 2021.
 

 
Year-End Review
 
In spite of the restrictions and constraints imposed by the pandemic, we had a very productive year. A key part of what we do is serve as the voice for the independent, private-sector testing industry, and we work to address concerns which members bring forward. Some of our initiatives this year have included: the replacement of dangerous solvents in asphalt test methods, working with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on improvements to technician certification, advocating for appropriate quality control on P3 projects, working with like-minded organizations such as consulting engineers, and partnering with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business to offer an enhanced benefits program and strengthen our government relations capability.
 
The main focus of our advocacy efforts has been, and remains, protecting our members against unfair competition from tax-subsidized institutions. It’s hard to believe, but these cases keep cropping up, cases where public funds are being used to support organizations that offer routine testing services, usually at deeply discounted rates, which are already being provided by the private sector. Shame on governments for allowing this to happen, and shame on the funding agencies for pretending this money is going to applied research and innovation programs.
 
CCIL keeps a watchful eye out, and we act as soon as we identify any situation where the businesses and livelihoods of our members and their employees are being threatened in such a manner. But we also need your help. Any time you encounter a publicly-funded organization operating in the routine testing market, let us know.
 
So have a look at this list. It identifies the ministries, agencies, and institutions we met with in 2020 over issues of tax-subsidized competition, and the outcome and status of our discussions. If you have information that can assist us, or wish to bring any new cases to our attention, we would like to hear from you.            
 
Government-Owned Facilities
  • Ontario’s Environmental Testing Laboratory in Etobicoke. We have urged the government to privatize the routine testing services being offered by this facility.
  • Manitoba’s Industrial Technology Centre. Good news here. The province has announced that it is divesting the operations and assets of ITC.
  • Saskatchewan Research Council. CCIL successfully obtained assurances that SRC will only be administering the province’s program for the abandonment and reclamation of inactive oil and gas wells and facilities, and will not be participating in any of the remediation activities under the Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP).
  • InnoTech Alberta. We prepared a detailed report and talked with officials about how this agency, by competing with the private sector, is an impediment to both business growth and effective investment in research and innovation in the province.
 
Colleges and Universities
  • Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities and Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education. We have raised serious concerns about new funding agreements in both provinces that will incentivize some post-secondary institutions to seek alternative revenue sources by offering routine testing services.
  • Fleming College’s Centre for the Advancement of Water and Wastewater Technologies. This issue has been positively resolved with Fleming assuring us that the CAWT will not engage in routine testing services.
  • Laurentian University’s Perdue Central Analytical Facility. After meeting with officials, they have reviewed their website and policies, and have shared their proposed revisions to address our concerns.
  • Fanshawe College’s Canadian Centre for Product Validation. CCIL exposed that Fanshawe’s CCPV is losing millions of dollars in trying to compete in the routine testing market, demonstrating that public funding in support of these activities is a misuse of tax dollars and bad public policy.
     
Funding Agencies
  • Canada Foundation for Innovation. CFI has responded positively to our concerns, and now requires any institution listed in its online directory to agree that “CFI-funded infrastructure will not be used to support routine testing of samples or products or technical consulting services offered by private-sector firms.”
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Technology Access Centres. We have been developing strategies aimed at both eliminating competition from identified TACs and obtaining policy clarification/enforcement from NSERC, which funds the TACs, so there is a national approach to addressing our industry’s concerns. More to come.
  • National Research Council. NRC is now committed to addressing this matter and is developing appropriate policy guidelines. CCIL will be provided an opportunity to comment on the guidance document once it is drafted.
 
In addition to the above activities, CCIL also facilitated two online stakeholder events. Members in Western Canada were invited to a session on Nov. 12 to discuss the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). For members in Atlantic Canada, a session on New Brunswick’s Research and Productivity Council (RPC) was held on Nov. 26.
Both of these organizations have been offering routine testing as well as technical/consulting services in competition with the private sector for many years, and we wanted to hear from our members about the impact this is having on their businesses.
 
The events were well attended, and it became abundantly clear in our discussions that the SRC and the RPC are seen as significant threats to industry service providers.
 
We have asked attendees to provide us with examples of existing areas of conflict and competition with these organizations, and to help us further gather additional research. We plan to complete a robust, detailed analysis which we will present to the appropriate government ministries.
 
CCIL has assured all participants in this process that we will not be disclosing confidential business information. If you would like more information about these initiatives, or if you would like to be involved, please contact Muktha Tumkur at mtumkur@ccil.com.



CCIL Scholarships
 
As part of our commitment to supporting STEM students, CCIL provides a number of scholarships across Canada. We are proud to be assisting these future engineers, scientists and technicians.
 
This year’s winners were:
 
First Recipient of the Dr. Dickson Scholarship
 
The Dr. John Dickson Memorial Scholarship was awarded this year to Lauren McDermaid. Lauren is the first recipient of this annual bursary which provides $2,500 to a deserving student at the University of Ottawa who is pursuing a BASc in either the Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Option program, or in the Civil Engineering program.
 
The scholarship was created in honour of the late Dr. Dickson who, as CCIL’s Certification Program Manager, was instrumental in the development of the successful National program that certifies asphalt, aggregate and concrete testing laboratories in Canada.

 
Lauren McDermaid with her service dog at the University of Ottawa.
“I would like to thank CCIL,” Lauren exclaimed. “I am currently pursuing a dual degree, a BASc in Civil Engineering and a BSc in Computing Technology, and I have worked very hard to pay for my education. I am very grateful.” She plans to pursue a Master's degree next academic year. “I believe, as engineers, we are responsible for building society's infrastructure and ensuring accessibility. As a disabled student, I continue to educate myself on the physical barriers imposed on individuals by our building infrastructure.”

Other Scholarship Winners
 
College of the North Atlantic
Devon Green
Dominique Hemeon-Kehoe
 
Durham College
Omar Abdulrahman Haji Omar
 
New Brunswick Community College
Miranda Dickie
 
Red River College
Minh Man Tran
 
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Kyle Schooley
 
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Eyad El-Azzeh
 
Transportation Association of Canada
Roberto Aurilio
 
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Jun Yeob (Edward) Song
 
We would also like to remind our readers that beginning in 2021, we will be launching a new high school award program. If you are an employee of a CCIL-member firm and you have a teenager graduating from high school next year, your young student may be eligible for a $500 scholarship. Details coming soon!
 
 

New Members
 
We welcome the following two new members:
 
Global Laboratory and Research Corporation
CT & Associates Engineering Inc. https://www.ctaengineering.com/
 
 

We Want To Hear From You
 
CCIL wants to stress that we are listening to you. We have been proactive and are achieving advocacy wins because of members who alerted us with their concerns. If there is something that is affecting the testing industry or your business, let us know. Also, if there’s something we can be doing better, or you wish to pass along a comment or an idea, please contact:
 
Muktha Tumkur
CCIL Executive Director
905-805-1170
mtumkur@ccil.com
LabWatch is a quarterly newsletter produced by the Canadian Council of Independent Laboratories. By opening this ‘window’ on our sector, we hope to engage government, industry and other stakeholders in an informed discussion of the issues.


NEWSLETTER CONTACT:
Megan Stephens

mstephens@ccil.com  
416-777-0368
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Canadian Council of Independent Laboratories
P.O. Box 41027
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