No, we can’t EDITORIAL GLASS CANADA June 2023 Volume 35 • Number 2 Annex Business Media P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, Ontario N3Y 4N5 READER SERVICE Print and digital subscription inquiries or changes, please contact Angelita Potal, Customer Service Rep. Tel: 416.510.5113 Fax: 416.510.6875 Email: apotal@annexbusinessmedia.com Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 EDITOR | Patrick FLANNERY pflannery@annexbusinessmedia.com 226.931.0545 PUBLISHER | Danielle LABRIE dlabrie@annexbusinessmedia.com 519.429.5187 BRAND SALES MANAGER | Leslie OSBORNE losborne@annexbusinessmedia.com 647.280.5885 ACCOUNT COORDINATOR | Barb COMER bcomer@annexbusinessmedia.com 519.429.5171 AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | Shawn ARUL sarul@annexbusinessmedia.com 416.510.5181 MEDIA DESIGNER | Curtis MARTIN PRESIDENT/COO | Scott JAMIESON sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada -1 Year $37.00 (plus tax) U.S.A. -1 Year $85.00 (in CDN dollars) Publication Mail Agreement #40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 0843-7041 Occasionally, Glass Canada will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above. Annex Privacy Officer privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2374 No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permis-sion. ©2022 Annex Business Media. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any en-dorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. Are there glass projects that Canadian glaziers can’t accomplish? I was at the Ontario Construction Secretariat State of the Industry conference earlier this year when I heard a disturbing comment. One of the contractors for the Parliament Hill renovation project was delivering an excellent presentation to a room full of mostly other ICI contractors. My interest perked up as he addressed the big new skylight over the West Block. He mentioned the glazing contrac-tor – Seele – and threw in that they had to go to Europe for the work because the capacity to do such a technically challenging project didn’t exist in Canada. When challenged on this premise (by me), my colleague overheard someone in the audi-ence saying, “There’s no way a Canadian company could do that.” This incident was disturbing on two levels. First, it is apparently the opinion of at least some in the Canadian general contracting community that domestic glass fabrica-tors and installers have some limit to their technical capabilities compared to other parts of the world. If this is wrong, we have a communication problem. But an even more disturbing notion is that it might be right. If it is, I can’t think for the life of me why it would be so. Canada is not poor. We can afford the most advanced technology in the NEXT ISSUE world. Our engineering programs are top-notch, produc-• Great Glazing ing people who do internationally recognized work in • FGIA Summer facade and glass engineering. Just look at our Great Glaz-ing features (coming in the next issue) for examples of Conference the amazing work our industry does. We are in constant report contact with the American market where, one would as-sume, some of the most expensive and advanced projects in the world are happening. It seems to me that if challenged with a project more difficult than the run-of-the-mill, there are many Canadian companies that could rise to that challenge and learn what they need to in order to get it done. Or am I hopelessly blinded by patriotism? One narrative I hear frequently is that Europe is way ahead – some use the figure 10 years – in glazing design and technology. Many reasons are floated for this. Relatively expensive oil has driven interest in energy efficiency in Europe for a lot longer than here. Government subsidies for sustainable construction are more common in Europe and have a longer history. Europeans invest more heavily in R&D. European trade schools and unions do a better job of generating workers and engineers with advanced knowledge. Higher prices for land and housing mean owners hold their properties longer in Europe and spend more on them. I can see where all of this might add up to Canadian companies not making the same investments in product design. But equipment can be purchased and learning can happen. Last I checked, there were flights to Germany and a big show that happens there every year where the latest European technology can be seen. Also, there’s this thing called the internet. It would be sad indeed if our market condi-tions have created a structural deficit in our capabilities when we have, in my view, people and infrastructure the equal of anywhere else in the world. • @GlassCanadaMag www.glasscanadamag.com 4 June 2023 | GLASS CANADA
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