This year's Contractor Forum took place on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at the Langley Events Centre.

This page contains information related to the event such as presentation slides, poll results, speaker bios, contact information for panel members and presenters. Scroll down to view the information.

HPSC Contact Information

General inquires

Website: homeperformance.ca Email: info@homeperformance.ca Phone: 604-755-3469

Home Performance Contractor Network (HPCN) inquires

Website:homeperformance.ca/HPCN Email: hpcn@homeperformance.ca Phone: 604-755-3469 ext 0

Table Activity: What is Home Performance?

The HPSC opened the forum by asking participants to answer questions about home performance with prompts such as "what is a home performance contractor", "describe a high-performing retrofitted home", etc. The HPSC collected the written responses and will be using them to help inform future communication, education, and marketing initiatives related to home performance.

To view a gallery of the written responses, click here.

Home Performance Success Stories: Retrofit Peer Panel

Speaker	Bio	Contact Info
Andy Cockburn (facilitator) Director, Education & Training, NAIMA Canada Ontario	Andy Cockburn is a Red Seal General Carpenter with experience in restoration, traditional timber framing, drafting and design, stairs, custom housing and high-performance residential. Throughout the early 2000's until 2018, Andy taught at the Algonquin College Perth Campus in Construction Carpentry Advanced Housing In 2017, he earned his certification as a Passive House Consultant with the Canadian Passive House Institute. Andy maintains a position as President with his local Home Builders' Association in Perth, Ontario, and serves as a Board Member for the HPSC.	naimacanada.ca acockburn@naimacanada.ca 613-264-5319
Graeme Unger President, Unger Window & Door Chilliwack	Graeme Unger is a seasoned professional in the fenestration industry, currently serving as the Owner and President of Unger Window & Door Ltd. With over 14 years of experience in the field, Graeme brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his work, particularly in the area of install applications for renovations and whole home performance. Graeme's commitment to excellence is reflected in his passion for delivering high quality products and services to his clients. He takes pride in educating his clients to help them make informed decisions about their home renovations. This dedication has earned him recognition from the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce, with nominations for Business of the Year and has established him as a leader in the window & door industry.	unger.ca 604-792-7877
Dylan Moore Co-Owner, Lone Wolf HVAC Nanaimo	Dylan Moore is the co-owner of Lone Wolf HVAC and is also an HVAC Journeyman and Gas Contractor. After 10 years of continuous learning in the residential and light commercial HVAC industry, Dylan opened Lone Wolf HVAC Ltd. with a business partner to ensure that customers were getting the best quality service with no corners cut. Their company focus is using the House-as-a-System approach to maximize the usefulness and affordability of home heating retrofit projects using industry best practices, Home Energy Audit results, and Heat Loss data taken on site. Dylan works closely with both homeowners and Home Energy Auditors to make sure that customers are connected to the most advantageous rebates and have a right-sized system that will save on energy bills and reduce environmental impacts of energy use. Dylan is passionate about policy development in the HVAC industry as the energy landscape continues to change in BC.	lonewolfhvac.ca admin@lonewolfhvac.ca 250-739-6030
Steve Kemp President, Owner, Kemp Construction Delta	With more than 25 years in the industry, Steve is passionate about building better homes with improved energy efficiency. He shares that passion with his team, keeping up-to-date with the latest building science and technology, participating in pilot projects, and sharing his knowledge with industry colleagues as a member of the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver (HAVAN) Education and Training Committee, and in his past role as Vice-Chair of the HAVAN Renovation Council. Steve is also an active General Retrofit sector council member with the HPSC. Kemp Construction are certified residential builders with the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA), active members of the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver (HAVAN), and certified Built Green® and Net Zero builders, as well as members of Energy Star® and RenoMark™.	kempconstruction.ca steve@kempconstruction.ca 604-948-1124
Anny Knight Owner, Knights Insulation Burnaby	Anny Knights grew up in the restaurant business and took those communication skills with her when she and her partner started Knights Insulation in 1985. Anny runs the office and puts her communication skills to good use as the first point of contact with new and repeat customers who call and email. She is very passionate about her company and the industry she works in. Anny has always taken great joy in talking and educating people about their insulation upgrade options. Her biggest pleasure is working alongside her two sons who both chose to join the company after trying other options.	knightsinsulation.ca general@knightsinsulation.ca 604-437-7290
Lisa Mak Climate Solutions Specialist, Community Energy Association Vancouver	Lisa Mak is a Climate Solutions Specialist with CEA. She plays a key role in developing and delivering retrofit projects with high impact deliverables in communities across BC, as well as coordinating peer networks for local government staff to connect, share, and collaborate on initiatives to accelerate the transition to low carbon communities. Having worked with local governments, the BC provincial government, and industry associations for the past five years, Lisa has a deep understanding of the importance of collaboration and relationship-building to advance initiatives for energy efficiency and electrification.	communityenergy.ca lmak@communityenergy.bc.ca 604-628-7076
Ben Granewall Service Organization Manager, GETS Energy Victoria	Ben worked in the Electrical field for 11 years prior to transitioning into the Energy Advising sector. After spending 5 years in Calgary's commercial sector, he decided to move back home to Victoria, BC to specialize in Marine Pleasure Craft electrical and electronics. Seeking a more rewarding and fulfilling career, he made the switch to Energy Advising with GETS Energy and has been able to assist hundreds of homeowners through their retrofit journeys. Ben and the team at GETS have placed a focus on helping homeowners navigate the various rebates. This has helped instill homeowners with the confidence to move forward on retrofits they would have otherwise deemed impossible due to the complexity of the available rebate paths.	getsenergy.ca 236-361-3637

Recruitment & Retention Strategies: Peer Panel

Speaker	Bio	Contact Info
Peter Sundberg (facilitator) General Manager, FRESCo Building Efficiency Victoria	Peter is FRESCo's General Manager and a strategic innovator with over two decades of experience designing and delivering energy efficiency and clean energy programs in North America, Asia and Latin America. At FRESCo, Peter is responsible for business management, supporting business, partnership and team development and providing senior consulting services. Peter brings a wide and diverse range of skills with single family residential, multi-unit residential, small commercial and affordable housing buildings. His expertise includes business management, energy efficiency program design and implementation, training program development and delivery, marketing efficiency programs, managing energy assessment teams, research and analysis and industry and consumer engagement. Peter also serves as a Board advisor for the HPSC.	frescoltd.ca psundberg@frescoltd.com 250‑858‑9440
Meredith Hamstead Co-Owner, thinkBright Homes Invermere	Meredith Hamstead owns and operates thinkBright Homes with her husband and business partner Paul Denchuk. She has degrees in political science and Environmental Design, with a focus on ecological economics and sustainability. In order to solve the crises of climate change and housing, thinkBright believes that homes need to last longer, cost less to build and operate, and be affordable for regular people to rent or purchase. This vision is made real by the thinkBright crew of managers, carpenters, apprentices, labourers, and sub-trades. Air tightness, mechanical and thermal intensity, and cost efficiency are all achieved by the skilled workers who show up each day with tools in hand. By fostering a team of people with collective care for outcomes, thinkBright is not actually building houses, but changing the world one house at a time	thinkbright.ca online@thinkbright.ca 250-688-1150
Connor Williams Vice President, Ashton Mechanical Group Richmond	Connor is the Vice President of Ashton Mechanical Group. He's held various roles including technician, sales, marketing, operations, and management. With experience in new construction, commercial service and residential service, Connor has seen many aspects of the trade. He holds a bachelors degree from the University of Victoria in Psychology, and a BBA in Business Management from BCIT. Connor's specific focus the last decade has been building Ashton's residential service and installation division from its infancy. The team has grown from 3 employees to a division of 40 staff members. Ashton's residential division is an industry leader in heat pump installations in detached homes and multi-unit retrofit applications. Connor serves as the Chair of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce Policy and Advocacy Committee and has been a board member for 2 years. Connor lives in Kits with his wife Justine and son Walter.	callashton.com/ info@ashtonservicegroup.com 604-242-2208
Ashley Gulevich Director of Administration, Coastal Heat Pumps Sidney	Ashley Gulevich co-owns Coastal Heat Pumps, a family owned and operated heat pumps installation and servicing company. Over the past 5 years, Ashley has been instrumental in facilitating complex change and growth within the business, supporting the company grow from 9-29, she understands the challenges of recruiting the right candidates, as well as the importance of employee retention while staying true to the core values of the company, maintaining culture and providing exceptional customer service.	coastalheatpumps.com info@coastalhvac.ca 250-656-6868

Recruitment & Retention Strategies: Presentations

Speaker	Bio	Contact Info
Reece Terris Co-Owner and Partner, A Few Good Lads Vancouver	After a long and fruitful career within carpentry from the late 80's, Reece Terris has established himself as a trusted member of the construction community in British Columbia. Following the conception of his general contracting company TerrisCo, he continues to provide high quality builds and projects to the area. With efforts to support the industry's critical need for new talent, Reece has joined forces with A Few Good Lads. Reece is motivated to combat the industry's issues to the best of his abilities, independently and as a partner of A Few Good Lads, as Canadian construction has given so much to Reece throughout his life. Following launch in 2018, A Few Good Lads has supported the long-term and short-term journeys of newcomers into Canada. The company offers skilled and unskilled workers employment within Canadian construction and manufacturing industries across all sectors; supporting the growing demands of the industries. Self-branded as a 'landing pad', AFGL welcomes immigrants into the Country, with a strong focus towards; social integration, community initiatives and ongoing support to all employees (work and beyond.) Over the years, AFGL has supported countless high profile projects, across multiple trades with staffing support.	afewgoodlads.com operations@afewgoodlads.com 604-670-4537 A Few Good Lads Slides
Karen Dearlove Executive Director, BC Centre for Women in the Trades Port Coquitlam	Since completing a PhD in History in 2009, Karen Dearlove has worked in leadership positions in cultural, not for profit and community organizations in Ontario and British Columbia. While pursuing her academic studies Karen worked in a series of hands-on jobs, including surveying, carpentry, concrete finishing, and various positions in the fabrication of architectural grade wood doors such as CNC programming. An ardent supporter of the labour movement, Karen was instrumental in organizing her previous workplace and served as shop steward for CUPE Local 389. Karen is passionate about education, social justice, Reconciliation, and representation. She is excited to bring her knowledge, skills and experience to create diverse, equitable workplaces and opportunities for equity-seeking people in the skilled trades.	bccwitt.ca info@bccwitt.ca 604-812-6660 BCCWITT Slides

Funding & Finance Solutions: Presentations

Speaker	Bio	Contact Info & Slides
Vicky Sharm-Lal Small Business Advisor, Vancity Emily Pearson Sr. Consultant, Climate Strategy and Performance, Vancity Vancouver	Vicky has been with Vancity for over 20 years and has experience in a breadth of roles. Currently she is a Small Business Advisor helping to provide capital and business advice to Vancity's small business members. She enjoys connecting with small business owners to help them achieve their dreams, one step at a time. Emily is a Sr. Consultant with Vancity's Climate Strategy and Performance team. In her role she helps to create the products, offers and supports that can enable our retail and business members to reduce the emissions from their homes, buildings and businesses.	vancity.com vicky_sharma-lal@vancity.com emily_pearson@vancity.com 1-888-826-2489 Vancity Slides
Cameron Ferrie Director, Employer Programs and Services Workforce Development and Skills Training Division, Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Victoria	Cameron has over 10 years' experience in program management and has worked in various economic immigration and labour market programs in B.C. and Ontario. Over this period, Cameron has worked with employers and employer groups to support provincial economic development priorities.	workbc.ca/bc-employer-training-grant etg@gov.bc.ca 1-877-952-6914 B.C. Employer Training Grant Slides

Poll Results

Throughout the event, the HPSC asked the audience to participate in a live poll. The poll questions and final results are shared below.