Slowdown could cut CDDA’s revenue

Speaking at the association’s 1989 annual meeting here recently, incoming president Tim Bremner said he is concerned about the maintaining revenues should association members suffer from the slowdown.

Bremner, who was reporting as chairman of the association’s finance committee before his election as president for the 1989-90 term was announced, said members’ dues are based on hours worked by the member companies. If there is lots of work during the year, member companies’ billings reflect that resulting in increased dues for the association.

But if the numbers of hours worked is down, dues to the association will also decline.

“The number of hours will be down, there’s no doubt about it,” said Bremner. “That could mean there will be an increase in assessment rates.”

In 1988-89, the association reported revenue of about $103,000 compared to expenditures of $102,000. A great deal of those expenditures went toward a special project of the association, the production and distribution of videos that will be used in training and safety education.

About 49 member companies were represented at the annual meeting, the association’s 46th. Bremner, general manager of Logan Drilling in Stewiacke, N.S., was elected president.

And, while concerns about future revenue were expressed by Bremner, secretary-manager Max Matte reported that membership had “exceeded expectations.”

He said that since 1985 active membership had increased to 50 from 27, associate membership had increased to 38 from 10 and mining company membership had increased to six from three.

The association also approved a motion by Bremner that the number of directors on the board be increased to nine from eight.

Bremner said the increased board would be able to provide better representation from Western Canada and might also be able to avoid the problems that resulted from a major turnover in the board during 1988 when half of the directors were replaced.

In new business, the association voiced its unequivocal opposition to Ontario’s proposed revisions to the provincial Health and Safety Act, known as Bill 208.

The revisions threaten to do away with organizations from industry that oversee health and safety practices and replace them with a government imposed structure.

Included in the Bill is a provision that would see organized labor gain equal representation to management on the governing body and would give such individual representatives the authority to shut down a workplace if they thought it was unsafe.

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