Ontario’s June housing starts were up 3300 from May due to an increase in single and multiple starts in the province, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 197,400 units in June, from a revised 194,100 units in May.

Construction has begun on a new $15.6-million transit centre in Kamloops, B.C., to meet the growing number of riders.

“Kamloops is focusing on promoting transit as an alternative mode of transportation by investing in the infrastructure needed to support it, such as the recent construction of transit exchanges at Lansdowne Village and Sydney Avenue,” said Peter Milobar, the city’s mayor.

A large-scale transit project has won the Consulting Engineers of Ontario’s (CEO’s) most prestigious award, the Willis Chipman Award for excellence in consulting engineering.

The award was presented to AGM Program Managers last month for its role in the recently completed $700-million, multi-year GO Transit Rail Infrastructure Improvement Program (GO TRIP).

A Toronto telecommunications office has become the country’s largest project to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Commercial Interiors (CI) certification.

TELUS House, a 39,596-m² (426,208-sf) office space located in Toronto’s 25 York Street tower, was designed by Kasian Architecture.

With registration now open for fall’s Greenbuild in Toronto, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is highlighting the host country’s impressive track record of striving for sustainability.

The group points out 378 Canadian commercial projects have earned certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, with 25 projects achieving the highest Platinum rating.

The Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure has released “Building Together,” a long-term infrastructure plan to create jobs, strengthen the economy, and help communities meet the needs of local families.

Key investment priorities will support: getting Ontario’s goods to market with better highways, bridges, and border crossings; giving commuters fast, affordable, and environmentally sound transit options; educating a strong and innovative workforce; ensuring healthier lifetime outcomes; and helping Ontario’s rural areas, regions, and cities.

The Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards handed out $75,000 to a Winnipeg retrofit company, an East Coast homebuilder, and a Calgary engineering student studying in the United States.

Scotiabank’s Business Leadership Award (i.e. $50,000) was awarded to Winnipeg’s BUILD for its non-profit program of retrofitting homes in low-income areas of the province with energy saving materials, resulting in lower utility bills, employment of neighbourhood members, and decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Using electronic faucets reduces potential cross-contamination from faucet handles to healthcare providers’ hands, according to discussions at last month’s meeting of the North American plumbing organizations.

Held at the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) facility in Chicago, the gathering was facilitated by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE).

Toronto’s TELUS Centre for the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) has been honoured by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE).

This year, 13 educational and cultural facility winners were selected in the U.S.-based group’s Educational Facility Design Awards.

The province of Manitoba has announced it will spend $4 billion to overhaul its aging roads and bridges in the second phase of its 10-year “Highway Renewal Plan.”

More than 1100 km (684 mi) of highway will be improved this year, and a full inventory review of roads damaged during the flood of 2011 is underway, with crews already restoring infrastructure to its earlier condition.