Recognition
DCC first federal organization to be certified as Gold Seal Employer
DCC is now a Gold Seal Employer—the first federal organization to be recognized under the Canadian Construction Association’s construction management certification program.
Gold Seal Employer status reflects DCC’s longstanding reputation for strong contract management practices and its dedication to supporting employee professional development through the program.
It also demonstrates to DCC’s Client-Partners—the Department of National Defence, Canadian Armed Forces and the Communications Security Establishment—industry and other stakeholders that DCC is committed to meeting the highest standards for quality and professionalism in contract management.
DCC is seeking to have its training modules for contract management practitioners Gold Seal-certified.
DCC awards video wins second communications award
DCC has received a Silver Leaf Award of Merit for achievement in communications from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Canada. The Silver Leaf Awards celebrate the innovation, creativity and impact of communications work across Canada.
The honour recognizes DCC’s work on the 2023 National Awards ceremony video. The hour-long video features employee greetings from across the country, segments by the emcee (DCC Edmonton’s Mousumi Mukherjee), and remarks and award presentations by managers and executives.
This is DCC’s second IABC recognition for the awards video. In June 2024, it received a Gold Quill Award for communications excellence from the worldwide IABC organization.
DCC wins international communications award for annual recognition ceremony
DCC has been honoured with a Gold Quill Award for communications excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
The DCC Communications Team was recognized with this international award (special events category) for their work on the hour-long 2023 National Awards ceremony video.
The bilingual video features pre-recorded greetings from employees and award presentations by managers and executives. The segments were filmed across Canada and in overseas locations where DCC employees are deployed.
The IABC judges were impressed by how the video, which was broadcast to the entire company, with employees watching in groups or on their own, met or exceeded the meaningful goals the project team had set. These included portraying an inclusive image of the organization, capturing employees’ hearts and minds, and showcasing employee engagement—in the video itself, in viewership and in the chat.
IABC has presented awards to communications professionals around the world for more than 40 years. While DCC has been honoured at the local and at the national levels before, this is the first time DCC has won an international IABC award.
DCC honoured at Employment Equity Achievement Awards
DCC was a winner in all five categories of the 2023 Employment Equity Achievement Awards.
DCC was recognized for Indigenous reconciliation, sector distinction, outstanding commitment to employment equity, and innovation.
In addition, Derrick Cheung, President and CEO, was honoured as an employment equity champion. This award recognizes executives for their proven record of championing employment equity in their organization as well as their overall contribution to diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.
“DCC is very proud to be recognized in so many ways for its employment equity efforts,” says Derrick. “It is an achievement in which all DCC employees, leaders, managers and executives had a hand.”
At the awards ceremony, Derrick participated in a “fireside chat” with the two other champions (Stacey Miller, RST Sunbury Transport, and Brandy Ryan, Canada Post) on challenges and opportunities when building a foundation for a diverse and inclusive workplace.
The Employment Achievement Awards recognize federally regulated private-sector employers and federal contractors for their outstanding commitment to and achievements in implementing employment equity in their organization.
DCC was 1 of 19 employers honoured by Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan Jr. at a ceremony at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre on November 22, 2023.
DCC recognized for excellence in advancing reconciliation
Defence Construction Canada has been recognized for its work constructing a foundation on which to enhance relations with Indigenous peoples. The company received the 2023 “Excellence in Foundations for Results and Benefits” award from the Real Property Institute of Canada (RPIC) at its national awards ceremony in Ottawa on October 25, 2023.
Grant Sayers, Vice-President, Operations–Business Management, said how thrilled he and everyone at DCC are to win the award.
“This honour reaffirms our work to construct an organization-wide foundation on which we’re building respectful, meaningful relationships with Indigenous businesses, people and communities.”
Notably, DCC, in partnership with the Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment), has taken important steps to ensure more Indigenous businesses can participate in the real property lifecycle contracts DCC manages for the Department of National Defence.
In particular, DCC staff listened closely to hundreds of owners and operators of Indigenous businesses to learn about their operations and help them navigate contracting challenges.
In the wake of this foundational work, Indigenous businesses won almost 10% of all DCC contracts in 2022–23—that’s double the minimum target set by the federal government.
DCC also designed an Indigenous relations logo that complements the organization’s corporate identity and, in 2021, began the process to gain Progressive Aboriginal Relations certification from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. In addition, DCC recently launched a pilot Indigenous outreach program in its Pacific Region
The RPIC award recognizes DCC’s success to date and motivates the organization to continue working to advance reconciliation.
DCC receives excellence in procurement award
Defence Construction Canada (DCC) has been recognized by the National Procurement Institute by winning the prestigious Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) Award for 2023. The AEP Award is designed to recognize organizational excellence in public procurement. Organizations that are bestowed this award demonstrate excellence by obtaining a high score based on criteria designed to measure innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement, and leadership attributes of the procurement organization.
The application is designed to encourage procurement professionals to go beyond the minimum requirements that are set out and to recognize innovative programs and solutions that exemplify outstanding achievements. The award not only focuses on outstanding procurement achievements, but also recognizes leadership and contributions that further advance the public procurement profession.
This is the tenth year that DCC has been recognized with the AEP Award—one of 194 recipients and one of only six organizations in Canada.
Industry recognizes DCC for government procurement first
DCC is proud to have been awarded the 2022 Excellence in Procurement Team Award by the Canadian Institute of Procurement and Materiel Management.
A DCC team delivered the procurement and construction of the Royal Canadian Dragoons facility at CFB Petawawa using the integrated project delivery model. This was a Government of Canada first involving one of the most inclusive and innovative contracting models in the construction industry today.
The project to construct the $70-million armoury and training facility came in five months ahead of schedule and under budget, with up to $4.8 million savings to the Crown.
The award recognizes Government of Canada teams who apply innovative ideas or improve existing processes, demonstrate excellence and exemplify the strengths and adaptability of the professional procurement community.
Forbes lists DCC as one of Canada's Best Employers for 2022
We are proud to announce that DCC is in the top 10% of Canada's best employers on Forbes' prestigious annual list.
The list was compiled by surveying more than 10,000 Canadians working for companies with at least 500 employees. Participants rated their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family and were asked to nominate organizations other than their own.
Employees are DCC’s most valuable asset. We are proud of our record of offering our people opportunities to learn, excel, and engage in exciting and meaningful work.
Visit our careers page to learn more about career opportunities at DCC.
DCC compensation team wins prestigious Government of Canada award
Defence Construction Canada’s (DCC) compensation team has won a Michelle C. Comeau HR Leadership Award from the federal Human Resources Council.
The team was recognized for its efforts to ensure DCC employees continued to be paid accurately and on time over a period of six weeks in the fall of 2019, when DCC’s computer network was unexpectedly offline.
The group processed the payroll for nearly 1,000 employees without access to computers, e-mail, enterprise resource planning systems, personnel files and electronic pay data.
DCC is one of seven recipients (individuals and teams) of a 2019 award. “This year’s recipients have shown innovation, creativity, commitment and perseverance in supporting the advancement of the people management agenda,” the Human Resources Council said.
The awards, named in memory of a former Associate Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, recognize leadership and excellence in human resources management in the federal public service.
DCC received its award at a small ceremony in Ottawa in September 2020.
Outstanding commitment to employment equity
For the third year in a row, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) recognized DCC for its achievements in employment equity. The award recognizes employers that are inspirational role models, that champion employment equity in their sector, and that have succeeded notably in implementing employment equity in their organization. DCC was acknowledged for moving the organization beyond simply being home to members of the four designated employment equity groups to building a welcoming, respectful and inclusive a workplace as possible.
Two DCC executives were also recognized by ESDC as Employment Equity Champions in 2019. This award recognizes an executive or executive team of an employer for their proven track record of championing employment equity within their organization, as well as their overall contribution to diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace. Juliet Woodfield, Vice-President, Finance & Human Resources and Chief Financial Officer and DCC’s former President and CEO, James Paul were acknowledged.
Recognized for integrity and ethics by construction industry
General Contractors Association of Ottawa's 2019 Integrity and Ethics Award
Dave Burley—DCC's National Service Line Leader, Contract Management and Real Property Management Services—received the General Contractors Association of Ottawa's 2019 Integrity and Ethics Award.
The award recognizes an individual who demonstrates a consistently high standard of integrity and ethics in dealing with the local construction industry.
DCC recognized as a top employer in Canada's Capital Region
DCC has been recognized as one of the National Capital Region's Top Employers for 2019.
DCC has been recognized as one of the National Capital Region's Top Employers for 2019 by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers. This year's winners were announced earlier today in a special magazine published in the Ottawa Citizen. DCC received this special designation as an employer in the Ottawa-Gatineau area that leads its industry in offering an exceptional place to work. The National Capital Region's Top Employers is an annual competition. Any employer, whether private or public sector, with its head office or principal place of business located in the capital region, may apply for this competition. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.