DCC's 13-member team at Canadian Forces Base Shilo, just outside Brandon, Manitoba, is hard at work managing approximately $15-million quality of life and operational projects—everything from retrofitting military housing and older base buildings, to conducting environmental assessments and initiating consultant contracts for a variety of design work.
"We like to think we fit in and are part of the team here in Shilo and the surrounding community," says DCC Site Manager Brad Lyall. "We have quite a diverse workforce here in Shilo and pride ourselves on finding good people, so we can contribute to our military."
Currently, DCC Shilo is undertaking several major projects:
- TAPV facility – Expansion of storage and maintenance for 42 of 500 Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles bought by the Government of Canada in 2018;
- Housing upgrades – HVAC upgrades to 71 Canadian Forces Housing Agency accommodation units (air conditioning, furnaces); fresh paint, new rooves, siding, windows, main floor powder room for a variety of houses and apartments;
- Museum upgrade – Upgrades to HVAC systems to better maintain humidity for preservation of artifacts and displays at the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum;
- Heating replacements – Replacement of the Base Maintenance Building and 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Building heating boilers;
- Environmental services – ground water monitoring and sampling, UXO contracts for potential unexploded explosive ordnance devices on firing ranges; species at risk surveys; environmental assessments and increasing consultations with Indigenous peoples.
"It's exciting for us to be a part of the team and able to deliver these services, whatever it is," says Lyall. "It's all going to helping the military, their families and the base in general. It gives us a good feeling to help and contribute in a positive way."