A Seat at the Table

Why the riding public and elevator industry need a voice in Canada.

Canada now is a vastly different place than in 1977 when the National Elevator and Escalator Association (NEEA) evolved from the Canadian Elevator Manufacturers Association. From Victoria to St. John’s, we are more populous, urban and building more vertical. NEEA was founded with the primary mandate to negotiate collective agreements on its members’ behalf for the unionized elevator sector across Canada.

In addition, NEEA is responsible for advising and supporting its member companies in various arbitrations and other union or legal matters. NEEA also works with industry and government on various elevator and escalator code issues. NEEA’s member companies are comprised of KONE, Otis, Schindler and TK Elevator, global leaders in our field.

However, if one thing remains the same 45 years later, it’s that labor negotiations continue to be the primary focus of what NEEA does in Canada. The association is proud of its achievements, industry reputation and the representation it has provided to its member companies.

Recently, it has become evident that Canadians and the elevator industry need a strong national voice to advance public policy goals, maintain relationships with relevant stakeholders in the political, regulatory and industry sectors and talk about the exciting developments in our industry. As such, NEEA’s mission has evolved over the last two years to incorporate a broader focus: to connect Canadians through the use of innovative transportation systems while adhering to the highest safety standards.

Over the last six years or more, some elected officials in Canada have proposed well-intentioned reforms to our sector that would have a negative impact on consumers, building owners and our industry. These efforts served as a wake-up call for the industry to bring together its decades of experience, technical expertise and stakeholders to discuss steps that can be taken to address those concerns.

It also became clear that the elevator industry must be proactive and not reactive in these instances. It would also be helpful to address one of the main frustrations in the industry, which is the anecdotal stories that drive false narratives in the public domain.

NEEA’s Board of Directors had the vision to call for an innovative approach considering this new challenge, and developed a two-stage plan. The first stage focuses on greater engagement with regulators, elected officials and industry stakeholders to work through industry concerns before they become bigger issues.

This allows NEEA to work proactively with governments and regulators across Canada on actions to address recurring concerns, such as phasing out single-speed elevators or enacting traffic analysis regulations to ensure new residential buildings are not under-elevatored. These actions will improve the user experience, reduce avoidable frustrations with preventive maintenance downtime and align Canada with the best practices of other countries around the world.

The second stage for NEEA is around communication and awareness. It recently launched new bilingual websites, along with a social media presence. In addition to this, it has begun releasing regular stories featuring Canadian-focused content, and highlighted to stakeholders and the public many of the exciting things happening within the industry across the country. NEEA member companies are driving energy efficiency with their new products, focusing on sustainability as a core mandate and taking on challenging elevator installation and maintenance to keep our country moving.

These stories touch on all these areas and, going forward, will also showcase the dedicated and diverse workforce employed from coast to coast. The new communications campaign will provide helpful information for the public to consider such as Q&A’s for consumers when considering a new residential building, best practices on elevator and escalator use and other resources that are currently unavailable from a trusted national source.

We are passionate about topics like ensuring Canadians with disabilities don’t face barriers to economic and societal participation in their communities. Our urban communities are becoming taller each year, and it is imperative that we keep pace with those changes. For example, the recent pandemic introduced social distancing and reduced touch needs. NEEA member-companies had already pioneered innovations such as destination control and escalator handrail cleaners, which addressed some of the growing health and safety concerns.

It’s an exciting time for NEEA and for the industry in Canada. As the leading industry voice, we continue to advocate for actions that will keep the riding public safe, reduce our environmental footprint and energy use, build off our skilled workforce and provide an optimal user experience based on best practices around the world.

Working together with our partners in government and other stakeholders, NEEA welcomes the challenge moving forward to improve our industry for all Canadians.