About CCGA

Damage Prevention is a Shared Responsibility

The CCGA’s vision is to be Canada's unified damage prevention voice and attract members from all Canadian national organizations and associations who share common damage prevention and public safety solutions.

In promoting a spirit of shared responsibility, the CCGA Regional Partners welcome all stakeholders who wish to be part of the identification and promotion of best practices that reduce damage to buried utilities. Any “best practice,” endorsed by CCGA Regional Partners comes with consensus support from experts representing the following stakeholder groups:   Excavators, Locators, Road Builders, Electricity, Telecommunications, Oil, Gas, Railroad, Water, One Call, Public Works, Equipment Manufacturing, Provincial and Federal Regulators, Insurance, Emergency Services and Engineering and Design.

Common Ground Alliance History

The Common Ground Alliance

Officially formed in the United States in 2000, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) represents a continuation of the damage prevention efforts embodied by the Common Ground Study.  Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation and completed in 1999, this Study represents the collaborative work of 160 industry professionals who identified best practices relating to damage prevention.

The CGA in the U.S. provides today’s optimal forum where stakeholders can share information and perspectives and work together on all aspects of damage prevention issues. This allows the achievement of results that would otherwise be impossible. The CGA is working with industry stakeholders and regulators to produce stronger, more effective results through partnership, collaboration, and the pursuit of common goals in damage prevention.

The Canadian Common Ground Alliance

The CGA’s Canadian history is significantly different than its U.S. parent. In Canada, Regional Partners emerged from the “ground up” in Ontario (ORCGA), British Columbia Common Ground Alliance (BCCGA), Québec CGA (APISQ), the Alberta Common Ground Alliance (ABCGA), Saskatchewan Regional Common Ground Alliance and more recently, the Manitoba Regional Common Ground Alliance and the Atlantic Canada Common Ground Alliance. Recognizing that each Regional Partner shared common national issues, the CCGA began as an ad hoc committee in 2006 to address those issues from a national perspective. Over the course of only a few years, it became clear that the CCGA required more structure to maintain momentum on key issues and in 2009, a governance model was introduced and accepted by the Committee. In late 2009, and in accordance with the approved governance model, the CCGA held its first election to secure an “Executive” - a Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary.

The CCGA’s primary role is to manage damage prevention issues of national interest that Regional Partners consider best addressed through a single voice.