Steve Payne
David Tsubouchi, recently-appointed Registrar and CEO of Ontario College of Trades, still working daytimes at his law firm
Canadian Contractor FireThe previous occupant of the top job at the Ontario College of Trades pulled in nearly $180,000 annually from that position. Now it seems that you can get that job, as David Tsubouchi has, and still work elsewhere during the day
On Sept. 9th, 2013, David Tsubouchi, the former Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP and cabinet minister, was appointed Registrar and CEO of the controversial Ontario College of Trades (OCOT). That job paid its predecessor, Robert Guthrie, who retired, almost $180,000 (according to the 2012 Ontario Sushine List). We can’t confirm that Tsubouchi got the same package (we’re trying to find out), but if he did, then he is a $180,000-a-year moonlighter still working at least two other gigs: one as a partner at the Toronto law firm Fogler Rubinoff, LLP (when we checked there two weeks ago) and the other as the Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Mongolia (listed as of today on his Linkedin page, see below).
This as the Ontario College of Trades is coming under constant fire from contractors as a “cash grab” that costs tradespeople in “mandatory” membership trades the sum of $135.60 a year – simply to maintain Certificate of Qualifications they already possessed before the College opened its doors – and started sending out its invoices last year.
Yet as recently as two weeks ago, Tsubouchi seemed to be working daytimes for more than just his OCOT paycheque, unless his law firm work and his Consul General work is voluntary. When Canadian Contractor phoned Fogler Rubinoff on Feb. 7th, we were told by his administrative assistant that was still indeed was a partner at the firm at that time, and was still coming in on a regular basis.
However, Tsubouchi is listed as a former partner on his official Linkedin page.
We have no idea what compensation Tsubouchi gets as the Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Mongolia.
We do know that contractors in Ontario in the mandatory trades (sheet metal, electricians, plumbers, among others) will be outted as not in good standing on a publicly-searchable OCOT website if they don’t pay their annual $135.60 fees to the College. And that the College has hired dozens of enforcers at approximately $80,000-annually per head to go out and search for non-compliant contractors.
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I’m going to be brutally honest here because it’s simply a matter of recognizing and finally stating the obvious.
Ontario is broke.
Large population in Ontario and Quebec, along with Quebec’s propensity toward confusion and mafia culture, has created a construction workforce that breeds rip-off artists like a flu bug.
Ontario and Quebec are still, against all good wisdom, the central political force in this country. All the tainted politicians live there and hunker down with their fat pay-offs.
Every city and county in these 2 sad dinosaur provinces know how much they are losing in revenue due to dishonest ‘trades and contractors’. Where can they go to collect but to the honest construction professionals who actually apply for permits.
Quit complaining about your rotten politicians living off your backs and do something as a people to create a vibrant economy based on enterprise, not politics.
Out here, on the prairies, we’ve been suffering your unskilled construction criminals for a few years now. The number of Western homeowners getting ripped off by eastern ‘trades’ has been increasing exponentially. The amount of work that is now required to fix this disease is just sickening. Some of these guys are so polluted they actually have a decent attitude and believe they are doing good work as they leave behind a long list of deficiencies, present us with a bill for extras and threaten a lien.
Seems to be common practice judging from LinkedIn listings for the Ontario College of Trades.
Vice-president of a large construction equipment corporation is an Adjudicator?
Really???
Depressing when you look at the number of employees they have with titles like Chief Diversity Officer or Engaging Health, Safety & Wellness Professional and realize you are paying for it all.