You can't kick your trash to the other side of the street

Peter K. posted this in response to a firefighter, Matthew, who posted that he was fine with his fellow firefighters working as under-the-table contractors during their time off.

“Matthew, you can’t kick your trash to the other side of the street and stand back and say “problem solved”. Nobody should be breaking the law. If you break a law, or several laws, which have a near zero prosecution rate… you’re still breaking the law.

The law says we should all be playing on a level surface field.

For example, I can’t go running into burning buildings and bill the City for my services until I have demonstrated compliance with the governing bodies that decide whether I can or cannot be employed as a firefighter.

Therein, you have job security…at least to some measure.

Likewise, you can’t go running around selling your construction services to the general public until you demonstrate compliance with the governing bodies. And once all of that is done, you have to pay your taxes and your CPP, and EI, and your WSIB, and your insurances, and licenses, and permits, and so on.

Get the message… we don’t want you, your buddies, your buddies’ buddies or anyone else who can’t play by the same rules in our industry. You’re never going to stop hearing us complain until you all get out and stay out.

The world is a better place because there are properly trained, educated, approved, governed and compliant firefighters out there. And likewise the world will be a better place when every citizen who competes in the marketplace has the duty and obligation to do so according to the rules and standards of their province and government.

Then we’ll see who the market decides will/won’t be working.

What your supporters are espousing, is a race to the bottom. Undercutting each other by bypassing regulations. The image of a leech comes to mind.”

Edited version of a post by Peter K.