
Category
Permits & Legal
Is your website ready for the Jan. 1 AODA deadline?
The Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) will…
WSIB announces premium rate freeze
The global pandemic has created many unforeseen challenges for…
Werner to offer virtual and in-person safety training in support of annual Safety Stand-Down Initiative
Werner will train thousands of workers across the country…
B.C. government launches new Reframed Lab initiative
The Province, through BC Housing, and the City of…
Call for volunteers to serve on Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC)
The five-year term for the current members of the…
Surety Association of Canada announces new bond form for IPD project
On May 7, 2020, the Board of Directors of…
FAO to release review of time-of-use electricity pricing decision
On Friday, May 22, 2020, the Financial Accountability Office…
BuildCenter offers free COVID-19 health screening app
As the construction industry reopens in California and across…

Back to Work Virtual Summit
COVID-19 has shut down large parts of the Canadian…

The Hammer COVID SPECIAL: Get It Delivered – Eamonn O’Rourke, RenoRun
We’re changing how we do things on jobsites: keeping…
RESCON supports methodical approach to expanding residential construction
The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) welcomes the…
ULI Toronto to host Expert Insights: Provincial Policy Statement & Community Benefit Charge webinar
On February 28th, the province of Ontario released a…
Ottawa’s urban boundary, intensification and the Official Plan
Talk is heating up about the urban boundary and…
Contractor nabbed in highway chase
His face was all bloodied when taken into custody
HOMEmade star’s license suspended
Property owner wanted a harsher penalty for Dion South
Calgary contractor faces charges
Paid hundreds of thousands, contractor allegedly did not complete work
Another cautionary tale for contractors
Contractors need to provide a safe workplace

What does “adequate” training in construction really mean?
You have to be “adequately” trained on Fall Protection, no matter what type of construction jobsite you are working on. If you can’t prove you are trained in this area, you risk fines, prosecution and job site closure.

Hamilton, Ont. reno salesmen convicted under Consumer Protection Act
In total, the salesmen, Steven Sardinha and David Packer, will be making $50,000 in restitution to their clients.

Danger: Guardrails built ‘for appearances’ can kill or cripple
Don’t mess around building half-assed guardrails, unless you are prepared to go to jail. Look up the regulations for their construction, and follow them.

‘Fast tracking’ building permits in Surrey, B.C.
Normally, the City of Surrey takes 4-6 weeks to process a permit. But if contractors join their Registered Builder program, permits can be issued within 10 days.

It’s here! NEW Working at Heights standard in Ontario is now in effect
No April Fool’s joke here: the new Working at Heights standard took effect in Ontario on April 1st.

Villain or hero? Claimant becomes a thorn in the side of the Ontario WSIB
Frank Brunato, a manager at WSIB, sought a peace bond against a disgruntled claimant who had been denied benefits. Brunato said that Mike Spencer, a champion of claimant’s rights, was ridiculing him on Facebook.

Just… wow. Check out this incredibly misleading video from the Ontario College of Trades
The Ontario College of Trades’ (OCOT) latest video makes some extremely dubious claims about how this new bureaucracy is helping to “protect” the public from tradespeople without OCOT credentials. Maybe someone should call in famed consumer advocate Peter Silverman to investigate. Oh, wait a minute, he’s already on the case… for the College.

The cash economy Part 2
The battle against the cash economy starts with getting rid of the WSIB

Let’s talk cash economy
I recently hired a contractor to do some work that I couldn’t get to. His price was fair, but leaves me reeling at what the legitimate costs of a reno has become.

Workplace Safety Comes to Mississauga, Ontario
January 28, 2015 – Canada’s largest and longest-running health…

Ontario WSIB’s $400,000-a-year CEO David Marshall gets another two years at the trough
Marshall acknowledges that he won’t win any popularity contests. Certainly not among the estimated 80,000 owner-operator contractors who were previously exempt from WSIB, but who got roped into paying into it as part of a plan that earned Marshall a $400,000 bonus.
The sorry tale of yet another legitimate WSIB claimant denied benefits
With David Marshall being re-appointed to another two years…

Ontario MPP introduces bill to enforce 'prompt payment' by developers to contractors
Bill 69, the Prompt Payment Act, is a private members’ bill intended to get developers in Ontario to pay their contractors on time. The withholding of holdbacks would be curtailed, if the legislation were to be given teeth. But right now, it’s nowhere near becoming law.