Alec Caldwell
Construction industry in Ontario facing draconian times under Wynne majority government
Canadian Contractor Business MarketThe Ontario College of Trades proposal, allegedly "on hold" but now very likely to be re-instated, to force the certification of the province's carpenters, is, to put it mildly, insane.
Ontario contractors, including self-employed home renovation contractors, are facing draconian times now that Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals have a majority government, following the June 12 election.
The Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) may well bring down the guillotine on all those doing carpentry or any kind or drywalling without a Certificate of Qualification in those trades, meaning they have not served their time as journeymen/women and got their papers.
Up to 90% of construction in Ontario is done by people who don’t hold a Certificate of Qualification in carpentry, something that will be compulsory if the College of Trades follows through with its plan. Shortly before the election, the PC’s Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship critic Garfield Dunlop (a licensed plumber before he became an MPP) warned that, if this plan goes through, tens of thousands of Ontario construction employees would have to obtain certification to continue working legally in Ontario if their trade were to be listed as compulsory by the college. Dunlop was re-elected, but now the Liberals have a majority.
Back in February, the OCOT confirmed that a motion was passed seeking a trade classification review for “general carpentry.”
This is so absolutely insane and the day this guillotine blade drops, you and your business will become illegal immediately if you are not in compliance. There is no grandfathering of your years of experience into the equation. It’s certification or instant unemployment! Continuing to work as you do means you automatically join the underground market.
It will be a dark day for Ontario renovators if this moment occurs. It’s then a choice between working illegally or not being able to put food on the table for your family as a general renovator – or, a third option, to sub out all your carpentry work, no matter how small a part of the job that might be.
In my opinion, over-regulation by government can kill an industry. The OCOT is part of the problem for our industry, not part of the solution.
CARAHS was founded as a non profit association to advocate and mentor independent self employed renovators and home services (Canadian Association of Renovators and Home Services)
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As a red seal carpenter and being the sixth generation of my family in the trade I applaud what is trying to be done with the certification of the carpentry trade. It has been and will continue to be frustrating to follow behind “contractors” and fix mistake after mistake year after year.Save a buck and you will buy a headache. Pay peanuts and you hire monkeys. The mentality has a great deal to do with the consumer. Everyone wants work done.They don’t have the time to do it right the first time but they have the money to do it twice. There is fault on both sides of this great fence.
You have an eighty thousand dollar Cadillac. You don’t take it to a back yard mechanic for service.Yet you let some clown work on your four hundred thousand dollar home. See where I’m going with this?A good job doesn’t take any longer to do than a bad job.Where we lack is the ability to train people. Most of what I know is not written in a book . It has been learned by working with people who know. I deal with frost , Ice, snow , humidity, water tables in the ground. You don’t learn this from reading a book. This is what makes this trade far more unique than any other .The sad thing is that today too few of us remain with this understanding to pass it on.We are not respected or have not been respected and no longer wish to share.
I to have seen many realy bad jobs and some of them were even done by certified trades people !
What I cant figure out is how creating another tax or licensing fee is going to correct the issue, do you realy believe that those idiots at the OCOT care what kind of workmanship someone gets in their home, they have 1 adjenda only, YOUR MONEY.
As for the home owner looking for the cheepest thing they can get , that will never change and we will never stop it !
You said it yourself , most of what you know is not written in a book , you learned it by working with people who do know. So then I would guess that there is other people out there that have learned from other good people also , and probably doing great work , they dont have a RED SEAL and dont have a license from the OCOT. They will carry on and if need be they will go underground and continue to do good work !
A complete communist society couldnt change that and this is what Ontario is starting to look like !
Just putting it out there !
Terry
I am over 20 years in renovations business , coming from a communist country and i am afraid you are right , this is becoming to look more and more more and more like a communism and is sad .
I’ve held my COQ in general carpentry for over 20 years.
Most of us have all seen or watched poor workmanship over the years. Licensing carpenters is the right idea. I’m sure in the end that grandfathering of experience etc. will come into effect. There are many qualified carpenters working today that need to keep working at there same wage and not go back to school.
That will take some planning but it should be done nonetheless.
Finally – Some good news: The OCOT carpentry issue is beginning to boil over!
Toronto Sun Tuesday November 11, 2014
Changes may be needed at the Ontario College of Trades, Premier Kathleen
Wynne says: “We need to make sure that the college does what it was set up to do” ” And so that’s why we’re doing a review of the college.”
The Toronto Sun says: “The Ontario College of Trades is being asked to designate carpentry as a compulsory trade — a controversial move that critics argue would devastate the province’s construction industry”
“Critics argued it drives up costs for employers, particularly in construction, and bans people from working in certain trades even after decades of on-the-job experience’
Progressive Conservative MPP Garfield Dunlop said “tens of thousands of Ontario construction employees would have to obtain certification to continue working legally in Ontario if their trade were to be listed as compulsory by the college”
“This is so absolutely insane,” Dunlop said Thursday. “I don’t know how any government could possibly allow this to happen. Compulsory certification of the carpentry industry will cripple the construction industry in Ontario.”
“Up to 90% of construction in Ontario is done by people who don’t hold a certificate of qualification in carpentry, something that will be compulsive if the College of Trades follows through with the plan” he said.
“All these guys you see out there framing houses and building kitchen cabinets, doing work on footings, the guys who do the fine trim on houses — they’re all classified as carpenters,” Dunlop said. “The college has already said there would be no grandfathering (of trades people).”
“Homeowners doing renovations could feel the impact in their wallets because only licensed carpenters would be allowed legally to do carpentry, much like how only certified electricians can do wiring”
“The bigger problem will be finding certified carpenters” Dunlop said.