The Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce were on the ground at the 2019 federal budget lock-up in Ottawa to get information relevant to the construction industry from a $2.2 infrastructure top-up to new skilled trade credits and increased support for economic initiatives in western Canada.
Digital media editor Warren Frey spoke to Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada CEO Pierre Boucher about how his association’s membership will be affected by the initiatives set out in the budget, including a pledge to adopt prompt payment principles for federal projects.
Boucher also discussed new training credits as well as a $2.2 billion top-up on municipal infrastructure, and the measures taken in the current budget regarding infrastructure compared to previous budgets.
There is major concern with what the future holds for any apprentice and the existing trades workforce in Ontario.
I really get the impression that when Doug Ford closed OCOT four months ago no one really cared if long-term good paying jobs in the trades sector in Ontario have any weight at all. OCOT has a skeleton workforce and still is sucking up the membership dollars of workers and employers who are getting ripped off with the misconception that not paying membership fees make you a criminal and putting food on the dinner table for the family will be at risk. We are missing governance of the Apprenticeship Act and legislation. Legal serious matters are being overlooked.
All of Ontario has a serious problem when skilled trades workers and their employment is getting overlooked at a time when it is getting warmer to work outside and there is a critical shortage of workers, it is construction season!