To read our story on the unions’ reaction to the updated list of essential construction projects and the report on known infections from within the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario click here. Also, you can find the official list of essential work for the building sector by clicking here.
The Ontario government’s latest pared down list of essential services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic means certain construction sectors are allowed to continue operating, leaving some industry stakeholders supportive but thinking further shutdowns may occur.
“I think the premier and the government have been very clear — this is an active review of the list so where we are today is not necessarily where we are going to be a week from now,” explained Joe Vaccaro, CEO of the Ontario Home Builders Association. “Everything is being led by the data.”
Karen Renkema, vice-president, Ontario, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada, said Premier Doug Ford and his government have not been dragging their feet on making tough decisions.
“Obviously there is some disappointment for those working on projects but the health and safety of the workers and the general public is priority one,” said Renkema.
Following the release of the list April 3, many associations voiced concerns around the lack of clarity provided by the Ford government on which sites should be shut down and which are essential and can remain open.
“There is some confusion about what can stay open under the new rules and what needs to be shut down and what can remain open,” said Ian Cunningham, president of the Council of Ontario Construction Associations, pointing out there is a government hotline that businesses can access if they have any questions.
“To a lot of people, it’s clear that they have to shut down but there are always people who are operating in the grey area of the language where the language doesn’t cover their unique piece of work,” explained Cunningham. “If we’re not successful in flattening the curve this list could be revised again. There are things in the current list that may not be vital for the ongoing functioning of society.
Vaccaro said his members who are in the lowrise, highrise and renovation sectors have a lot of questions about what sites are permitted to stay open under the new rules.
There is a lot of confusion here,
— Clive Thurston
Ontario General Contractors Association
“If they are struggling to maintain a labour force on their site that can deliver, if there are other things they need to consider does it make sense to move forward with your site or do you push pause, secure your site, make it safe and wait until the restrictions are lifted?” said Vaccaro.
“Our advice to members is review the list, assess where you are at and the next step is if you’re not sure, you need to be in contact with your chief building official and see where you are from a permit standpoint and construction standpoint,” added Vaccaro.
He also pointed out that the revised list was released on April 3 and non-essential sites were required to shut down by midnight April 4.
“It’s more complicated than simply saying stop construction,” Vaccaro noted.
“If you’ve dug a big hole, you need to do some additional work on that site to make sure that hole doesn’t collapse…people can’t just simply walk away from sites. They have to be maintained in some way, otherwise, you are dealing with collapsed holes or a half-framed house that, unless you get to the point of waterproofing, it will deteriorate and have to be demolished.”
Ontario General Contractors Association president Clive Thurston reiterated the need for a government ministry to take the lead on the matter.
“There is a lot of confusion here,” said Thurston, adding contractors are getting conflicting messages from the hotline. “It comes down to some very simple questions: who is in charge, who is making the decisions and the interpretations, who is going to do the enforcement?”
“We keep hearing these decisions are being made in consultation with the industry,” added Thurston. “We don’t know who that ‘industry’ is but it isn’t us.”
Patrick McManus, director of government relations at the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association said his association is pleased some sewer and water main construction work is able to continue.
“Our immediate next step is to start to plan for when all of the work can start back up again. For our sector, the work was really only just getting started after the winter lay-off, so it is really important that work is tendered and projects are ready to go as soon as this is COVID-19 emergency is lifted.”
Renkema said the government has been incredibly clear that to the greatest extent possible everybody needs to stay home unless it’s absolutely necessary. She said there are a couple of things going on in the industry now.
“How do we ensure our employees are taken care of that’s the biggest question through this,” said Renkema, “and for the sites that are remaining open, not just meeting the health and safety guidelines but going above and beyond what is required.”
Road and transit projects and road maintenance will continue to move forward, based on the latest essential services list provided by the provincial government.
“The revised list provides clarity in its designation of our members’ activities in the transportation infrastructure sector under the essential services banner,” said Bryan Hocking, CEO, Ontario Road Builders Association. “I understand that it may be less clear to some of our partner associations in other sectors. If the list is further trimmed down within the road building sector, we could be in that situation too, so we are monitoring developments very closely.”
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