MORRISBURG, ONT. — The federal government has announced $936,000 in capital funding for the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO).
The funds will be used to purchase an all-terrain crane for the OETIO campus in Oakville and equip a number of dozers with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and laser technology at the Morrisburg campus, said an April 4 media statement.
Federal Labour Minister Patricia Hajdu made the announcement at an event attended by International Union of Operating Engineers Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher and president Joe Redshaw in Morrisburg.
The funding is part of $10.2 million being made available under the federal Union Training and Innovation Program to help unions purchase new training equipment and materials.
Gallagher said the mobile all-terrain crane should be onsite in Oakville by October.
Under terms of the program, the federal government is providing 48 per cent of the cost of equipment purchases while Local 793 is providing 52 per cent, the statement said.
A request for proposals to supply the equipment was set to go out April 6. Total cost of the crane will be $1.13 million. The union is contributing $587,438 and the government is contributing $542,562.
The funds will also be used to outfit six dozers at the OETIO campus in Morrisburg with GPS systems. The union will contribute $335,400 and the government will contribute $309,600, the statement indicated.
Another six dozers at Morrisburg will also be outfitted with laser capabilities. The union will contribute $91,000 and the government will contribute $84,000.
All in, Gallagher said, with the government commitment of $936,162 and union contribution of more than $1 million, the purchase budget for the crane and dozer systems is $1.95 million.
“The federal funding will greatly benefit our apprentices and members as well as people from Aboriginal and Inuit communities who are referred to the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario for training by mining companies and communities in the far north,” said Gallagher.
The minister congratulated apprentices at the event for taking up training.
“You have made absolutely the right choice for you and you need to be part of the generation…that teaches people that these trades are noble professions that require intelligence and precision and a degree of discipline,” said Hajdu, who has a son in the trades.
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