Greetings!
Welcome to COCA's monthly Newsletter. Unless noted otherwise, all articles written by COCA President, Ian Cunningham.
|
|
|
|
Regulatory Proposals Impact Construction
The Ministry of Labour Training and Skills Development has posted the following proposals for consultation on the Ontario Regulatory Registry:
WSIB Surplus Distribution Model
- Posted to the Ontario Regulatory Registry on July 15, 2021
- The deadline for submissions is August 10, 2021
- The proposals are being made pursuant to recommendations contained in the WSIB Operational Review in 2019
- Implementing the proposals requires legislative and regulatory amendments
- The proposals mandate that the WSIB must be 100% funding on a sufficiency basis and when funding is between 115% and 125% the WSIB shall have the discretion to make a distribution of the surplus to employers and when the funding level hits 125% the WSIB must make a distribution of the surplus
- The consultation paper poses the following questions:
- Should all Schedule 1 employers be eligible to receive a surplus, or should some exclusions be established (e.g., employers with accounts in bad standing)?
- What method should be used to allocate surpluses (e.g., distribute surplus based on the proportion of premiums paid by individual employers compared to the total premium base)?
- How should the surpluses be distributed (e.g., credit to employer’s account, premium reductions)?
-
Details can be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?language=en&postingId=38207
- COCA’s WSIB-OH&S Committee will be making a submission
Modernizing the Notice of Project Requirements for Construction Projects
- Posted to the Ontario Regulatory Registry on July 9, 2021
- The deadline for submissions is September 10, 2021
- The proposal is designed to achieve three objectives:
- to modernize the notice requirement for construction projects by potentially replacing the $50,000 monetary threshold with an expanded list of hazard-based triggers.
- to move various other notice requirements throughout the regulation into a single section of the regulation for easier reference.
- to replace the fax option with email communication for all notice requirements in the construction projects regulation
- The Provincial Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee struck a Working Group, on which a number of COCA WSIB-OH&S Committee members serve, to consider the proposal and make a submission
- COCA’s WSIB-OH&S Committee will respond to the government’s call for feedback
Harmonization of Head Protection Requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
- Posted to the Ontario Regulatory Registry on July 9, 2021
- The deadline for submissions is September 10, 2021
- The proposal is to move to a performance-based approach and could encompass a wide range of protective headwear, including hard hats, motorcycle helmets, rope access helmets, or structural fire fighting helmets, depending on the hazard and the activity.
- The Provincial Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee struck a Working Group, on which a number of COCA WSIB-OH&S Committee members serve, to consider the proposal and make a submission
- COCA’s WSIB-OH&S Committee will respond to the government’s call for feedback
|
|
|
|
|
|
COCA’s 2020 Year in Review takes a look back at 2020, at our accomplishments and a glimpse of what lies ahead.
|
|
|
WSIB Pays Out More Than $6M to HSEP Participants
Here are the latest stats from the WSIB’s Health & Safety Excellence Program:
- A total of 2,300 companies from all sectors are currently enrolled in HSEP
- 0f those 2,300 companies, 646 are from the construction industry
- Of that 646 construction companies, 228 are categorized as small, 68 medium 339 are large and 11 remain unclassified
- The WSIB has paid out more than $6 million to participating companies since the program was launched
|
|
|
|
Latest Stats and Analysis About COVID-19 and Construction
- According to the Government of Ontario’s website, as of July 13, 2021, at 10:30 am there have been a total of 547,409 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario since the beginning of the pandemic; 536,603 of those cases have been resolved; there have been 9,258 deaths
- According to the WSIB’s website and data that was posted on July 9, 2021, our provincial compensation agency has allowed 26,873 COVID-19 claims, not allowed 2,144 claims (7.4% of decided claims) and 57 claims were pending a decision
- Allowed WSIB COVID-19 claims as a percentage of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario is 4.9%, illustrating that workplace transmissions have been reasonably well contained in the province
- The classes of workplaces that experienced the greatest numbers of COVID-19 approved WSIB claims are: 1) Nursing and residential care facilities (8,117); 2) Hospitals (3,169); 3) Schedule 2 3mployers (3,066); 4) Agriculture (2,474); 5) Food, textiles and related manufacturing (1,693); 6) Metal transportation equipment and furniture manufacturing (1,217); 7) Ambulatory care (1,060); all other classes had less than 1,000 approved claims
- Building equipment construction (G4) had 260 approved claims
- Foundation, structure and building exterior construction (G3) had 106 approved claims
- Specialty trades construction (G5) has 98 approved claims
- Infrastructure construction (G2) had 86 approved claims
- Non-residential building construction (G6) had 64 approved claims
- Residential building construction (G1) had 54 approved claims
- Building construction (G1) had 33 approved claims
- Total approved claims from all construction classes is 701 claims; that’s 2.42% of all WSIB decided claims
- 701 construction workplace COVID-19 transmissions as a percentage of all confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario is 0.128%
- Even as the government eases public health restrictions and as more and more Ontarians get their first and second jabs, It’s more important than ever to remain vigilant and follow the construction health and safety protocols; now is not the time to let our guards down
|
|
|
|
Highlights of Statistics Canada’s June 2021 Jobs Report
Highlights across the country
- The Canadian economy added 230,700 jobs in June 2021
- Employment across the country had declined by a total of 275,000 jobs in April and May
- The new jobs added in June were largely concentrated in part-time work in the age 15 – 24 demographic
- For the full story, click on the following link
-
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210709/dq210709a-eng.htm
With regard to the construction industry in Ontario:
|
|
|
|
Government Shuffles Parliamentary Assistants
Following the government’s recent cabinet shuffle, it followed up with changes to the Parliamentary Assistant roles. Here’s a synopsis:
-
John Yakabuski, who was previously Minister of Natural Resources but was dropped from cabinet in the recent shuffle, was appointed PA to Premier Ford
-
Will Bouma, who was previously PA to the Premier, was moved over to PA to the Minister of Finance Minister, Peter Bethlenfalvy
- Michael Parsa will also continue to serve as PA to the Minister of Finance
-
Goldie Ghamari will become a new PA serving as PA to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Jill Dunlop.
-
Deepak Anandwill is also a new PA serving as PA to the Minister of Labour Training & Skills Development (succeeding Jane Mckenna who became Minister Without Portfolio)
-
Amarjot Sandhu is another new PA now serving as PA to the Minister of Infrastructure, Kinga Surma.
-
Stephen Crawford, who was PA to the Minister of Infrastructure, was moved over to the role as PA to the Minister of the Environment, David Piccini
-
Billy Pang, who was PA to the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries was moved over to PA to the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Parm Gill
-
Sheref Sabawy is another PA first-timer who is now PA to the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, Lisa MacLeod.
- The Parliamentary Assistant role comes with a bump in pay of over $16,000
- There are now 30 PAs, one less than before this shake-up but more than the 18 PAs appointed following the June 2018 election
-
Aris Babikian, Logan Kanapathi and Christina Mitas are the only three of the 71 PC MPP never to have been appointed to a PA or Ministerial position
|
|
|
|
 |
HUB is a global insurance brokerage that puts you at the center of everything we do. Our reach and resources mean you have the insurance you need when you need it — and before you know you need it.
HUB provides complete protection: property, casualty, life and health insurance products; employee benefits and business risk management; and wealth management products and services.
|
|
|
|
Sherrard Kuzz LLP is one of Canada’s leading employment and labour law firms exclusively representing the interests of management.
Recognized as a leading provider of strategic advice and effective employment and labour relations representation within the construction industry, our team is consistently named among Canada’s Top 10 Employment and Labour Boutiques
|
|
|
|
TwoGreySuits (TGS) is a fully loaded on-line Human Resources Department specifically designed to meet the people management needs of small and medium sized enterprises.
TGS has created a seven module core training product.
This core program will be enhanced over time with information webinars of specific interest and benefit to small and medium sized businesses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
COCA is the voice of our membership at Queen's Park.
We want to hear from you. All questions, ideas and comments are more than welcome.
Council of Ontario Construction Associations
We have moved. Our temporary mailing address is:
P.O. Box 26, Orono, ON L0B 1M0
416-968-7200
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operations Manager
Martin Benson
|
|
|
|
P.O. BOX 246
ORONO ON LOB 1M0
|
|
|
|
|
|
