ECAO 2021 Social Event | May 19, 2021 |
We are thrilled to announce the date for ECAO's 2021 Social Event, followed by ECAO AGM, on May 20th. We have planned an electrifying evening for you!
The year is 2037, and space tourism has reached a Golden Age. You have been asked to join a small crew on a routine mission to a lunar outpost.
Program Outline, Activity Details and More Information coming soon!
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Message from the Executive Director, Graeme Aitken |
The ECAO continues to work with Provincial government ministries, Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development and the Ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction to accelerate the roll out of onsite COVID 19 vaccinations to high risk construction sites. More pressing than the overall issue of construction workers performing work in “essential workplaces”, which we continue to raise with the Ministry of Health through the aforementioned Ministers, is our concern for our members’ employees (and other construction workers) in higher risk locations. These locations include long term care facilities, hospitals, and other “front line” establishments. It is our view that these workers should be in the same place in the protocol as the employees of these higher risk locations. Thus, while building walls around these higher risk locations, as we have been told on numerous occasions, by failing to vaccinate the construction workers regularly present therein, the wall is not being fully built. In our respectful view, this poses a significant risk to everyone who may be in these locations.
We ask that you contact your local MPPs to make clear the urgency of getting these workers to the same spot in the vaccination queue as employees employed by these establishments.
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ECAO Fire Alarm & Protection Certification Program - Distant Learning Level 1 Course Coming in Spring 2021 |
The Certi-Fire program is recognized and approved by the Ontario Fire Marshal. It provides the licensed Electricians with the certification to meet the requirements and resolve the property management fire alarm concerns for proper fire alarm installation, testing, verification, and maintenance. There are four (4) consecutive levels in this program and recertification is mandatory every five (5) years to stay current with the code.
Level 1: Conventional Fire Alarm Control Panels and Installation of Input and Output Devices
Level 2: Integrated Fire Alarm Control EVAC Systems and Fire Alarm Extinguishing Control Panels
Level 3: Troubleshooting of Complete Fire Alarm Systems
Level 4: Advanced Fire Alarm Control Panel: Addressable Digital and Analog Devices
Level 5 (Recertification): Update Codes, Standards and Technology
Registration for the Distant Learning Level 1 course is now open! The course will be tentatively commencing on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. It will start at 6:30 pm in the evening and take 3 hours per week and up to 12 weeks to complete the course depending on the participants’ schedule. There will be a hands-on workshop taking place on one weekend.
To register please contact our Certi-Fire Program Administrator at contactus@certifire.org or 1-800-387-3226 ext. 8509 for more information.
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Still no word on construction worker vaccinations |
Construction workers are still not specifically designated as being in the queue to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, Ontario construction and public health observers say.
The official policy on delivering vaccines through three phases of the province’s vaccination program is found on the Ministry of Health’s website, covid-19.ontario.ca, stated Dr. Vinita Dubey, associate medical officer of health for Toronto Public Health, on March 3.
That site refers to the pool of phase two vaccine recipients as including “people who live and work in high-risk congregate settings (for example, shelters, community living)” and “frontline essential workers, including first responders, education workers and the food processing industry.”
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News Release Ontario Setting Up Apprentices and Employers for Success March 5, 2021 |
The Ontario government is investing $47 million in 2021-22 to hire more apprentices, improve the quality of training and help them complete their training and certification through the new Achievement Incentive Program and the expanded Apprenticeship Capital Grant. These programs are designed to support those who train apprentices, such as businesses, colleges and other training organizations, providing more young people with high-quality training that will lead to successful careers. "This is a critical investment as our apprentices will be the ones who will help provide essential services and build our future hospitals, highways and homes," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.
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Stakeholders condemn latest Toronto noose incident |
Toronto Police are investigating after a noose was found at the Eglinton Crosstown LRT Leaside construction site at Eglinton and Bayview streets in Toronto on March 10.
Stakeholders condemned the incident, the latest in a string since last summer in which nooses were placed at Toronto construction sites. In December, police charged a Toronto man after two nooses were found at the Michael Garron Hospital job site in June.
Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney tweeted yesterday (March 11), “I’ve been made aware that a noose was found at the Eglinton Crosstown Leaside construction site last night (March 10).
“Racism and hate, in any shape or form, will not be tolerated in Ontario. We are working with @Metrolinx and the @TorontoPolice are investigating.”
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Federal prompt payment act ‘in limbo’ says Canadian Construction Association |
According to the Canadian Construction Association (CCA), it has been almost two years since the Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act passed but the legislation still remains in limbo with no legal coming-into-force date.
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RESCON accuses LIUNA of unlawfully disrupting residential sites |
A labour dispute involving Local 183 of the Labourers International Union of North America (LIUNA) and several residential contractors threatens to disrupt residential builds in the GTA, according to the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).
RESCON charges that LIUNA and its partner, the Masonry Contractors’ Association of Toronto (MCAT), are unlawfully threatening builders and stucco workers who are not aligned with LIUNA in an attempt to keep them off jobsites that LIUNA claims are its territory.
RESCON said in a statement, “On March 4, the OLRB ruled that Local 183 threatened an unlawful strike and committed acts that would lead bricklayers to engage in an unlawful strike, by illegally threatening builders with removing bricklayers from jobsites if they contracted stucco contractors not bound to a Local 183 collective agreement. Builders have no obligation to use a Local 183 stucco contractor to complete their houses.”
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Supply chain disruption the top concern among ICI contractors: OCS 2021 survey |
While BuildForce Canada’s projections for ICI construction this year suggest an increase in construction over 2019 and a peak in construction in five years, the Ontario Construction Secretariat’s (OCS) director of research is more cautious about when there will be a start to good times.
“I think 2021 is a question mark,” Katherine Jacobs said recently during the OCS’s 2021 State of the Industry and Outlook Conference held virtually. “I think there is potential for growth…but it is really hard to predict how strong it will be,” she stated, adding the vaccine rollout is key to construction returning to normal.
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Benefits for Electrical Contractors of Learning Networked Controls |
Are you an electrical contractor? Are you new to the world of Networked Lighting Controls (NLCs)? Are you looking for new opportunities to strengthen your business in these uncertain times?
If you answered yes to all three of these questions, read on. NLCs are a (relatively) new introduction to the lighting industry. I say “relatively” because, in point of fact, some networked control systems have been available for decades. If you haven’t had any prior experience with installing NLCs, then you might think these are fancy and highfalutin. Are they really? Let’s see. By definition, a “system” is automatically complex. But really, how complex are NLCs? I’d say they are at the low end of the complexity spectrum.
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CCA welcomes its 2021-22 board of directors with Ray Bassett at the helm as chair |
The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is pleased to announce that Ray Bassett is the Chair of the 2021-22 Board of Directors. CCA sincerely thanks outgoing chair, Joe Wrobel, for his dedicated leadership.
Bassett is the Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer at Travelers Insurance Company of Canada, where he manages client relationships with national and larger regional construction companies, leads strategic initiatives in product development and technology, and guides the business strategy of the Construction Services Group for Travelers in North America.
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Jennifer Green on WXN Top 100 Award and Promoting Women in Trades |
This past December Jennifer Green was honoured with Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award for the Skilled Trades category by WXN (Women’s Executive Network). Green is an industrial mechanic millwright by trade and works with Skills Ontario as Director of Competitions and Young Women’s Initiatives. She is also an Apprenticeship Youth Advisor for the Ministry of Labour. Green has been an advocate for skilled trades and women in skilled trades since she was a high school student, the recognition from her peers in the industry was uplifting, “I feel like I’m doing a good job and I feel like I am making a difference,” she said, “but to have multiple people in my network agree and feel this award is appropriate, it’s really humbling.”
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Ontario Electrical Safety Code 28th Edition - Public Consultation |
The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is seeking the views of consumers, businesses and other stakeholders on proposed amendments to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC). The consultation runs from Monday, March 15 to Thursday, April 29, 2021.
With the adoption of a new Code every three years, ESA reviews the OESC and seeks input on proposed specific amendments that contribute to the electrical safety of Ontarians. The OESC is a critical component to ensuring safe electrical installations in Ontario. For Licensed Electrical Contractors and do-it-yourselfers, it’s an essential tool for any electrical work. The proposed changes for the next version of the OESC, pending government approval, to be in effect is planned for May 2022.
To view the anticipated section changes in the OESC go here: Click Here
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INDUSTRY EVENTS & WEBINARS |
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Webinar
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
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To recognize International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, our friends at RESCON through their CARE initiative are presenting a webinar on Monday, March 18th from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Speakers include Chief Prevention Officer Ron Kelusky and poet and author Nadine Williams.
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EB PowerCon
Preparing our Apprentices & Electricians for the Future
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Panel Discussion
When: March 22, 2021
Time: 11:00 am - 11:30 am
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