July 24, 2020
Ontario Moving More Regions into Stage 3

More Businesses and Services Across the Province Can Safely Reopen on Friday

he Ontario government is allowing seven more regions to enter Stage 3 on Friday, increasing the number of businesses and public spaces that will reopen across the province. This decision was made in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and is based on positive local trends of key public health indicators, including lower or low transmission of COVID-19, ongoing hospital capacity, public health capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management, and a significant increase in testing.

The following public health units will be allowed to move into Stage 3 on Friday, July 24, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.:

  • Durham Region Health Department;
  • Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit;
  • Halton Region Health Department;
  • Hamilton Public Health Services;
  • Lambton Health Unit;
  • Niagara Region Public Health Department; and
  • York Region Public Health Services.

These regions will join the 24 public health regions that entered into Stage 3 on Friday, July 17, 2020. For more information on the restrictions that will remain in place during Stage 3, as well as the public health and workplace safety restrictions necessary to keep people safe, visit Ontario.ca/reopen.


Click here to read the complete news release.

Reminder: Supporting Ontario’s Safe Employers (SOSE) - Applications now Open!

On Friday November 22, 2019 Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD), announced the  Supporting Ontario’s Safe Employers (SOSE) program  which will be facilitated by the Office of the Chief Prevention Officer (CPO). Today, we are proud to announce applications for this program are now available.
 
Organizations that have their own occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) may apply to have their system accredited by the CPO.
 
Organizations that have successfully implemented a CPO Accredited Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), and MLTSD’s additional criteria, can apply for CPO Employer Recognition.
 
CPO recognized employers will be entitled to non-financial incentives and may also be eligible to receive financial incentives from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), if they meet WSIB’s criteria.
 
Organizations that require support in the development of their OHSMS are encouraged to consider the WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence Program and how it may be of value and assistance with preparing for the steps to CPO Employer Recognition.

If you have any questions about the program you can contact the Prevention Office at  SOSE@Ontario.ca.  Note we will accept application forms via email.

Click here  for more information.

Workers continued to return to construction sites in June, but labour market still well off highs

The construction labour market continued to rebound in June, following up healthy gains in May after historic April losses.

Statistics Canada released its latest Labour Force Survey July 10, showing 83,200 more workers in construction in June compared to a month earlier.

In its latest labour assessment, Statistics Canada also highlighted that the proportion of construction staff working less than half of their usual work hours and the number of people temporarily laid off fell “markedly” in June. Not adjusting for seasonality, the federal agency said construction recorded a 53.8 per cent decrease in the number of people on temporary layoff. 

Click here to read the complete news release.

Stakeholders laud Ontario Recovery Act reforms

Ontario construction stakeholders are full of praise for far-reaching Doug Ford government proposals announced recently that will expedite new projects as part of a post-COVID-19 recovery package.

The proposed reforms were introduced July 8 as part of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act. Among the changes, revisions to the Environmental Assessment (EA) Act could reduce timelines for some projects from six to three years; routine changes to low-impact municipal sewage collection and stormwater management projects could be pre-authorized without needing separate approvals for each project; and regulatory bottlenecks could be removed from key provincial highway construction projects to allow construction to start earlier.

Toronto Construction Association president and CEO John Mollenhauer called the package a “monstrous move in the right direction” and said he was “excited” and “thrilled” by the government moves.

Click here to read the complete news article.

Exclusive Discount for TCA Members on publishing Certificates of Substantial Performance (CSPs) in the Daily Commercial News (DCN)!

All certificates and notices published in the Daily Commercial News (DCN) are a flat fee of $300 (plus tax). Special Affinity Pricing of $200 per certificate is available to all ConstructConnect subscribers and TCA members.
Click on the image for more details.

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TCA Resources on COVID-19

To access TCA dedicated Covid-19 Updates, click here .