Contributed by the Provincial Government
Ontario's government is taking concrete measures to make Ontario open for business, grow the economy and help create and protect good jobs across the province.
On October 23, Jim Wilson, Ontario's Minister Responsible for Red Tape and Regulatory Burden Reduction, joined Laurie Scott, Minister of Labour, and Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, to announce a series of regulatory and legislative changes that, if passed by Ontario's Legislature, will make it easier for Ontario employers to hire and make it easier for workers to find jobs and grow their careers in Ontario.
"When it comes to the economy, being 'For the People' means keeping and growing good jobs right here in Ontario," said Wilson. "This will not happen on its own. Instead it starts with cutting the unnecessary red tape that is driving jobs and investment out of our province."
The “Making Ontario Open for Business Act” will enable more Ontario employers to boost job creation and investment by cutting unnecessary regulations that are inefficient, inflexible and out of date, while maintaining standards to keep Ontarians safe and healthy.
"At the heart of our plan is the conviction that Ontario can once again be a great place to invest, grow and create jobs," said Wilson.
As part of the reforms, the Ministers announced that the government would take immediate action to repeal much of the burdensome, job-killing red tape imposed by the previous government through the notorious Bill 148. These reforms include maintaining Ontario's current minimum wage at $14 per hour until 2020, to be followed by increases tied to inflation. The government will also replace the previous government's disastrous Personal Emergency Leave rules. Instead, for the first time in Ontario's history, workers will be able to take up to three days for personal illness, two for bereavement and three for family responsibilities. Current provisions for domestic and sexual violence leave will be maintained, which is a valuable protection for employees. The proposed reforms will also reduce the red-tape burden around scheduling while updating the Labour Relations Act.
"Today's reforms are vital to create good jobs and stimulate new investment. We are lightening the burden on businesses and making sure that hard work is rewarded while proving to the world that Ontario is open for business," said Scott. "Businesses should have confidence in reasonable and predictable regulations. And everyone who works should have the confidence of a good job and a safe workplace."
The Making Ontario Open for Business Act, if passed, will also address the backlog in Ontario's skilled trades by replacing Ontario's out-dated model with a one-to-one journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio for every trade for which ratios apply, thereby better aligning Ontario with other provinces and territories. The legislation, if passed, will also modernize the apprenticeship system by initiating an orderly wind-down of the Ontario College of Trades, which remains a source of unnecessary and burdensome complexity for skilled trades employment in the province.
"There are many tremendous and vibrant opportunities available in the skilled trades in Ontario. In fact, one in five new jobs in the next five years will be trades-related. But in Ontario today, employers can't find apprentices and apprentices can't find jobs," said Fullerton. "As far as we're concerned, if you are prepared to do the work then you deserve a shot at the job."
The government will continue to systematically review Ontario's stock of regulations, then streamline, modernize and, in some cases, eliminate unnecessarily complicated, outdated or duplicative regulations.
"Our government has been clear since day one - we are making Ontario open for business. It is time to bring quality jobs back to Ontario and help families get ahead. This legislation is just one way our government is working towards that goal," said Wilson.
MORE ON APPRENTICESHIPS
Ontario's government is helping employers and workers to better fill the demand for skilled trades and apprenticeship jobs and bringing quality jobs back to Ontario by cutting red tape. The province is taking the first steps to modernize and transform Ontario's skilled trades and apprenticeship system. The current regulatory burdens placed on employers and apprentices create barriers to apprenticeship, making it difficult for Ontario to keep up in training the skilled tradespeople that will be demanded by the economy. About one in five new jobs in Ontario in the coming years are expected to be in trades-related occupations.
Employers say that it is difficult to find the key skilled trades workers they need. As part of the province's larger Open for Business Action Plan to increase investment and create good jobs in Ontario, our government is cutting unnecessary regulations that are inefficient, inflexible or out-of-date, while maintaining rules that keep Ontarians safe and healthy, including:
Currently, Ontario's ratios are among the highest in Canada, limiting the number of apprentices an employer can train relative to the number of journeypersons they employ. Ontario's journeyperson to apprentice ratios likely contribute to the higher costs seen in the construction sector.
For trades that are subject to ratios, the change to a one-to-one journeyperson to apprentice ratio would simplify and streamline how employers can hire and oversee apprentices, reduce costs and provide more flexibility for employers. Setting a single, lower ratio would better align Ontario with other provinces and territories in Canada.
There are currently 133 voluntary and 23 compulsory trades in Ontario. Anyone practicing a compulsory trade must have a Certificate of Qualification or be registered as an apprentice or journeyperson candidate and must be a member in good standing of the Ontario College of Trades, unless they are exempt under the legislation.
Trade classification and re-classification in Ontario is currently overly burdensome and can affect decisions to hire new staff, as well as companies' ability to compete in the global marketplace. The moratorium would mitigate the risks of increasing regulatory burden and costs for businesses.
There have been persistent challenges in how the skilled trades in Ontario are regulated, the amount of College membership fees that apprentices and journeypersons are subject to and the complexity of the rules apprentices, journeypersons and employers are bound by.
Apprenticeship in Ontario needs to be modernized and transformed to better meet the needs of apprentices, employers and industry. As part of the government's commitment to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, and to modernize apprenticeship in Ontario, the government is proposing to wind down the Ontario College of Trades.
If passed, the government intends to support an orderly transition and ensure continuity of services to employers, workers and apprentices. The Minister would have special powers in legislation, including the authority to take charge and control over the College's Board of Governors and to appoint an administrator to act on her behalf.
The government intends to develop a replacement model for the regulation of the skilled trades and apprenticeship system in Ontario by early 2019.
The Ministry of Labour will continue to enforce the Occupational Health and Safety Act to ensure worker safety.
The government will look at ways to promote the skilled trades in Ontario and to improve access to the apprenticeship system for both apprentices and employers. The government will make it easier to navigate and move through the system so that Ontario gets the skilled trades workforce it needs to build a thriving economy and create quality jobs.
THUMB'S UP FROM COLLEGES
Colleges Ontario, the organization representing the administrations of the province’s two dozen public colleges, commended the government’s apprenticeship-related announcement. In a press release, it stated:
Measures announced by the Ford government to improve skills training in the province will go a tremendous way towards producing a more highly qualified workforce, Colleges Ontario said.
“Apprenticeship training in this province is awash in red tape,” said Colleges Ontario President Linda Franklin. “We’re pleased the government is taking serious action to streamline and improve skills training.”
The government announced that it is terminating the Ontario College of Trades – an important step to help close the skills gap that is hurting businesses and industries throughout the province.
The modernization of skills training is long overdue as growing numbers of employers throughout the province are struggling to find qualified people. The Ontario Skilled Trades Alliance reported last year that up to 41 percent of the employers it surveyed would hire more people if they had the right skills.
Part of the effort to strengthen the workforce must include reforming apprenticeship training.
Ontario’s colleges continue to champion measures to allow more people to enrol in apprenticeship training and to successfully complete their programs. In particular, colleges are encouraging the government to create a one-window application service to apprenticeship training by expanding the provincial application service for college students to include apprentices.
“Ontario can produce more apprentices with the qualifications and expertise to close the skills gap,” Franklin said. “We encourage the government to work on further reforms that will make a huge difference to students and employers.”
