Press Release
| 26 November, 2007 | |
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50th Anniversary Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario plan for future Issues continue to reappear over time __________________________________________________________ From its 1957 founding in Kingston to its recent 50th anniversary celebration in Toronto, the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario must continue to have vision and courage to do what is needed, states its business manager. “There were 42 members who founded the building trades in Kingston 50 years ago. This (the Council) is what 50 years of the work of these visionaries, having the courage of their convictions, has accomplished,” said Patrick Dillon, Council business manager. “Fifty years from now, people will look at what we did and did not do.” The Council recently held its 50th policy convention at the Fairmount Royal York Hotel in Toronto with over 200 members in attendance. Health and safety, apprenticeship training, WSIB, immigration and temporary foreign workers are all issues the Council has lobbied for and worked on during its history, noted Bill Nichols, Council president. “Some issues from the past are still here and we need to work on those,” added Nichols. “As we look forward, it is the past 50 years we cannot forget.” This year’s convention saw a variety of resolutions passed on issues such as compulsory certification, the Federal Fair Wage Act, Multi-Employer Pension Plan solvency and foreign workers. Dillon noted the Council will continue to pursue tax mobility incentives which would allow construction workers tax relief to move and find temporary work. The Council will also encourage Citizenship and Immigration Canada to consult with local building trades, to accurately determine the availability of skilled trades people in an area, before foreign worker permits are issued. “There is a lot of work to do going forward,” said Dillon. “We have to have the confidence as building trades members in this province and industry.” Liberal MPP Greg Sorbara spoke at the convention the morning of his announcement he was stepping down as Ontario’s finance minister. Sorbara said that as Ontario prepares to compete nationally and internationally, it will not do so “at the expense of our workers.” “The next decade must be a decade of development,” said Sorbara. Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power CEO and David Livingston, Infrastructure Ontario president and chief executive officer, both relayed messages that echoed Sorbara’s development comments, there is a lot of work for the building trades in the near and distant future. “We cannot do it without you,” said Hawthorne as he explained the skilled labour demand needed to rebuild Bruce Power. Originally published by: Daily Commercial News
Nov. 2007,http://www.dcnonl.com/article/id24939 |
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