Carpenters Disappointed by Trades Review Recommendations

TORONTO, Nov. 23, 2015 /CNW/ - After a lengthy review of the College of Trades, the government released and accepted Tony Dean's recommendations. The Carpenters' District Council of Ontario ("Carpenters' Union") is pleased that the government has once again endorsed and is committed to the College of Trades, but is disappointed the Dean Review recommendations will inevitably result in yet more delays in protecting the public and tradespeople. Mr. Dean's recommendation to create a new expert panel outside of the College, to review trade classifications, not only weakens the College by removing one of its core responsibilities, but also creates an unnecessary new organization. Instead of moving forward with the real issue of ensuring our tradespeople are properly trained; can work safely; and can be relied upon by the public, the government will continue to freeze a key task of the College for at least another year.

"It's unfortunate that the government is committing to more bureaucracy instead of placing public protection first", said Tony Iannuzzi, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Carpenters' District Council of Ontario. "What Ontario really needs is a future in which young people can learn a skilled trade the right way, and be proud of the trade they do. That only happens when we start treating trades professionally."

Carpenters perform very specific skilled work, and in order to guarantee the safety of both workers and consumers, it is vital that all workers within this trade are all trained to the same high standards. The Carpenters' Union has been attempting to address this issue for the past 30 years.

The Carpenters' Union has been a champion of the College of Trades. We were excited about the possibilities Mr. Dean's review of the College could have offered, including: consumer protection; safeguarding the publics' interest and increasing the training and professionalization of the trades. While we thank Mr. Dean and the government for their hard work and dedication to the subject; some of the recommendations, in particular the ones with respect to classification, have left Ontario's tradespeople disappointed.

"The government's commitment to infrastructure and the building of Ontario should not only just focus on physical structures but should equally focus on building the best trades workforce in the world" said Iannuzzi. These recommendations delay the process of creating a compulsory certified trade that ensures formally trained skilled workers are the ones building Ontario up.

About the Carpenters' District Council of Ontario
The Carpenters' District Council of Ontario ("CDC") is composed of 16 affiliated Local Unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners across the province. CDC represents over 24,000 women and men working in a wide range of areas, including carpentry, drywall, resilient flooring, concrete formwork, underwater construction, welding, scaffolding, and a long list of other construction-related work. In addition, our Union represents many industrial workers and thousands of highly skilled workers in Ontario's health care sector. Learn more at http://www.thecarpentersunion.ca/

SOURCE Carpenters' District Council of Ontario

Nikki Holland, [email protected], 905-652-4140