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Protest horns blare at MPP’s office
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Outside the Rockland office of MPP Grant Crack last Friday afternoon the tempe- rature hovered around 25 degrees below zero, on one of the coldest days so far of December this year. On the sidewalk fron- ting the office parking lot, dozens of local electricians, plumbers and others in the building trades have hot words and blaring air horns for the provincial deputy and Ontario’s Liberal government. “It’s about safety,” said Alain Gourgon, one of the local spokesmen. “It’s about Bill 70, and Schedule 17.” All across the province, on Dec. 16, On- tario’s tradespeople staged protest rallies outside of MPP offices and other provincial government sites. Bill 70 is omnibus legis- lation dealing with budget matters, but the focus of Schedule 17 is not on expenses or debits. “They slipped in the Schedule 17 (sec- tion),” said Gourgon, “which will take away the power of the College of Trades and give it to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB).” The industry-run college certifies 20 “compulsory trades” like electricians, plum- bers and pipefitters. The concern among tradespeople is that the OLRB will have the power to review or overrule some college decisions andmake it easier for non-certified labour to work on projects without having the professional certification required and going through the usual apprenticeship and journeyman training period. Last Friday’s protest is part of A long-term strategy for the trades sector to pressure the
provincial government to leave both the certification and inspection authority of the College of Trades intact.
Les électriciens, plombiers, tuyauteurs et autres travailleurs locaux ont bravé le froid, la semaine dernière, afin d’organiser unemanifestation à l’extérieur du bureau de Rockland du député Grant Crack. Ceux-ci, ainsi que d’autres travailleurs ontariens ont signalé une manifestation massive à l’échelle provinciale, le 16 décembre dernier, contre une section du projet de loi 70 qui, selon eux, enlèvera le pouvoir au Collège des métiers comme autorité ultime en ce qui concerne l’inspection de sites et le travail exigeant des commerçants certifiés à embaucher des travailleurs non certifiés. — photo Gregg Chamberlain
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