ers’ Union and some employers, espe- who would serve on review panels for cially as the carpenters’ union pushed decisions about the classification or forward its proposal for that trade’s reclassification of trades and be advi- compulsory certification. sory to the minister on matters of ap- The carpentry certification process prenticeship and training.” started in February 2014 at a meeting Dean says these experts would be of the OCOT’s eight-member General “individuals without an affiliation with Carpenter Construction Sector Trade a trade or a particular trade sector.” board. “They could include individuals The sector board included an equal with expertise in areas such as public number of union and employer repre- administration, facilitation and deci- sentatives, including Tom Cardinal, sion making, health and safety, labour then the Sudbury based president of market development and the econ- the CDCO. The union had indicated in omy and consumer protection,” he 2013 that it was considering making a wrote. move towards compulsory certifica- tion, which would set qualifications and regulate who could become a “It’s unfortunate that the carpenter in the province, restricting government is committing carpentry work to certified carpen- ters rather than labourers, handy- to more bureaucracy instead men, or other trades. Someone familiar with the of placing public protection first,” OCOT’s General Carpenter Sector said Tony Iannuzzi. Board said union representatives caught employers off guard with the original certification motion. Notably, these review panels will be “They timed it when they knew an larger — with five or seven members employer would be the chair of the instead of the original structure with board, and thus would only be able to three panelists — and they will have a cast his vote in a tie situation,” the in- clear mandate to focus on the public dividual said. This meant, with three interest in their decisions. regular employer members, and four The CDCO says Dean’s recom- worker representatives, the request mended changes will result in delays for certification could pass with a 4-3 and weaken the OCOT by requiring the vote in favour. new expert panel. Meanwhile, the labourers’ union “It’s unfortunate that the govern- were running into job site problems ment is committing to more bureau- when other trades, including the IBEW, cracy instead of placing public sought OCOT enforcement action for protection first,” said Tony Iannuzzi, labourers doing work that the labour- the CDCO’s executive secretary treas- ers said were always within their urer. “What Ontario really needs is a fu- scope of practice. ture in which young people can learn The conflicts and controversies re- a skilled trade the right way, and be sulted in increasing political pressure proud of the trade they do. That only on the Liberal government, especially happens when we start treating trades when the labourers joined with non- professionally.” union employers in an unusual alliance In his review, Dean sets out the cri- calling on the government to either re- teria for review panel decisions about form or disband the OCOT. Premier compulsory certification, making it Kathleen Wynne promised to review clear that “the key factor for the classi- the OCOT in the last provincial election fication or reclassification of a trade as campaign, and in fulfilling the election voluntary or compulsory is risk of harm promise, Dean started work in late to one or more of (a) the individuals 2014. working in the trade, (b) other workers In his recommendations, Dean says on the job and/or (c) the public.” the provincial government’s Minister Dean said secondary factors relate of Training, Colleges and Universities to public interest including economic should “appoint a roster of experts, impact, access to the trade and labour 6 – January 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report mobility, a “demonstrated public need,” and “implementation consider- ations such as education and training, strategy for individuals currently prac- ticing the trade (grand-parenting), im- pact on training ratios, etc.” “In its decision making, the review panel should weigh the criteria with deference to the key factor compared with the secondary factors and may weigh each of the secondary factors, as it considers appropriate within this framework,” Dean wrote. Meanwhile, LiUNA expressed sup- port for Dean’s proposals in response to scope of practice controversies. “Mr. Dean has delivered a solid re- port and we are encouraged that both the Ontario government and the OCOT have accepted his recommen- dations,” said Joseph Mancinelli, LiUNA international vice president and regional manager of central and eastern Canada. “LiUNA Local 183 believes that Dean’s recommendations will go a long way towards providing the bal- ance that has been missing from OCOT,” said Jack Oliveira, business manager of LiUNA Local 183 and the LiUNA Ontario Provincial District Coun- cil. “They underscore the importance of evidence and expertise when mak- ing decisions that fundamentally im- pact tens of thousands of hard working Ontarians and the wellbeing of a vital sector of our economy. To- gether, we can ensure that OCOT works for the tradespeople building Ontario up, the businesses that hire them and the greater public interest.” –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Regarding scopes of practice (SoP), Dean outlined these recommendations: –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– SoP recommendation 1. In consulta- tion with the ministry, the OCOT should proceed with its program eval- uation process in order to recommend any amendments to the MTCU regard- ing the consolidation or reduction of the number of trades named under the Ontario College of Trades and Appren- ticeship Act. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– SoP recommendation 2. The OCOT should be mindful of its duty to serve and protect the public interest in car- rying out SoP reviews and for the vari-