was welcomed as a friend of unionized workers recently as he delivered the keynote address on the second day of the 67th annual convention in Windsor.
Building Trades business manager Marc Arsenault said in an interview Piccini brought more than mere expressions of goodwill from the Doug Ford government cabinet table.
“Minister Piccini has been a fantastic partner with building trade union training centres, recognizing that to deliver the province’s impressive and ambitious lineup of investments in infrastructure and transportation, the energy file, we need to invest in training to deliver projects safely, on time and on budget,” said Arsenault.
“That is directly correlated to training. These projects are complex, and the minister sees the value with planning these projects in a way that we can identify project risks and then using industry expertise to mitigate those risks.”
Piccini noted the government has now allocated $1.4 billion to the Skills Development Fund (SDF), which has training and capital streams. The training stream has supported projects to train over 60,000 construction workers.
Arsenault praised the minister’s convention commitment to go to the Treasury Board to secure another round of SDF funding that will include more “bricks and mortar funding” for trades training centres.
Among other commitments from the minister that were valued by the Building Trades, Arsenault said, were investment in the workers trade committee on large projects, which is an essential element of the internal responsibility system; and recognition of the need for the ministry to support the Building Trades’ large-project labour-force planning tool.
“When we talk about mitigating project risks, we’re talking about improving project certainty,” said Arsenault. “We’re talking about improving confidence with the supply model and confidence with project stability to get there.
“There is recognition from the minister that things like the internal responsibility system, the workers trade committees, these pieces work to that end.”
Addressing health and safety, Piccini noted there have been more than double the number of proactive field visits by inspectors since he became labour minister in 2023, and thanks in part to advocacy from the Building Trades, the ministry has tripled the number of orders issued and increased the fines under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act.
Piccini also offered unequivocal support for the unionized trade system and trade certification.
He said, “The complex work you all do is being done by certified tradespeople. It’s a priority for me and the premier of this province, and I will always stand up for you and protect the integrity of your trades.”
Milestone numbers from STO
The minister spoke at the Building Trade conference Oct. 17. The next day, Melissa Young, CEO and registrar of (STO), offered an update on the third year of STO and a look ahead to next year – but not before dropping a hint that she would be stepping down from the job, saying she was probably attending her final Building Trades conference.
Young highlighted a major milestone set for next spring, when STO will be assuming ownership of the minister’s apprenticeship administration responsibilities. The agency will begin harmonized processing of apprenticeship applications, becoming the primary contact for client support, and will launch regional offices.
Additionally, STO will introduce third-party vendor delivery of exam administration to cut down “those absolutely horrific wait times that our apprentices are having today.”
“These changes are going to make STO a single point of access for all apprentices and all of our clients, including our employers. This is a huge milestone,” said Young.
Young said STO’s new Exam Support Unit had assisted 340 apprentices in taking their exams as of April, with the success rate rising from 43 per cent to 51 per cent.
Among other milestones reached, as of October, there were more than 102,000 active apprentices in Ontario. Over 58,000 of those are training in a building trade.
Peterson’s pledge
Speaking to delegates on Oct. 17, Wayne Peterson, executive director of the (CECCO), said the council was committed to “getting its act together” to become a better partner with the trades. With Ontario’s ICI collective bargaining season set to preoccupy the sector over the next seven months, CECCO “will be the partner the industry needs,” said Peterson.
“We need to get through the next six months without shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Armed with a new strategic plan, CECCO is pledging to support its “bread and butter,” SMEs, and reclaim territory it has ceded to the non-union sector.
“We need to get our collective heads out of the sand,” said Peterson. “We need to…put forth a joint strategy on how to reclaim these markets before it’s too late.”
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