Ontario Trades to Protest Schedule 17 on February 21

February 8, 2017

The Progressive Certified Trades Coalition is urging all skilled trades, unionized or not, to attend a Queen’s Park rally in protest of Schedule 17 of Ontario’s Omnibus Bill 70.

Although Bill 70 has received Royal Assent, not all parts of it, including Schedule 17, have been proclaimed.

The coalition believes that Schedule 17 will erode the value of trade licences, and wants Premier Kathleen Wynne and Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn to ensure the Ontario Labour Relations Board is directed to respect the scopes of practice of compulsory trades.

According to the coalition, Schedule 17 will 

• allow unskilled labourers to do work currently being done by skilled trades. This is a safety risk to all the workers concerned, and to the public, says the coalition.

• give the Ontario Labour Relations Board power to overturn decisions made by Ontario College of Trades inspectors regarding illegal workers and employers of illegal workers, and will be able to do on the basis of criteria established by the board, not the college. This could have enforcement implications.

Six demonstrations have already taken place in Toronto (November 30), and in Guelph, Kingston, London, Oakville, and Ottawa (January 19-20).

Find out more about Schedule 17: www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=4376.

Photo source: Progressive Certified Trades Coalition.