Ontario Erectors Association

Ontario Public Affairs Update – Ontario Election, Week 4

Since our last update, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has issued her party’s platform for this campaign, which is summarized below in an updated table of the campaign commitments of the three main political parties.

 

 

In this Update:

Tracking 2014 Ontario Election Construction-Related Commitments

OCS Election Toolkit: Responses from campaigns

Election Resources on the Web

2014 Ontario Election Campaign Construction-Related Commitments

Category	PC Party	Liberal Party	NDP
Infrastructure	·      Not an explicit promise, but mentions an annual $12 billion infrastructure budget ·      Province to assume control over rail-based transit (TTC’s subway service) and highways ·      Will be “…demanding better value and better service from current operators and their unions…” ·      Proposed Ontario Transportation Trust will fund transit projects from asset sales and future surpluses ·      LRT projects in GTA will be cancelled, but subway to Scarborough and Etobicoke will be funded ·      No tax increases to fund transit ·      Planned expenditure of $130 billion dollars in public infrastructure over the next 10 years ·      Includes $29 billion over 10 years available for transit infrastructure in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) as well as across Ontario ·      $11.4 billion over 10 years in major hospital expansion and redevelopment projects ·      $1 billion for Ring of Fire infrastructure (conditional upon federal government matching) ·      Dedicated fund of $29 billion over 10 years for transit projects across Ontario ·      Increase transit investment by $250 million annually for priority transit projects ·      Commitment to invest in Ring of Fire Infrastructure
Post-Secondary Education and Apprenticeship	·      Abolishing Ontario College of Trades ·      Establishing a universal apprenticeship ratio of 1:1 ·      “…making it easier for people to get jobs as electricians, plumbers or precision machine operators by making trades training a community college like any other.” ·      Expects these moves to create 200,000 new apprentice spaces — 42% of the net new jobs expected in the PC platform ·      Revised – will appoint a special advisor to review the College of Trades’ application process and scope of practice, including enforcement; will “pause” certification of new compulsory trades during this review ·      In high schools, will identify Skills Champions to mentor students toward apprenticeship and careers ·      No changes promised for apprenticeships or College of Trades
Labour	·      Secret ballot for all certification votes ·      New legislation will ensure that workers are not supporting political causes they don’t support ·      For union leadership, financial transparency requirements similar to corporations and charities ·      No changes promised to labour legislation – current legislation would shorten ICI raiding period to 60-days ·      No changes promised to labour legislation

OCS Election Tool Kits

During this campaign, OCS has distributed an OCS Election Tool Kit to candidates from each of the three main parties, in 36 different ridings. Kits were distributed to MPPs, Ministers and critics in portfolios with a direct interest in construction, plus other candidates in their ridings. Other MPPs who have shown a previous interest in our industry were also included.

The kits are intended to wish candidates well in the campaign, and provide information on the impact of the unionized ICI construction sector on the Ontario economy.