Image Alt

Ontario Erectors Association

EYE ON ICI – OCS Newsletter – October 2017

The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) has a new Chief Executive Officer.

Following an executive search, the OCS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Bronk as CEO.  Robert joined the OCS on October 2, 2017.

About joining the OCS, Bronk says he excited.

“As a former stakeholder with the OCS, I am aware of the tremendous reputation this organization has built within the unionized construction industry, in addition to its valuable contribution of research, industry knowledge and information and promotion.  I look forward to engaging all of our stakeholders and partners in exploring opportunities to strengthen our industry.” 

Bronk joins the OCS from the Ontario Industrial and Finishing Skills Centre (OIFSC) where he served as Executive Director, responsible for managing the delivery of health and safety training for IUPAT DC 46 members and the training of architectural glass and metal technicians, and commercial and industrial painter apprentices at three training centres in Ontario.

Prior to this, Robert had a successful career in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a running back with the Toronto Argonauts, winning a Grey Cup in 1983.  Robert has a Civil Engineering degree from Queen’s University in Kingston and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Toronto.

As CEO, Bronk will oversee a dynamic, not-for-profit organization created in 1993 to enhance Ontario’s unionized industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) construction industry.  The mandate of the OCS is to develop relationships, facilitate dialogue, provide value-added research, disseminate information and promote the value of unionized ICI construction.  Research is the foundation of the OCS and underpins each of its strategic objectives.

Bronk becomes the Secretariat’s third Chief Executive Officer since the organization’s formation in 1993.


“WEEDING” THROUGH THE ISSUE OF MARIJUANA IN THE WORKPLACE
Next summer, the federal government intends to legalize marijuana, leaving the provinces to decide how they intend to regulate the drug.  In Ontario, the province will prohibit the use of recreational cannabis in public areas and workplaces.  It has also proposed that individuals will have to be at least 19 years of age to purchase or possess recreational cannabis and the LCBO will oversee the legal retail of cannabis throughout the province.
A SAFETY TALK YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS – NOVEMBER 1, 2017
In 2015, the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) presented research conducted by the Institute for Work and Health (IWH) which identified a “union safety effect”.  It concluded that unionized construction firms are 23% safer than non-unionized construction firms.  On November 1st, Dr. Linda Goldenhar will speak in Toronto about safety culture and leadership in high-hazard work.
MID-YEAR UPDATE: ONTARIO’S INSTITUTIONAL PERMIT VALUES INCREASE BY HALF WHILE INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY REMAINS CONFINED TO CENTRAL ONTARIO
This is the Ontario Construction Secretariat’s update on local building permits in Ontario for the following cities: Belleville, Greater Sudbury, Kingston, London, Ottawa, Peterborough, Thunder Bay, and Windsor.Select from any of the cities below.
View current economic indicators for Ontario such as Construction Employment, CPI Inflation & Unemployment Rate.

————————

HELP US SHARE YOUR STORY
The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) has been in existence for 24 years, and in that time, we have heard many great stories about inspirational employees and employers, awards and recognition for outstanding work, and successful initiatives aimed at helping the communities in which we work and live.