The Ontario Government is enabling $1.9 billion in relief for employers to reduce the financial strain on business brought on by COVID-19. The measure, which will run through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), will see premium payments deferred for six months for all businesses in the province. The complete News Release is below. […]
To support workers and help businesses keep their employees, the government has proposed legislation to establish the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). This taxable benefit would provide $2,000 a month for up to four months for workers who lose their income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CERB would be a simpler and […]
News Release Stop the Spread Business Information Line Now Open at 1-888-444-3659 The province has launched a toll-free line 1-888-444-3659 to provide support to Ontario businesses who have questions about the province’s recent emergency order to close at-risk workplaces following recommendations by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.On Monday, the province issued an emergency order to close […]
March 16, 2020 Ontario to Protect Workers who Take Leaves from Work TORONTO — Ontario is acting immediately to protect workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Today, Premier Doug Ford and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, announced that the government intends to introduce legislation that, if passed, would immediately provide job-protected leave […]
COCA Letter Pandemic Response In the Construction Industry Dear Ministers: Re: Pandemic Response In the Construction Industry The Council of Ontario Construction Associations (“COCA”) is a federation of 29 construction associations representing approximately 10,000 general and trade contractors that perform work in the industrial, commercial, institutional (ICI) and heavy civil construction sector in all regions […]
January 28, 2020 With news of the Wuhan Novel Coronavirus (“Coronavirus”) making headlines internationally and two positive cases now in Toronto (one confirmed and one presumptive), risk of potential exposure may cause concern for employees and employers. In this environment of heightened awareness, an employer must balance its legal obligation to take every reasonable precaution […]
Council of Ontario Construction Associations Report to the Membership January 2019 Government Relations COCA’s primary role is to work with our members and senior officials at Queen’s Park to ensure that the province’s laws, regulations and policies support success in the construction industry. This government relations work is the backbone of COCA’s being, and it’s […]
Good Morning Directors, COOs & Associates, I am forwarding an email that I received this morning from COCA Director Ted Dreyer. Most will know that Ted is a construction lawyer with Madorin Snyder LLP and is chair of COCA’s Construction Act Committee. Attached to Ted’s email is a very helpful flow chart prepared by […]
Your weekly Ontario Construction News eletter: See today’s newspaper here Kingston lays groundwork for mid-rise and tall buildings policy with Issues and Options Paper By Robin MacLennan Ontario Construction News staff writer Interested in where, when and how taller buildings will be built in Kingston? The city is inviting input on an Issues and Options […]
OHS & Workers’ Compensation Advisor Construction Upheaval: Potentially Landscape-Altering OHS Case November 7, 2019 A potentially landscape-altering OHS case, considering whether a construction project owner, that engaged a constructor to control and complete the project, retains OHS obligations as an “employer” at the project, is winding its way through the Ontario court system. The Ontario […]