GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE At our July meeting, the Board of Directors agreed to work with the IHSA to form a collaborative scaffolding committee. Members of the Board also met with Dean Dunn from the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA) at the end of October to discuss the details of the committee. If you would like to put your name forward for membership on the committee, please let us know by contacting info@siac-ontario.com. The committee would bring representatives from across the sector to discuss issues affecting the scaffolding industry and subsequently inform work of the Section 21 Committee. REDUCING RED TAPE SIAC continues to engage with the Ontario Ministry of Labour to seek clarity on interpretations of Ontario Regulation 213/91 by MOL inspectors. In addition to written correspondence to the Ministry, the SIAC will be engaging with the provincial coordinator of the Construction Health and Safety Program to resolve these issues. This relates directly to red tape reduction, as it ensures clarity on inconsistent interpretations, which would reduce the cumbersome appeals process on this important regulation to the SIAC. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS CHANGING THE NATURE OF WORK The SIAC is also considering how the new provincial government will be making changes in the Ministry of Labour. A few weeks ago, the Ford government announced that they would pursue the repealing of amendments of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 (Bill 148), which was introduced by the previous government. The government introduced the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, which, if passed, will significantly impact workplaces in our industry. Apart from updating the Labour Relations Act, Making Ontario Open for Business has announced changes which will have a drastic effect on the way the construction business operates. Major amendments to note are the following: •  The government is proposing to repeal Bill 148’s scheduling provisions, including the right for an employee to refuse requests to work or be on-call when they are not scheduled to work, with less than 96 hours’ notice. • The new Act proposes to freeze the minimum wage at $14/hour for 33 months and later tie it to the rate of inflation, rather than increasing it to $15/hour in January 2019, as was committed in Bill 148. • If passed, the allowance of two paid personal emergency leave days per year would be cancelled. Unpaid days would be reduced from 10 to eight days and broken down into three days for personal illness, two for bereavement and three for family responsibilities. BY JIM WILKINSON 10 THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SCAFFOLD INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA