WHENTHECONSERVATIVEPARTYCAMETOPOWERINONTARIO, the province’s construction industry braced itself for change. That change made its appearance fairly quickly, most notably with the decision to dismantle the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT). The Making Ontario Open for Business Act (Bill 47), introduced in late October, includesaprovisiontowinddownOCOT by early 2019 and begin the process of “modernizing and transforming the skilled trades and apprenticeship system.” It also changes the journeyman to apprentice ratio to 1:1 for all trades subject to ratios and suspends future reviews of trade classifications that would create more compulsory trades. The bill was passed in November and the government is now moving forward with implementing the changes, starting with a consultation process. The Ford government’s rationale was the need for a more “business- friendly” environment, one that attracts companies to the province and increases employment opportunities. The changes are aimed at doing just that by providing employers with the flexibility to address shortages in skilled tradespersons and improve their ability to hire and train apprentices. Some industry stakeholders view the elimination of OCOT as a much-needed step because of the systemic governance and operational problems plaguing the agency since its inception in 2013. That said, the positive aspects of replacing a “broken” OCOT are now morphing new model? While the answer to this question is not known at this point, a number of industry organizations have expressed their thoughts on what is needed for the new approach to succeed. These include: maintaining the OCOT database and registry of worker creden- tials and making it accessible; continuing with more rigorous enforcement with adequate resources, (there are currently 45 OCOT compliance officers); and establishing ongoing dialogue with both industry and workers to keep the new model relevant and up-to-date. Adds John Mollenhauer, president of the Toronto Construction Association, “The new model being considered by the government needs to focus on three important areas. Those are safety first, reducing costs to encourage businesses to come to Ontario, and attracting more ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TRADES into concerns tied to what will replace it and whether the new approach will properly address the shortcomings of the previous one. ROCKYHISTORY OCOT was established by the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act of 2009 and started operations in 2013 as the regulatory body governing skilled trades in the province. Its primary objective was to enforce, promote and support the compulsory trades. The idea was to professionalize trades through a “self-regulated” body that engages private sector companies and trades- people outside of political influence. Unfortunately,throughoutitsfiveyears of existence the agency ran into ongoing challenges that tainted its reputation with employers and workers alike. The governance structure quickly became “political” as various interest groups vied for influence at both the corporate and trade board levels. In the minds of many people involved with the College, the mandate of enforcement, promotion andsupportofskilledtrades became both unmanage- able and unattainable. The mandatory annual fee structure for trades- people also caused resentment. What does the gover nment have in mind for their BY WARREN HEELEY THE END OF OCOT The Ford government moves forward with its plan to dismantle the Ontario College of Trades. What comes next is still being determined 22 | Builders' Digest Quarter 4 2018