"League of Champions Update"

As the end of the 2022 approaches, most people become reflective and are pondering both the end of this year as well as the new beginnings that 2023 will bring.

The OGCA is no different, and we are always reviewing our strategic plan in relation to our noted goals and outcomes. Additionally, we are recognizing the accomplishments we have had over this year as we continue to plan on how to best achieve more successes for our members in 2023.

In addition to the review of our strategic plans, the OGCA is always reviewing and assessing our alliances with other industry associations and organizations. For this article, I would like to note the specific relationship that the OGCA has with the League of Champions (LOC) and how this organization’s development will look like in 2023.

For the vast majority of the OGCA membership, they can recount when the OGCA initially tabled the idea of the LOC to our membership. For those who don’t know what the LOC stands for, let me elaborate.

The LOC is a cross-sectoral organization dedicated to health and safety excellence through collaboration and information sharing on real-world health and safety situations. It works collaboratively with all its members and patrons, and develops industry-leading best-practices with a solution-oriented focus on actual experiences.

The mission of the LOC is: "Inspiring and influencing leaders to commit, collaborate, and take action to improve safety culture through awareness, education, promotion, and recognition leading to safer construction workplaces in Ontario.”

The LOC was a concept born from the OGCA Board of Directors created to demonstrate how a culture of safety can positively affect a company and elevate their specific safety offerings. Additionally, through the collaborative efforts to share best practices, they can assist all of their members in providing the information that effectively promotes safety within companies.

Based on the initial creation of the LOC, the OGCA can be viewed as the parent to this organization. But, as every parent knows, once you have raised a child, there comes a time when that child must venture off on their own to make their own mark on society. Therefore, 2023 marks the time wherein the LOC stands on its own, independent of the OGCA.

Earlier in 2022, the LOC was successful in obtaining its own incorporation status. Once that occurred, then the steering committee responsible for this OGCA project was tasked with creating a functional Board of Directors. This set in motion the necessary foundations for the LOC to be able to stand as its own entity. With some minor administrative functions to be finalized, beginning in 2023, the LOC will be completely separate and distinct from the OGCA. The OGCA will have completed our mandate of the creation of the LOC, but the LOC mandate will continue and may possibly expand.

Most OGCA members recognize the importance of health and safety to the OGCA, and that this will continue to be one of the foundational elements for the association moving forward. So much so that the OGCA has concluded the term of secondment of Judith Reda from the OGCA to the LOC. This means that due to the continued emphasis, and expansion of the health and safety file, the OGCA has brought Judith back into the OGCA fold completely. Judith is now the OGCA Health and Safety Resource Specialist and is at your service should you have any questions.

This move is to ensure that all of our members are being properly attended to, listened to, and that members inquiries are acted upon in a timely fashion. Safety is paramount for the OGCA, and Judith has proved time and again, while with the LOC, that she is an exceptional member support and will continue to act for the OGCA members.

She will also continue to be the staff lead on the OGCA Safety Advisory Committee that continues to grow in importance as well as scope. This committee was instrumental during COVID-19 in working with the Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) and the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) to create and issue a Ministry approved Best Practices to deal with COVID-19. This committee’s influence has never diminished and its influence continues to expand. Incidentally, should your company’s health and safety manager, supervisor, or coordinator want to be part of this committee and provide input into the health and safety for all OGCA members, please contact Judith Reda directly at judith@ogca.ca.

The OGCA continues to support the LOC, so this is not a final goodbye, but instead a transition to the LOC acting independently of the OGCA and advancing their own mandate. Good luck with advancing a culture of safety and ensuring that all workers go home safe at the end of the day.

Should any member have any questions about the LOC, about safety in general, or if you require any assistance from the OGCA, please contact me directly at giovanni@ogca.ca or via phone at 905.671.3969.