It is another challenging and busy year for OGCA and we are working on many fronts to better the lives and businesses of our members and the industry as a whole. We have completed Phase 1 of our IT upgrades and over the next year will be working on Phase 2. You will see many new and existing services provided to members through a state of the art system combining web and new technologies, covering everything from Health and Safety to Tender issues.

This article discusses the issues which arise in the context of a construction dispute when there are numerous related contracts and multiple parties, and when one of the contracts, to which the other parties may not be privy, calls for mandatory arbitration. The article describes the risk and reality of potentially inconsistent findings and conflicting results, in the midst of a multiplicity of proceedings. Click here to access the article.

The League of Champions is proud to welcome Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning as the second college patron.

Having colleges such as George Brown and Humber symbolizes the dedication these schools have to their students when it comes to Health and Safety. They are role models. They are problem solvers. They are continually examining and modifying lessons based on the experiences of their students. They are the resource to entering the workplace and making sure they have the right tools. The right information allows students to make more informed choices and provides students with the awareness and confidence to stand up and say no to unsafe work.

The leaders of today are molding the leaders of tomorrow. We cannot get there without your ongoing support; therefore, the League of Champions extends a warm thank you for making a difference and making safety a priority, in our schools and in our workplaces.

For more information on how you can be a Champion of Safety, or how you can join the League of Champions, please contact Lyndsy Miceli at lyndsy@ogca.ca or visit www.theleagueofchampions.com today. 

The National Day of Mourning, or Workers' Mourning Day is observed in Canada on April 28. It commemorates workers who have been killed, injured or suffered illness due to workplace related hazards and incidents.

Many Events will be taking place on April 28. Click here for more information. 

WSIB is reminding everyone that their commitment and support is essential in raising public awareness of this momentous day. To assist you in promoting the Day of Mourning with your employees, members and communities, WSIB has compiled a range of material that you may wish to use, including videos, social media posts and website banners to link to the Day of Mourning microsite.

Kirkland Lake National Day of Mourning Ceremony
Friday, April 28, 11 a.m.
Royal Canadian Legion, Kirkland Lake

Eastern Construction has made a commitment to hold a Day of Mourning moment of silence on all of their jobsites as well as at their Head office on Friday, April 28 at 11 a.m. Together, their workers and management teams will "remember, resolve, reflect," while honouring all the workers who have died, been injured or have suffered illness at work.

 

Courageous – MySafeWork, Rob Ellis and leaders in the construction industry are hosting its first annual Courageous, a one-hour Live-Streaming event encouraging young workers around the provinces to stand up to unsafe work. Watch the live-stream event on April 28 at 9:00 am EST by registering today.

Please click here to register.

Safety Week kicks off May 1 and OGCA members have been busy highlighting events and projects to promote safety awareness in the construction industry. However, you don’t need an event to promote health and safety. This is an opportunity for workplaces to improve safety awareness and share best practices.

• IHSA Safety Talk: Fire extinguishers
• International Noise Awareness Day – April 26
• The latest issue of IHSA.ca Magazine is now available
• April is Dig Safe Month
• Day of Mourning – April 28
• Steps for Life – Join a walk in your community! 
• Working at heights deadline extension for certain workers

Click here for the web version.

Gordon Mollenhauer passed away peacefully on April 9, 2017, at the age of 88. He was much loved and will be greatly missed by his beautiful, loving wife Gail, his former wife and lifelong friend Sue, his four children John, Linda, Rob and Doug, his stepdaughters Kirsten and Shauna, his sons and daughters-in-law, his 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, that he so cherished.

What constitutes a notice of claim? Parties to construction lawsuits often find themselves disputing whether a particular email or letter is a valid notice of a claim that complies with the notice provisions of their contract. While some contracts spell out exactly how a notice is to be prepared, sent and addressed; others are vague or silent on the issue.In light of the recent decision in Ledore Investments Ltd. v. Ellis-Don Construction Ltd., 2016 ONSC 5441, parties should be aware that courts are concerned more about whether notice was properly given rather than how it was given.

Click here for the full article.

In a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Amalgamated Transit Union (the "Union") was denied its request for an injunction preventing the Toronto Transit Commission (the "TTC") from implementing random drug and alcohol testing of employees.

Click here for the full article.  

The Ontario Government has launched a major plank in this Thursday’s Budget in unveiling its plan for the housing crises.

Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan promotes itself as "a comprehensive package of measures to help more people find affordable homes, increase supply, protect buyers and renters and bring stability to the real estate market."

The sixteen-point proposal includes a 15 percent Non-Resident Speculation Tax on the price of homes purchased by persons who are not citizens or permanent residents of Canada or by foreign corporations.

The expansion of rent control to all private units, including those built after 1991, is another feature of the Plan with other tenant-friendly amendments to the Landlord and Tenant Act.

A full explanation of the plan can be found by clicking here.

Videos from the Construction Symposium are now available to view on YouTube - click here to watch Thursday night's event with Premier Kathleen Wynne and comedian Dylan Mandlsohn.

For Friday's event, featuring Andrew Younghusband and the Ontario Builder Awards, please click here.

We are also working on sending you a link to the photos taken by Natasha and will get that to you as soon as we can. 

The Daily Commercial News has also published several articles from some of the sessions. Click here to read the article on the Future of Modular Construction.

Appeals before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT) can be complex. Effective preparation is key to a successful appeal.

This half-day seminar will provide participants with an overview of the appeal systems at the WSIB Appeals Services Branch and the WSIAT. The seminar will review relevant forms, timelines for submission, and will provide practical tips on how to manage an appeal and respond to worker appeals from the time of initial notification to the time of the hearing.

On May 31, Fasken Martineau will be offering a WSIB Appeal Preparation course. Click here for more information. 

 

Please join us on Monday, July 10, 2017 at Glencairn Golf Course for an exciting round of golf! Over 200 golfers expected again this year. Registration is available on our website at www.ogca.ca under STORE, then under EVENTS.

See you there! 

This year, we are in Toronto for what we hope will be one of the largest turnouts for an AGM and Conference. With minimal travel for all of our members, Toronto will be the most easily accessible location for this year's AGM.

We anticipate a lot of first timers to this conference as we have tried to make it easy to get to, and have kept the costs down to a minimum. Registration forms will be out by the end of next week and will be available online through the OGCA website.

Those who live in the Toronto area and miss watching the Leafs play, might want to catch the Marlies in playoff action. Games are April 26, 28 and 29. OGCA members and non members who want to purchase tickets can get a 10% discount by purchasing using this promo.