OGCA News

TORONTO - The Provincial Government announced yesterday plans to make bidding on publicly-funded construction contracts open to all qualified companies.
 
This is in response to a long discussion where the open shop sector has challenged restrictive access to public projects, and that certain broader public-sector entities have become bound to collective agreements for the construction industry, even though they are not actually in the construction business. This proposal would explicitly deem municipalities, school boards, hospitals, colleges, universities and other public bodies to be "non-construction employers" under the Labour Relations Act, 1995. If the proposed amendments are passed, they would not be subject to construction labour agreements. The government expects this legislation will increase competitiveness for broader public-sector construction projects. This will mean that publicly-funded project work will be open to all qualified contractors.
 
Bill 66 is a broadly focused legislation called “An Act to Restore Ontario’s Competitiveness by Amending or Repealing Certain Acts.” It opens up twenty-four Acts with the theme of cutting red tape. The legislature has risen for the Christmas break and the Bill will be debated when they resume sitting on February 18.