On March 3, Minister Eichler provided the details of Bill 61: The Apprenticeship and Certification Amendment Act. These changes are in addition to recent changes made to apprenticeship programs such as the changes to ratios and gasfitter requirements.

Bill 61 will focus primarily on Apprenticeship Manitoba’s governance structure. A governance review conducted in 2017/18 provided a number of recommendations to make Apprenticeship Manitoba more responsive to changes in the relevant trades and occupations. Some of the changes include:

· A reduction of the Apprenticeship Board from 15 to 12 individuals.

· Require the preparation of a 5-year strategic plan.

· Creating sector-based committees which replace the Provincial Advisory Committees (PAC) which will meet regularly

· The Board will be empowered to create by-laws respecting voluntary trades and existing trade regulations will be repealed.

· The regulations for specific Compulsory trades will remain.

· Allows the Minister, not the Apprenticeship Board, to designate trades and occupations and establish apprenticeship programs for the compulsory certification trades.

WCA is broadly supportive of these changes, however the changes themselves do not address the fundamental governance issue which has been identified in numerous reviews: The Apprenticeship Branch does not report to the Apprenticeship Board as one would expect.

It will be important to make sure that the 12 Board members are engaged in the apprenticeship system as employers or worker representatives each having a current background in one of the apprentice-able trades.

Developing sector-based committees which meet regularly and have the opportunity to provide advise that is listened to is imperative and welcomed. The role of these committees should be to provide advise to the Apprenticeship Board on the views of the Industry regarding all changes to apprenticeship activities that impact their sector. It will be important that committee members represent broad cross-section of the industry.

The Bill will also repeal regulations for voluntary trades (46 of the 55 trades are voluntary) and replace those with bylaws created and amendable by the Apprenticeship and Certification Board. A reduction in regulations is undoubtedly a goal of government and may provide more flexibility and nimbleness for the voluntary trades.

The Bill does increase the power of the Minister to designate trades and occupations and establish apprenticeship programs for the compulsory certification trades. In general, removing a decision from a representative Board to give to the Minister may reduce the ability for the industry to have influence over a decision. This change should not be taken lightly and fully considered before it is implemented.

The latest edition of The WCA Newsletter, including information on a free webinar explaining the new CCDC 2, is now available here.

In recent months we’ve heard concerns from members over material shortages and price instability, likely resulting at least in part from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help our members in this situation we’ve sent a letter to construction owners urging them to use early tender awards. We have seen 90-day award periods become normal, which makes it extremely difficult when certain commodity pricing is only good for 15 days. In our letter, we ask the owner community to award projects in 30 days or less.

You can read the full letter here.

The latest edition of The WCA Newsletter, including an introduction to the 2021 WCA Board of Directors, is now available here.

The Industry Snapshot for Q4 2020 is now available. Click here to download a PDF.

The latest edition of The WCA Newsletter, including a look at the new provincial travel restrictions, is available here.

Earlier today, premier Brian Pallister announced changes to the current public health order which will restrict travel within Canada. Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, January 29, anyone arriving in Manitoba from another province must self-isolate for 14 days. This change is in response to the growing number of COVID-19 variants that officials have seen emerge in the past weeks.

While this has been the case for most of Eastern Canada for some time, it now applies to the entire country, with exceptions made for border communities. 

There are several exceptions for construction:

From the province:

“Out-of-province workers arriving in Manitoba are required to self-isolate for 14-days upon their arrival UNLESS they are not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 and they are providing vital services. This includes (emphasis ours):

• workers such as health care providers
• police and correctional officers
• national defence personnel
• persons responsible for construction or maintenance of water control works, highways, bridges, hydro-electric generating stations and electrical infrastructure, waste water treatment and sewage facilities and telephone and Internet services

In addition, individuals engaged in the construction or maintenance of any building, structure or other project, are also exempt if the failure to complete the construction or maintenance on a timely basis would pose a threat to persons, property or the environment if they are not displaying any symptoms of COVID-19.

It is the responsibility of, the employer to determine if it is absolutely necessary for the worker to immediately begin work upon entering Manitoba (e.g. no one else is available to perform their function) and to implement appropriate workplace health and safety measures in the workplace. Employers should consult with occupational health or Workplace Safety and Health prior to their arrival to ensure appropriate steps are taken to mitigate the potential risk to others in the workplace.”
WCA will continue to monitor the situation and will advise our members of any changes. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions to our COVID-19 hotline at covid19@winnipegconstruction.ca.

On January 21 the provincial government announced an additional $50 million in capital funding for school upgrades and provided clarity on plans for new school construction. The province has committed to the construction of two new schools to go to tender this spring and the design of four more schools to be completed in 2021-22.

Ron Hambley, Winnipeg Construction Association President, said this announcement of additional capital funding and the release of the capital plan for new schools is good news for the construction industry.

“WCA has been consist in our message during the pandemic that stimulus funding through capital programs is needed for the construction industry and for Manitobans”, said Hambley.

“Rolling out tenders for two schools this spring will be welcomed by the industry.”

Hambley was also happy to see the commitment to get four new schools designed sooner rather than later.

“The commitment to getting four new schools designed relatively quickly is great for the industry. This means as soon as the capital spend is approved we can get shovels in the ground,” said Hambley.

“The Provincial Government is providing the construction industry some clear indications on their capital program for education over the next couple of years. We applaud this approach as it is helpful for the industry to know what projects to expect in the short and medium term.”

WCA and the rest of the construction industry look forward to helping the Provincial Government deliver on its capital commitments.

Catch up on the latest industry news, including important changes to several trade regulations from Apprenticeship Manitoba with the latest issue of The WCA Newsletter here.

On Thursday, January 7, WCA and other industry groups had the opportunity to meet with the provincial government over its proposed repeal of the Construction Industry Wages Act. Following the meeting, the government has decided not to repeal the act, and has committed to updating the minimum wages within it.

You can find a full media release on the subject here.