Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) today pressed the country’s labour ministers to provide the needed political momentum towards the national harmonization of safety standards training in the construction industry. Addressing the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Annual meeting of Ministers responsible for Labour in Quebec City, CBTU’s Executive Director Sean Strickland underscored that the current structure, whereby individual province and territory manages its own distinct safety training regime, creates onerous delays resulting in loss of time and money for workers, employers and the Canadian economy.
“We all know that in the current economic and geopolitical context, Canada needs to build a more diverse, resilient, and efficient economy. Governments, private and public sector organizations, and unions: we all bear part of the responsibility for driving this progress forward,”Strickland remarked.
Strickland reminded the ministers that last January, Canada’s First Ministers agreed to advance labour mobility by “accelerating work to recognize priority health and safety requirements in the construction sector by Fall 2026.”
Representatives from the nation’s largest general contractors were also at the table this morning and expressed strong support for safety training harmonization.
Sean shared, “this is not an issue for one or two provinces, but a “whole of Canada” issue. (…) Workers are on board. Contractors are on board. First Ministers agree. It’s time to stand up for Canada’s construction tradespeople.”
As proposed, the harmonization effort will start with seven priority safety concerns, including Working at Heights and Fall Prevention. For each concern, the sectors best in class training standards will serve as a model across all provinces and territories. “As a result,” Strickland emphasized, “worker safety will be improved and training received in one region will automatically be recognized in all other jurisdictions, at the highest standard, improving both safety and productivity.”