Toronto – The Ontario Electrical League (OEL) is voicing concern in regards to Bill 53, the Government Contract Wages Act, 2018 – which is being introduced by the Liberal government. The OEL believes this legislation will create a monopoly for construction in Ontario, and in doing so, undermine a healthy construction labour market. The organization also believes this legislation, if passed, will create an environment in which the government will pay far greater costs for their infrastructure projects.
Bill 53 has the potential to limit the ability of small, medium and even some large size construction companies to effectively bid on and subsequently perform work on public construction projects. As a consequence, this environment of decreased competition will negatively impact workers as well as taxpayers.
“Polices such as those indicated in the legislation do little to create a level playing field and healthy completion that ultimately leads to better returns for the government,” said Stephen Sell, President of the Ontario Electrical League. “My members strongly believe that construction contracts, employment and individual compensation should be merit based.”
About the Ontario Electrical League
The Ontario Electrical League is a non-profit provincial organization, dedicated to over 20 chapters and more than 12,000 individual members from the electrical industry.
League members include electrical contractors, electricians, municipal utilities, electrical inspectors, distributors, manufacturers and their representatives, consulting engineers, educators and service companies.
The League's role is to communicate, educate, represent and promote Ontario's electrical industry, and is dedicated to providing services in an informative and entertaining way. For more information, visit
www.oel.org.
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