April 2, 2019 (Toronto, ON) – The Ontario Electrical League (OEL) welcomes the passing of
Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, which opens bidding on publicly-funded construction contracts to all qualified companies as well as further improvements in various other practices within the construction sector.
Many of the OEL’s contractor members have long been shut out of publicly funded project work in their local communities. The passing of
Bill 66 will bring greater fairness and openness to procurement processes across Ontario.
“The OEL is pleased to see that the Ontario government has taken the next step in ending a long-standing monopoly in the construction sector,” said Stephen Sell, OEL President. “Our organization’s belief has always been that open tendering should be an absolute requirement for all publicly-funded construction projects. It’s about time that our members are given equal and fair opportunities to bid on projects in their own local communities. We believe our members are every bit as qualified as any others to deliver on the successful completion of such projects.”
According to research, restrictive tendering practices results in fewer bidders which translates into higher costs. In the Region of Waterloo, the number of bidders was reduced from 8.1 to 3.7 per project when the region became subject to closed tendering restrictions in 2012. According to the economic think tank
Cardus, nearly $2.5 billion dollars is spent annually by municipalities whose construction projects are subject to closed tendering.
The OEL joins CLAC and other like-minded organizations in calling on municipalities and publicly funded agencies that are currently subject to closed tendering to also support this bill and change their practices in this regard.
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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, apprentices, utilities, generators, inspectors, distributors, manufacturers, manufacturers’ representatives, consulting engineers, educators and service companies.
Media Contact
Bao Xiong – Communications Specialist and Chapter Support, Ontario Electrical League
bao.xiong@oel.org
905-238-1382
April 2, 2019 (Toronto, ON) – The Ontario Electrical League (OEL) welcomes the passing of Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, which opens bidding on publicly-funded construction contracts to all qualified companies as well as further improvements in various other practices within the construction sector.