TORonTO The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association representing leading automobile manufacturers in the province has commended the ontario government for reassessing and retaining the industrial exception under the Professional Engineers Act.

By retaining the industrial exception, ontario manufacturing will actually be in a better position to compete relative to other jurisdictions and retain the high level of worker protection called for under the already existing, Pre-Start Review (PSR) requirements which exist only in Ontario.

CVMA member companies place worker safety above all else and have firmly entrenched highly sophisticated worker health and safety programs in their plants in Ontario.

A repeal of the long standing industrial exception would provide no clear safety enhancement for ontario and create an unnecessary overlap with existing employer obligations under the existing Occupational Health and Safety Act PSR regime as required by the Ministry of Labour, said Mark Nantais, President, in a statement.

Taking into consideration all the existing regulatory regimes to protect public safety, the cost implications, and impacts on human resources, the repeal of the industrial exception would have substantially increased the cost of doing business in ontario creating a drag on productivity and competitiveness and detract from ontario as a positive investment environment.

The repeal of the industrial exception would detract from the governments intention to reduce red tape and fail to meet the objectives of the Open for Business initiative to enhance competitiveness it would do the exact opposite of what the Open for Business initiative was intended to do.

The CVMA represents Canadas leading manufacturers of light and heavy duty motor vehicles. Its membership includes ChryslerCanada Inc.; Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited and General Motors of Canada Limited.

Collectively, its members sell 48 per cent of all vehicles in Canada and account for 65 per cent of total vehicle production, operate 5 vehicle assembly plants as well as engine and components plants, and have over 1,300 dealerships. 125,000 jobs are directly tied to vehicle assembly in Canada.

www.cvma.ca.