TORonTO – The recent decision to repeal of Ontario’s industrial exception has been scrapped by the provincial government a move thats left the Professional Engineers ontario (PEO) lamenting the decision.
On Wednesday, the government abandoned a previously announced plans to remove the exception by September 1, 2013.
In a statement, the PEO which is the licensing and regulating body for professional engineering in ontario has expressed concern over the government decision to reverse the three-year legislative commitment.
The PEO claims that the removal would have helped to ensure a healthier and safer workplace.
RELATED: Industrial exception to be removed from the Professional Engineers Act
In October 2010 the ontario government passed the Open Business Act, which included a provision to repeal section 12(3)(a) of the Professional Engineers Act. This provision enabled certain acts of engineering to be carried out by non-engineers in a manufacturing workplace.
This is an important workplace health and safety measure that would close a serious regulatory gap, and allow workers, under protection of law, to refuse to do work that they may not be qualified to do, said PEO President Annette Bergeron, said in a statement.
The provincial governments troubling decision not to proclaim the provision to repeal the exception allows engineering work by unlicensed and unaccountable individuals to continue, she continued.
It also leaves a gap in PEOs ability to regulate acts of engineering and puts some workers in a position wher they are required by their employers to perform work they may not be qualified to do.
ontario is the only province in Canada with an industrial exception clause, and its elimination would have brought ontario in line with national standards.
PEO objects, in the strongest possible terms, to the governments reversal on this important issue, said PEO’s Acting Chief Executive Officer and Registrar, Michael Price.
RELATED: ontario scraps repeal of industrial exception [PLANT]
Manufacturing accident and fatality rates in ontario remain significantly higher than other provinces and the government had the opportunity to enhance workplace health and safety.
The repeal would have been implemented without any expense to taxpayers and little cost to employers, since PEO had committed to offsetting almost half of the licensing fee of anyone required to be newly licensed as a result of the repeal, and would have taken many manufacturing workers out of harm’s way. PEO had also put in place a regulation to enable employers to transition over a one-year period. Regrettably, the government chose to ignore these factors.
Price also noted that the most recent Ministry of Labour fines under the Occupational Health and Safety Act have averaged $105,000 each, while WSIB costs in ontario are in the billions of dollars.
However, across the industry, reaction to the repeal was mixed. Canadian metalworkings editor, Jim Anderton, wrote an editorial for the May issue of Canadian metalworking disagreeing with the decision to repeal the exception (the article can be read here).
In today’s liability environment, not to mention legal and insurance compliance issues, there is no incentive for small manufacturers to cut corners on machine safety, he wrote at the time.
And with the shop floor head count at an absolute minimum, a time-lost accident could cost a contract, or event bankrupt the business, he continued.
Again, small shop owners will take it in the teeth. Show job shop owners that they can make money by hiring another engineer and they’ll do it in a heartbeat.
Loading ...with files from Jim Anderton
