OGCA News

The issue of mandatory vaccinations is proliferating the entire construction industry, and since this requirement is stemming from individual buyers of construction demanding this on their sites, the entire construction industry is left without a clear directive and completely fragmented. Public health has left the ultimate decision up to the construction industry to navigate, but this lack of clarity has led to the downloading of responsibility to individual business owners. This move has in turn created an unfortunate division of the industry and more confusion than clarity, with minimal positive impacts on vaccination rates of workers.

The OGCA and industry partners are surveying construction companies to determine the industry's exposure to COVID and promote best practices. Provincial data shows that men aged 19 to 39 have the lowest vaccination rate and, therefore, construction may have a higher exposure to the current 4th wave outbreak.

To honour Canada’s first day of National Truth and Reconciliation, the OGCA met with Pete Beaucage from Praztek Construction to better understand how we can work toward bridging the gap between indigenous workers in the construction industry. Praztek Construction was founded by Pete Beaucage and is a certified Aboriginally-owned General Contracting company located in Northern Ontario. Beaucage’s indigenous roots stem from his mother who is of the Kutunaxa (Kootenay) indigenous peoples. The Kutanaxa people originate from southeastern British Columbia and have occupied the land for over 10 thousand years.

 

Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions and Latium Technologies, a leading Industrial IoT firm, today announced a strategic alliance to introduce Latium’s Job Site Insights® (JSI®) Internet of Things (IoT) application and suite of products as a foundational risk mitigation tool for contractors and owners.

September 22, 2021, has come and gone, and on that day, instead of lamenting the province’s new vaccine certificate program as I’m sure many did, I chose to celebrate the birthday of my eldest daughter. Yes, the same one who got married in April when I mused on how the wedding and event industry that prides itself for the ability to plan and execute events was not nearly as organized as construction.

 

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world and changed each of our lives in different ways. As we continue to move forward, we must continue to work diligently in our efforts to promote health and safety in the workplace. Getting your vaccine is crucial and a valuable part of keeping you and your loved ones safe. The OGCA presents #WhyIGotTheShot, to share our member's stories and to focus on the “good” during the final stretch of this pandemic. 

 

Our Associate Member 4S Consulting Services Inc. is hosting a free webinar on October 7, 2021, exclusively for OGCA membership.  By attending the webinar, you can learn more about COR challenges from IHSA External COR Auditors, ISO 45001:2018 Lead Auditors, and experienced consultants supporting over 90 construction businesses in Ontario in maintaining COR.

KPMG LLP has provided us with a review of Federal (national and international corporations and federal government) and provincial updates on mandatory vaccine policies.