Harmonizing National Safety Certification Standards Across Canada

In January, Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CTBU), Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini announced a joint initiative to harmonize national safety standards for construction workers across Canada – by adopting best practices and setting the highest standards to ensure work is performed safely.  

At a board meeting in Ottawa, CBTU’s Canadian Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution aimed to dismantle barriers that prevent Canada’s construction workers from easily moving between provinces to work on projects. It addresses the challenge of varying health and safety certification standards across the country, recognizing that interprovincial recertification costs time and money, as well as causing unnecessary project delays. The resolution streamlines certification processes and advocates for transformative policies to ensure that Canada’s unionized skilled tradespeople are ready for the job, rigorously trained in consistent safety standards, and eligible to work on infrastructure projects coast-to-coast.  

By eliminating existing safety certification barriers, CBTU and the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development envision an aligned workforce capable of building across Canada, improving productivity, and promoting the highest health and safety standards nationwide to foster a national approach to skilled trades certification. 

“This change will allow for greater mobility across the country while ensuring our members benefit from the highest safety standards in the industry,” Local 7 ON Business Manager/Financial Secretary Sam Grimard explained. “By making unionized sites the safest workplaces in Canada, we are once again setting the bar higher and leading the industry, just as we do with our wages.”  

“This is a long overdue and important step for the construction industry,” Local 6 ON Business Manager/Financial Secretary Jean Robitaille emphasized. “Harmonizing safety certifications across provinces will eliminate unnecessary barriers that cost tradespeople time and money. It ensures skilled union members can go where the work is, stay safe on the job, and continue building projects the our economy depends on.”