October 3, 2011

Skilled trades, infrastructure investment crucial to northern Ontario

KELLY LAPOINTE

staff writer

A skilled tradespeople shortage and keeping local industries relevant are just some of the many election issues plaguing northern Ontario construction associations.

Denis Shank, Executive Director of the Sudbury Construction Association and Harold Lindstrom manager of the Construction Association of Thunder Bay are each responsible for areas larger than Southern Ontario. Like the rest of the province, northern Ontario is challenged by a skilled worker shortage but Shank says it’s exacerbated by his area’s smaller population base.

“We’re at capacity right now, we have just enough workers to do the work now, but the work is increasing and the retirement percentage is also increasing. We have a large workforce in the 60s that are soon to retire and we don’t have any kids to replace them.”

Local industry partners are investing money in the high schools and colleges that promote the trades.

Trades training has long since been removed from the high school curriculum and it’s having an impact now, said Shank.

“They should either put them back in the high schools or promote the trades as much as possible,” he said, adding that the creation of compulsory trade certification like the College of Trades can further increase the shortage because workers are going to need a ticket.

“This is going to make it worse. OK we need to be certified, but just won’t have any people to do it.”

Rick Thomas, manager of the Sault Ste. Marie Construction Association, said the association has done some great work with the local high schools and colleges.

“We work very strongly with the local college to manage our manpower supply the best we can and try to identify shortages, respond to them,” he said.

The current Ontario debt is also stressing northern Ontario, since the region is more small business-based than southern Ontario, said Shank.

“Small business corporate tax, employer health tax, WSIB type premiums, all those things are a burden on smaller businesses,” he said, adding that the majority of northern businesses are in the 20 to 50 employee range.

Shank wants to know what the government plans to do in regards to the WSIB funding for liability.

“They’re down $10 or $14 billion. I want to know what they’re going to do to pay for that without increasing employer premiums.”

Lindstrom said the biggest issue for the CATB is bringing industry to the area. He said lumber and pulp and paper have died in the area because of the cost of energy in northern Ontario and timber rights.

“Because the construction industry does a large amount of millwork here, it’s a substantial part of the volume that we do. So when the mills are down and not operating, we’re of course not working in the mills.”

Thomas said the SSMCA benefited strongly from provincial spending, since there was a real backlog in the community — a new school hadn’t been built in 28 years. This allowed them to do significant school expansion with new schools opening recently and several renovations scheduled.

“There was aging infrastructure in the institutional area particularly … those things have all kept us really busy.”

Both Shank and Lindstrom said it’s important that the smelter processing of ore chromite deposits in northwestern Ontario (also known as the Ring of Fire) stays in the province instead of going to Manitoba, Quebec or overseas.

“The government has committed to give that the go-ahead, depending on the party who’s going to be in power, we’ll see whether that happens or not,” said Lindstrom.

Thomas said there needs to be a strong economic policy that recognizes both job growth and deficit reduction.

“Everybody has to step up. I think that it’s clear that not any single form of medicine any longer is the answer, it’s going to have to be a broad approach,” he said. “Pweople have to be careful because we don’t want to choke off what we’ve already got in front of us, but certainly finding a way to maintain and continue economic steady growth is important and reduces some of the fluctuations.”

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