By 8:30 AM there were hundreds of union and nonunion skilled trades on the grounds of the Ontario Legislature. Within an hour there would be thousands.
With only a few days to prepare, the word was out that everyone who could make it needed to be at Queen’s Park on November 30th to show the Wynne government what we think of Schedule 17 of Bill 70.
The turnout was amazing: according to the Legislature Security Services head count, there were well over 4,000 attendees. Skilled trade locals from all over the province bussed in members who could take the day off, and almost all the locals in the Toronto area were there in force.
The rally was organized by the Progressive Certified Trades Coalition (PCTC), spearheaded by by John Grimshaw and James Barry of the IBEW Construction Council of Ontario and by Jim Hogarth of the Ontario Pipe Trades Council.
Jim Hogarth, President of the Progressive Certified Trades Coalition (PCTC), gets the crowd going.
Member organizations of the Progressive Certified Trades Coalition include:
- Ontario Pipe Trades Council (OPTC)
- Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario (ECAO)
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
- Ontario Sheet Metal Contractors Association
- Ontario Sheet Metal Workers’ & Roofers’ Conference
- Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association
- Unifor
- Canadian Piping Trades
- UA HVACR Local 787
- UA Local 853 Sprinkler Fitters Ontario
Jim Hogarth, President of the Progressive Certified Trades Coalition (PCTC), addressed the crowd at the start of the rally.
“I know how passionate you all are about our trades and the time we have invested in our apprenticeships, training and certification so that we can be proud of what we do and make sure that we do it safely.”
“Unfortunately this Liberal government wants to change all that. They think it’s OK for someone off the street to come in and do our work with no skills, no apprenticeship, no training, and no safety.
“The public will not know if their schools, hospitals, nursing homes, refineries, or even their nuclear power plants are built safely in this province.”
IBEW Local 353 kindly provided footage of more speeches:
Support from Organizations Across the Province
The message is clear: people from all backgrounds are uniting in the face of this serious issue. NDP and Conservative MPPs came to show support and call for Schedule 17 to be pulled from the Bill.
The strongest attendance was by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Unifor and the United Association of Plumbers and Fitters, but many others were there to stand against the proposed new legislation.
One of the day’s great slogans: “A shovel ticket is not a plumbing license” from the United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing & Pipefitting Industry of Canada
“Schedule 17 will weaken standards until they’re the worst in Canada,” said Unifor Skilled Trades Director John Breslin. “We’ll be starting at the bottom again. This is not about union vs nonunion – we’re not trying to take work away from anyone.”
Wayne Gates, MPP for Niagara Falls also made the time to attend the rally and give a speech. “I’m here to support the skilled trades, they do incredible work,” he commented. “They’re attacking every skilled trade in the province by making the skilled trades unsafe. This doesn’t make sense when we’re trying to get more young people, especially women, into the skilled trades.
In spite of justifiable emotions caused by the Liberal attack on the skilled trades, the demonstration was peaceful and even festive at times, thanks to music and a sound system arranged for by Unifor.
The event was covered by all the major Toronto TV stations, including Global News, City TV, and CablePulse 24 and CBC.
This is Just the Beginning
IBEW CCO would like to thank everyone who participated. We’ll continue to do everything in our power to get Schedule 17 removed from Bill 70.
Read more coverage and watch videos of the protest:
You can learn more about Schedule 17 here. You can also learn about the history of OCOT and the Tony Dean report here.
Take action: e-mail the Premier at: kwynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]