I had an opportunity to have a 15-20 minute chat with Ron Johnston and David Tsubouchi prior to the public portion of the College of Trades Board of Directors meeting Sept 25 2013. The first thing I found curious is the board will not accept questions from the public or members at all, even after the public board meeting. Ron and David had a quick read through my emails I had submitted to the college beforehand so knew I was also asking about the lack of transparency regarding their purchase process and proof of “best interest for the members”, but of course I got no concrete information on that topic when it was discussed. When I asked about why the college has absolutely no elected board members I was told that the government is responsible for electing and putting in place the appointments council. I also learned that the government is also solely responsible for changing legislation to accommodate the college exemption list. If the college or so-called “members” has no say or control of the people actually running the college or have any input on important legislation changes at all, this means that this college is truly not independent as it claims to be and is, in fact government controlled. Ron Johnston seemed very annoyed or frustrated with the level of government involvement. Although Ron Johnston flatly rejected the notion of an un-proportionately high ratio of union representation on the governance structure of the college by over 50% , Ron did acknowledge there is great union interest in the college by saying that if there was voting allowed that would cause the board to be full of union members. I would think he knows that this college is a great way to advance their interests. We discussed the failure of public safety regarding the online public register of all licenced tradespeople due to the fact no one in the public knows this service even exists( when Ron rebuffed that the college only officially started this May, I reminded him in fact the college has been in effect for 4 years and cost $19 million and rising quickly), the fact that actual illegal tradespeople and businesses operating illegally are not listed for the public’s protection( this register is just there to publically shame to force legitimate tradespeople to pay the college), although David did agree to the suggestion of listing illegal workers or businesses on this public register. I also mentioned that by having legitimate tradespeople’s certification info out on the internet for all to see the possibility of fraud and abuse is increased. You must take talking with politicians and lawyers with a grain of salt; however I do think that David in earnest does realize the severity of the failings of the college, and is willing to begin the process of not necessarily abolition but severe re-tooling. Maybe even allowing the “membership” to have more input and control of the college, maybe even be able to ask the board of directors questions. Public meeting During the public meeting a few things were made clear; the college knows they have failed to gain any public support for this organization, that general perception is bad towards the college. The board discussed the problem of and the need to address the college overlapping may other regulatory bodies (like the ESL, MOL). It seems like the college will be running out of money and plans to get new revenue by making more voluntary trades mandatory such as the sprinkler installers that was mentioned a couple of times during the meeting. Because of the lower than projected revenue the college will be taking reserve cash or some fund set aside but must be passed and approved from a deputy minister first. Also because of low revenue David Tsubouchi is asking departments to maybe look at what new positions can be put on hold. The college recognized it is not in compliance with a few rules as they do not have a CFO for financials, and that they are also not in compliance with regards to number of civilian (public) members to the boards governing structure. There was a chuckle around the room when Pat Blackwood announced that everybody knows about the college but at least David Tsubouchi interjected to correct that statement. The board also recognized that the strong-arm methods of forcing membership is not working in the best interest of the college and suggested changes to the suspension of Certificates of Qualification for non-payment to the college. There perhaps is a place for this type of organization, but certainly not being run and operated in this manner. I’m not here to necessarily stop the college from existing but to keep private business from extorting money from my wallet just so I have the privilege to work in the trades. The College of Trades is a very poorly thought out organization that seemed to have ignored the fact that most trades already have some form of governing body performing the same duties the college says it will do. At least the college has brought some attention and has the trades now looking at their value to the business community. Maybe now is the time to recognize the strengths of some of the preexisting regulatory bodies or various contractors associations that are already performing the functions of the college. John Elliott An excerpt from the Meighen Institute, they have two opinion papers on the College: A second concern raised in some quarters deals with the democratic nature of the College. We compare the structure of other professional colleges in Ontario as well as practices with respect to appointments. Our findings indicate that there are significant differences between the College of Trades and other professional colleges, and that these differences render the claim that the College is representative of the trades or “democratic” in nature, and therefore self-regulating, is unsustainable.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 04:06:16 +0000
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