Thank you to my colleague for his remarks regarding Bill 190. I was interested to hear about the firefighters and the wildland firefighters that he mentioned in his remarks. I’m curious if he can expand a little bit more and tell us what new protections are included in the act to enhance the health and safety of front-line workers and heroes.

Good afternoon, colleagues. I rise today to talk about Bill 190, Working for Workers Five Act, 2024, that was introduced by the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Education and as a professional with a background in HR, I’m happy to speak to this bill.

Today, I would like to focus my attention on a couple of items, specifically, opening the pathways to skilled trades and increasing fairness for job seekers and employees.

Speaker, we are building a better Ontario for the future. That future needs workers that can build and maintain the infrastructure that we need. We know there’s a huge shortage of skilled workers in Ontario. The majority of skilled tradesmen and women are retiring or approaching retirement, leaving a gap in the labour market. As the demand for skilled trades workers continues to grow in the manufacturing and construction sectors, our government is committed to taking action to ensure that our province has the tradespeople to grow and prosper. We need to remove the stigma and introduce students to technical education, teaching them important skills that may eventually lead to a good-paying job and career in the trades.

That’s one of the reasons why the Ministry of Education is making it mandatory for students to take at least one technical education course starting this September. Programs like the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program support skilled trades initiatives in secondary schools. OYAP is a specialized program in high school that allows students to explore apprenticeships and consider careers in the skilled trades, generally starting in grade 11 or grade 12, through their school’s co-operative education program.

Building on OYAP, our government is creating a new stream to further increase interest in the trades: FAST, Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training. This training program will allow students in grades 11 and 12 to participate in apprenticeship opportunities through co-op credits. Students would work toward their high school diploma. Upon completion of this program, they would receive a new seal on their Ontario secondary school diploma recognizing their dedication to learning a trade.

The FAST program would allow students to focus their senior-level courses in co-op, accelerating their entrance into a skilled apprenticeship. FAST would also help to address dropout rates and provide students who are at risk of dropping out of school the opportunity to pursue different pathways to completing their high school diploma.

I’d like to share a quote from Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association: “We welcome the new OYAP FAST program and thank the Ministry of Education for listening to feedback received from stakeholders during its robust consultation. School boards recognize there is a need for more students to pursue opportunities in the skilled trades as part of a modernized secondary school program. This plan recognizes the importance of exposing students to the skilled trades while also ensuring they remain connected to their school, increasing the likelihood that they will graduate. We look forward to further dialogue with the Ministry of Education on other aspects of implementation, to help ensure student success in whatever path they choose.”

I want to take a moment to talk about a skilled trades program that I have been a huge supporter of that I learned about probably about a year or so ago. At Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Burlington, there is a construction shop class that builds tiny homes. This project exposes students to a number of different skilled trades including carpentry, construction, electrical and plumbing, offering them hands-on experiential learning. Not only does this class have a wait-list, but the majority of the students in the class are women.

The Working for Workers 5 legislation pursues measures that will encourage more women to join the skilled trades. Our government’s message is clear: Skilled trades are open to everyone. Our government is proud of the steps we’ve taken so far, and we’ve seen the results. In the past year, the percentage of new entrants to the skilled trades who are women is up by a historic 28%. We’re going to continue pursuing measures that will encourage women, just like the women at the Notre Dame tiny homes construction class, to join the skilled trades and make sure the doors to these in-demand careers are open to everyone.

Changes that we’re proposing in this legislation will require employers and constructors to maintain washroom facilities and provide menstrual products based on the size and duration of the project. Encouraging more women to get involved in the trades fosters an accepting, inclusive environment and also makes Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to require menstrual products on construction sites as part of occupational health and safety requirements.

I was recently at an event that celebrated women coaching other women. There was a young lady who was a guest speaker. She told us about her journey as a student where she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but after taking an apprenticeship program, she became an electrician. She has now purchased her first home at the age of 25. She has a thriving business and is encouraging other women, young and not so young, to explore a meaningful career in the trades. By opening the pathways into the skilled trades, we are making it easier for students and giving women a chance to take a different direction in their career.

We’re also encouraging mature workers to leverage their existing skills and education. The Working for Workers Five Act, if passed, will allow mature workers to meet alternative criteria that leverage their existing skills and experience, providing them a chance at a second career in an in-demand field and a well-paying job.

Speaker, our government continues to remove barriers through a new online job matching platform for new and prospective apprentices, to network and share opportunities that match their skills. We have also, since 2020, invested over $1.5 billion in the skilled trades through programs like the Skills Development Fund that support training in different sectors. This is because we know that in order to build Ontario, we need skilled workers and tradespeople working along side us.

Also in this bill, we are proposing to make the hiring process more transparent. As someone who has worked in human resources for the greater part of my professional career, I understand how important it is for employers to adopt clear, transparent and respectful recruitment practices that include notifying candidates on the outcome of their interviews. From an employer’s perspective, providing no communication to candidates following an interview is a sure way to leave a bad impression. It can also negatively impact an organization’s reputation and its ability to attract talent in the future.

I’m sure we all know someone who has gone through a very rigorous recruitment process, only to never hear back on the status of their application. Once that experience is shared, other qualified candidate may choose not to pursue opportunities with that organization. This information alone can be enough to deter a candidate from applying and illustrates the importance of providing constructive feedback to candidates and at the very least informing them that they will not be progressing.

Further, when a candidate receives no feedback for weeks following a first or second round interview, they may presume that they have been unsuccessful and there is an increased chance they will either reject a job offer, have lost interest or will have found a job elsewhere. From a candidate’s perspective, hearing back from a perspective employer is an opportunity to ask for feedback, to learn from their experience and for closure.

This legislation, if passed, would also require potential employers to state on the job posting if the position is vacant or for future consideration, enhancing transparency for job seekers and ensuring they invest their time and resources wisely.

The Working for Workers Five Act builds on the previous Working for Workers legislation. If passed, Ontario will continue to lead the country with new initiatives, including the OYAP FAST program, providing supports to encourage more students to pursue careers in the skilled trades. Thank you.