Consultation on Proposed Board Regulations

Comment Form:

Consultation on Proposed Board Regulations

Introduction

The College is inviting public comments on proposed Board regulations related to the following matters:

• Public notice required for meetings and hearings that are open to the public;
• Naming geographic areas for the Appointments Council to take into consideration when carrying out its appointment duties; and
• Governing the establishment apprenticeship programs.

The deadline for the receipt of comments isDecember 3, 2012.

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Terms of Use

Please note that the feedback you provide as part of this Consultation, whether sent by postal mail, fax, email or through the Ontario College of Trades (the College) website, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the College website. This information will include your full name, city/town, province, occupation, and organizational affiliation (please refer below to Option 1). However, the College will not disclose information such as your email address, postal/street address, telephone and fax number(s). Upon your request, the College will withhold your name from the publicly accessible file (please refer below to Option 2).

Documents received electronically or otherwise will be put on the College website in their entirety exactly as you send them in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents not received electronically will be available in PDF format. The College reserves the right not to display or use any feedback or other materials that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, abusive, inflammatory, harmful, or otherwise objectionable, or that would violate the rights of any party.

You represent and warrant that you own or have all necessary licenses, rights, consents or permissions required under applicable law, including copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and privacy and publicity rights, to authorize the College to display, copy and use all feedback or other materials provided by you to the College. The personal information you provide will be used for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Ontario College of Trades including the development of regulations under theOntario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act.

Option 1: I agree to the Terms of Use

Option 2: I agree to the Terms of Use, but request that my name not be publicly accessible

Option 3: I do not agree to the Terms of Use

Saving your comments

Please note that you can save your fillable comment form and come back to it at a later date. To save the form, click on the ‘save’ button on your toolbar. Choose the location to which you would like to save the file. Please add your last name to the filename before you hit save. Press save. You can now return to the form as many times as you like until it is complete.

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Problem or question? Send us an email at  or give us a call at

(647) 847-3000 or toll free at 1-855-299-0028.

Individual Submissions

First Name / Click here to enter text
Last Name / Click here to enter text
Street Address / Click here to enter text
City / Town / Click here to enter text
Province / Click here to enter text
Postal Code / Click here to enter text
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Email Address (optional) / Click here to enter text
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I am a/an (select all that apply):

Apprentice (hold a valid registered training agreement)

Journeyperson (hold a valid certificate of qualification)

Skilled Tradesworker (do not hold a certificate of qualification)

Student in a trades-related program (e.g. OYAP, vocational school, pre-apprenticeship program)

Parent / guardian of a student in a trades-related program

Other, please specify: Click here to enter text

Trade (s) – please list all that apply: Click here to enter text

Association / Organization / Company Submissions – You are authorized to represent and make comments on behalf of an association or company

First Name / Click here to enter text
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Job Title / Click here to enter text
Association/ Organization/ Company Name / Click here to enter text
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(Continued on next page)

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Please tell us more about your association / organization / company:

Number of individuals your association/organization/company employs/sponsors/represents
Apprentice(s) / Click here to enter text
Journeyperson(s) / Click here to enter text
Skilled tradesworker (do not hold a certificate of qualification) / Click here to enter text
Total number of employees/members your association/company employs or represents (including the categories above) / Click here to enter text

Trade (s) associated with your association / organization / company – please list all that apply:

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Proposed Regulations: Public Notice of Board meetings

1. Notices for Board meetings that are required to be open to the public will meet the following requirements:

(a)Notice will be posted on the Ontario College of Trades (the College) website at least 14 days before the meeting,

(b)The notice will be in both English and French.

(c)The notice will include the date, time and place of the meeting. The proposed agenda for the meeting will also be included in the notice.

Q: Why is this regulation being proposed?

A: Once the College is fully operational, reasonable notice will be given for meetings of the Board thatare required to be open to members of the College and the public. The College is proposing to provide the public with information about the Board meeting (i.e. date, time, place and agenda) at least 14 days in advance. Where exceptional circumstances warrant it, an emergency Board meeting may be convened with less than 14 days of public notice.

Q: Will all Board meetings be open to the public?

A: In most cases, Board meetings will be open to the public; however the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009(OCTAA) lists some exceptions where the Board has the right to exclude the public and members from a meeting or part of a meeting. These exceptions include cases where sensitive information may be disclosed and/or a person’s safety may be jeopardized – please see section 16(2) of OCTAA for a full list of exceptions.

Q: Will Board meetings be in both English and French?

A: Everyone will havethe right to use French when dealing with the College. The College is developing a policy on French-language services. The policy will be posted on the College website once it is finalized.

Please provide comments below, if any:

(maximum250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)

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Proposed Regulations: Public Notice of Discipline Committee Hearings

1. Public notices for Discipline Committee hearings on allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence by a member will meet the following requirements:

(a)Notice will be posted on the Ontario College of Trades (the College) website at least 14 days before the hearing.

(b)The notice will be in both English and French.

(c)The notice will include:

(i)The name and registration number of the member who is facing complaints;

(ii)the date, time and place of the hearing; and

(iii)the complaint(s) made against the member.

Q: Why is this regulation being proposed?

A: Once the College is fully operational, reasonable notice will be given for hearings by a panel of the Discipline Committee concerning allegations of incapacity, professional misconduct or incompetence by a member. The College is proposing to provide the public with information about Discipline Committee hearings (i.e. date, time, place and agenda) at least 14 days in advance. Where exceptional circumstances warrant it, public notice of a Discipline Committee hearing may be provided with less than 14 days.

Q: Is this the same notice that will be given to the member who is facing allegations of incapacity, professional misconduct or incompetence? Will he or she also receive 14 days of notice?

A: No. A member who is facing allegations of incapacity, professional misconduct or incompetence will be served directly with a written notice of the hearing well in advance of the hearing date.

Q: Will all Discipline Committee hearings be open to the public?

A: In most cases, Discipline Committee hearings will be open to the public. However, the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (OCTAA) lists some exceptions where the Board has the right to exclude the public and members from a meeting or part of a meeting. These exceptions include cases where sensitive information may be disclosed and/or a person’s safety may be jeopardized – please see subsection 48(7) of OCTAA for a full list of exceptions.

Q: Will Discipline Committee hearings be in held both English and French?

A: Everyone will havethe right to use French when dealing with the College. The College is developing a policy on French-language services. The policy will be posted on the College website once it is finalized.

Please provide comments below, if any:

(maximum250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)

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Proposed Regulations: Naming of Geographic Areas

1. For the purposes of reflecting geographic diversity across the governing structure of the College, the following are designated as geographic areas to be taken into account by the Appointments Council:

(i)Central

(ii)East

(iii)North

(iv)West

1. The geographic areas listed above include the municipalities, counties and districts listed in Column 2 of Schedule 1 (see page 12 and 13).

Q: What is the Appointments Council?

A: The College of Trades Appointments Council (the Appointments Council) was established under the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (OCTAA) [see section 63 of OCTAA]. The Appointments Council is composed of a Chair and eight other members who are all appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

The Appointments Council has a duty to appoint people to the College’s governing structure. The term “governing structure” means the College Board of Governors, the College Divisional Boards, the College Trade Boards, and the roster of adjudicators for Review Panels (Review Panels conduct reviews and make decisions about journeyperson to apprentice ratios and on classifying trades as either compulsory or voluntary).

Q: Why are these regulations being proposed?

A: Under OCTAA, the Appointments Council must consider the importance of reflecting diversity when appointing people to the College, including the diversity of geographic areas of Ontario. This proposed regulation sets out the various areas in Ontario for the Appointments Council to take into consideration when making appointments to the College governing structure.

Q: What does the Appointments Council do now in terms of reflecting geographic diversity when making appointments?

A: The Appointments Council asks people who are applying to be in the governing structure of the College to tell them if they are from Central, East, West or North Ontario. They include a map in their application package with every county, regional municipality and regional district in the province in one of these four areas. These are the same areas as the ones listed in the proposed regulation. If the proposed regulation is not put in place, the Appointments Council will not be required by regulation to consider these particular geographic areas when making appointments to the College governing structure.

Q: Why is it important to consider the diversity of geographic areas when making appointments to the College governing structure?

A: The College is an industry-driven body that seeks to reflect the needs of industry. The College recognizes that different communities in Ontario face their own unique set of issues. Setting out the geographic areas for the Appointment Council to take into consideration when making appointments will help reflect the geographic diversity of Ontario.

Please provide comments below, if any:

(maximum250 words – only the first 250 words of this entry will be considered)

Click here to enter text

Schedule 1

Column 1 / Column 2
Geographic Area / Municipalities, counties and districts
Central / Durham Regional Municipality
Halton Regional Municipality
Muskoka District Municipality
Peel Regional Municipality
Simcoe County
Toronto, City of
York Regional Municipality
East / Frontenac County
Haliburton County
Hastings County
Kawartha Lakes, City of
Lanark County
Leeds and Grenville, United Counties of
Lennox and Addington County
Northumberland County
Ottawa, City of
Peterborough County
Prescott and Russell, United Counties of
Prince Edward County
Renfrew County
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, United Counties of
North / Algoma District
Cochrane District
Greater Sudbury, City of
Kenora District
Manitoulin District
Nipissing District
Parry Sound District
Rainy River District
Sudbury District
Thunder Bay District
Timiskaming District
West / Brant County
Bruce County
Chatham-Kent, Municipality of
Dufferin County
Elgin County
Essex County
Grey County
Haldimand-Norfolk
Hamilton, City of
Huron County
Lambton County
Middlesex County
Niagara Regional Municipality
Oxford County
Perth County
Waterloo Regional Municipality
Wellington County

General Regulation on Apprenticeship Programs

The College is proposing to make a general regulation governing the establishment of apprenticeship programs for all trades prescribed under the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (OCTAA). A benefit of a general regulation is that it provides a unifying context for more trade-specific regulations and can set out a framework of guiding principles that increase transparency/clarity when apprenticeship programs are established.

Proposed Regulations: Apprenticeship Programs - General

1. Definitions

“Apprenticeship program” means a program established in accordance with this Regulation which includes workplace-based training and experience and, where applicable, classroom training and instruction, and is intended to prepare an apprentice to practice the full scope of the trade;

“Regular daily training hours” means the hours of workplace-based training completed by the apprentice during the regular daily working hours of the journeyperson with whom the apprentice works, in time-based apprenticeship programs;

“Journeyperson”, for the purposes of supervising an apprentice in a voluntary trade, includes an individual who has training and experience in a trade equivalent to an individual who holds a certificate of qualification in the trade.

1. (1) The College shallestablish an apprenticeship program for a trade in accordance with this Regulation.

(2) In deciding whether to establish an apprenticeship program, the College shall consider the following factors:

(a)the training needs of employers, employees, and the requirements of the labour market for the trade;

(b)the content and length of the program, including the proportion of the program that involves workplace-based training;

(c)whether the program will prepare the apprentice to complete the subjects of examination prescribed for the trades, if applicable; and,

(d)whether the combined elements of the program would prepare the apprentice to practice the full scope of the trade in accordance with established training and curriculum standards.

1. (1) In establishing an apprenticeship program for a trade, the College, in addition to any matters provided for in this Regulation with respect to the apprenticeship program for a particular trade, may specify:

(a)Any academic or other prerequisite;

(b)The content and duration of any classroom instruction and workplace-based training to be completed;

(c)Requirements for documenting the training and work experience completed by the apprentice;

(d)Matters required to be addressed in a registered training agreement;

(e)The length of training required in any component of the program;

(f)Where the apprenticeship program requires that the apprentice complete a specified number of hours of workplace-based training, whether any hours worked by an apprentice outside his or her regular daily training hours may be included in computing the hours spent in workplace-based training.

1. (1) The College may establish a system of credits for an apprenticeship program, including the requirements that must be satisfied to obtain credit,

(a)for the successful completion of a course of study or training; or

(b)for work performed or experience gained in the trade prior to the registration of the training agreement.

(2) No credits shall be granted under subsection (1) unless the applicant for an apprenticeship,

(a)supplies documentary evidence satisfactory to the Minister of the completion of the course of study or training, or of the work performed or the experience gained, as the case may be; or

(b)passes such tests or examinations as are required.

Q: Do these proposed regulations mean that the Collegewould have the power to create new trades and apprenticeship programs on its own?

A: No. TheCollege’s approval of apprenticeship programs would be one of the laststeps in a much larger process. The Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities (Minister) has the authority to prescribe new trades; the College has the authority to establish apprenticeship programs. The College would not be establishing apprenticeship programs on its own – it is the ‘formalization’ of many decisions that would have come before it.

Q: How will new trades and apprenticeship programs be created when the College goes live?

A: The process for developing new trades and apprenticeship programs is still being developed. Because the training model for all prescribed trades in Ontario is an apprenticeship model, the prescribing of new trades is somewhat inseparable from the establishment of apprenticeship programs, and vice versa. The College is working with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) to ensure that the process will be comprehensive, transparent and industry-driven. It will involve public consultation and will engage the College’s governance structure for decision making (e.g. Divisional Boards, Board of Governors).