PCs Delay Legislation That Would Force Tradespeople to Hand Over Personal Information to the NDP
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Progressive Conservatives are delaying legislation that would force tradespeople to register with the provincial government to be eligible to work on large publicly-funded projects in Manitoba. By PCs designating Bill 47, The Apprenticeship and Certification Amendment Act, the flawed legislation will be held over until the fall sitting of the Legislature to provide tradespeople, contractors, and construction organizations more time to provide their input on the needless legislation.
“This is NDP overreach. This legislation is a dangerous and unnecessary invasion of privacy,” said Borderland MLA Josh Guenter, PC Critic for Labour. “Why are tradespeople being forced to hand over their personal information to a wasteful, bureaucratic layer of administration with no oversight, just to work in Manitoba?”
Bill 47 would require skilled tradespeople to provide their personal information, certification, and qualifications to an online public registry.
“This wasteful registration process goes hand-in-hand with the NDP’s discriminatory Manitoba Jobs Agreement,” said Guenter. “That agreement between the NDP and their union bosses excludes 88% of non-unionized tradespeople and inflates construction costs by charging 85-cents per worker per hour per job for an NDP–union boss slush fund.”
The NDP failed to consult construction industry organizations across Manitoba when they introduced the Manitoba Jobs Agreement and the Online Apprenticeship Certification Registry.
“This NDP government has failed to consult every major construction industry organization in Manitoba in an effort to rush through this flawed legislation,” said Guenter. “By designating this bill, we will delay the legislation until the fall to give Manitobans and industry experts time to convince this NDP government to abandon this flawed legislation.”
Designating Bill 47 follows the NDP’s shift from a 2:1 apprenticeship ratio to 1:1 in Manitoba, which has led to a significant decline of 18% in new apprentice registrations across major trades. This marks the first time in six years outside of the pandemic that the number of new apprentice registrations has declined.
This NDP policy, which was also implemented without any consultation with industry groups, is limiting opportunities for Manitoba workers, constraining entry, and slowing the pace of workforce renewal.
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