Revised regulation on volunteer construction work delayed

A bylaw that would permit volunteer construction work in schools, non-profit organizations and hospitals has yet to become law, contrary to what the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security announced in April, Presse Canadienne learned on Friday.

Its publication is coming, assured the ministry, it’s just delayed.

Quebec Labour Minister Dominique Vien had said on April 25 that the loosened regulations regarding voluntary construction work could be officiated 45 days after the publication of its draft in the province’s official gazette. While the draft was published the day after the announcement, it has yet to become law four months later.

“The will is still there,” assured Florent Tanlet, a spokesperson for the labour minister.

He justified the delay explaining that, following the publication of the draft, the ministry received “several comments” from implicated groups, such as construction unions. The department wants to analyze everything carefully, he said, adding that they expect to publish the regulation “as soon as possible.”

The announcement of the revised regulations came after parents controversially received fines for volunteering to paint their children’s school, which is prohibited by construction industry regulations.

The minister said the government would significantly expand the scope of these regulations, causing an outcry from construction companies and unions. The expansion would include allowing volunteers to lay gypsum, install exterior cladding and ceramic flooring, sand floors, replace windows and paint.

Such volunteer work would also no longer be limited to schools, but include non-profit organizations and hospitals as well. It would also include owners of duplexes or tri- plexes, as well as companies with fewer than 10 employees.

The issue isn’t time, construction union says

The draft of the bylaw caused an uproar in construction companies and unions, who say they’ve seen excessive deregulation of the industry, threatening jobs and opening the door to undeclared work.

In an interview on Friday, Éric Côté, a spokesperson for the Quebec Construction Association, was far from disappointed with the postponement of the bylaw.

“That the government is taking the time necessary to study all our recommendations is good news in itself,” he said. “The issue is not to save time, but to do it the right way, the first time it is published, and to not cause all the inconveniences that have been identified (in the draft).”

“The industry realized that the framework that was proposed was very broad, and we proposed guidelines to better frame it. If the government takes time to develop the regulation, it is because it probably took into account the different concerns that were there,” Côté added.

The employers’ association proposed in its recommendations to define well what a “volunteer” is.

The director general of FTQ-Construction, Yves Ouellet, was in the same vein, emphasizing the need for a proper definition of a true volunteer and to pay attention to health and safety issues.

Ouellet said he also believes this postponement bodes well.

“For us, it’s a good sign. They received many, many recommendations — perhaps recommendations that did not go in the direction they wanted,” he said. “Perhaps it means that they realized that what they had in their draft was not exactly what the industry was expecting.”

The industry realized that the framework that was proposed was very broad, and we proposed guidelines to better frame it.