Ministry may be short on construction inspectors
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour may be short on inspectors. Two anonymous sources tell Canadian Occupational Safety that 22 construction inspectors were recently fired.
On Tuesday March 28, we received an anonymous email with a subject line “Look into this” and claiming the following:
“22 ministry of labor inspectors fired in Ontario this week. No construction inspectors left in Windsor or Mississauga. London only has zoom trained.”
We reached out to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to determine whether there was any validity to these claims. This is the response we received.
“The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development can confirm that there are more than 25 construction inspectors serving in the regions you inquired about, all of whom have completed in-person training. In the coming days, we will be sharing additional information about an upcoming, province-wide health and safety initiative our inspectors are conducting in the construction sector.”
The ministry did not confirm or deny that 22 inspectors had been fired and did not address the claim in any way.
UPDATE: Workers speak to us anonymously on Ministry of Labour's conduct
The ministry has also not been clear on whether more than 25 construction inspectors are assigned in each region, for a total of about 75 inspectors, or whether more than 25 construction inspectors are responsible for all three regions.
Canadian Occupational Safety continues to press the matter with the ministry but has so far not received any further response.
A second source claims 22 construction inspectors were fired on Friday March 24 during a meeting. The source suggests the reason for the firing is related to overtime claims and work that took place on weekends. They say the inspectors had been suspended with pay while an investigation took place.
The source also suggests the “more than 25 inspectors” referred to by the ministry are also likely indeed responsible for all three regions: Mississauga, Windsor, and London.
Canadian Occupational Safety has filed a freedom of information request to obtain data related to the number of inspectors employed by the ministry, and the number of inspectors assigned in various parts of the province.
If you know, or are one of these inspectors recently fired, please reach out to Canadian Occupational Safety.
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