The construction of the hospital is not for tomorrow morning. There are still several years ahead of us before the shovel goes into the ground. Work must be done now to overcome the pitfalls
warns the director general of the regional section of the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ), Geneviève Latulippe.
Ms. Latulippe considers that one of the solutions lies in the hands of the government. It is a priority that Ottawa and Quebec can implement a specific program to seek temporary foreign workers
she explains, adding that 83% of construction contractors are ready to hire temporary foreign workers to meet the needs.
General manager of the regional section of the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ), Geneviève Latulippe hopes that regional contractors will soon be consulted to solve the problem of labor shortage in the construction field.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Screen capture
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The general manager of the regional chapter of theACQ recalls that the labor shortage in the construction sector affects all the provinces with 82,000 positions to be filled in Canada, including 15,000 positions in Quebec.
If Statistics Canada does not compile data specifically for the Outaouais, specifies Ms. Latulippe, the region is struggling with the fact that contractors work on both sides of the river, that workers will work on the Ontario side, so we know that this will accentuate the data on the labor shortage on the side of the Gatineau region
.
You have to be innovative. We know that the construction sector is highly regulated, especially in terms of labor
recalls Ms. Latulippe.
Heavy regulation
A construction contractor in Ontario, Jocelyn Dumais also considers that the regulations are heavy and that the conditions are particularly restrictive in Quebec. It’s practically impossible for an immigrant to return here to Quebec and then be able to work immediately after getting off the plane at the end of the week, [contrairement à] what is done in other provinces
he laments.
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Construction contractor in Ontario, Jocelyn Dumais deplores the constraints related to the regulation of this sector in Quebec.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Screen capture
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Quebec is also depriving itself of Quebec workers because of excessive hiring restrictions, he continues. A Quebec worker cannot move from one region to another as one can do on the Ontario side
cites the entrepreneur as an example.
The issue of labor mobility in the region is also crucial in the file of the future hospital of the Outaouais, believes Mr. Dumais. On the Ottawa side, [il y a] major Canadian contractors. Will Quebec allow them to bid on a [projet d’]hospital in Quebec?
asks the entrepreneur. That’s a good question, because there are skilled labor […]many of whose employees are Quebec residents who do not have the right to work in Quebec.
The IQ in the study
The IQ is aiming for the end of the year at the latest to measure the contribution of Outaouais workers to the future hospital project. It is with this objective that the company has just published a call for tenders.
We can only welcome the approach currently undertaken by the SQI. It shows entrepreneurs that the government prioritizes or has an interest in wanting to prioritize work in the regions, the work of entrepreneurs here
thinks the director general of theACQ.
Above all, we hope that the industry will be consulted in this analysis process. They are the entrepreneurs who are grappling with these challenges, and I sincerely believe that they have a say in this.
concludes Geneviève Latulippe.
With information from Rémi Authier and Rebecca Kwan
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