The Ontario government has announced it is allocating an additional $83 million towards its Skills Development Fund to help support training projects to develop skilled workers. Read more here.

A number of Canadian provinces are now offering paid sick leave for eligible employees^[1], for absences related to COVID-19. In accordance with these programs, employers are responsible for providing payment to employees during their period of COVID-19 sick leave, subject to reimbursement from various provincial governmental agencies. Read more here.

Many Canadian workers (63%) want to return to their physical workplace, but they want assurances from their employers that it’s safe, according to a recent poll by KPMG. And the same poll indicated many workers believe that COVID vaccinations will help get them there safely: Click here to read more.

When the pandemic took hold over a year ago, many companies were concerned about how productive employees would be working from home. But two new surveys find many employers have accepted that for some of their workforce, remote work is here to stay. Read more here.

Proposed legislation will help apprentices prepare for in-demand jobs and complete their training faster. Read more here.

Prompt Payment Ontario (PPO) has ceased operations and will disburse remaining funds to three charities. Read more here.

A study conducted several years ago by the Institute for Work & Health found unionized companies in Ontario’s institutional, commercial and industrial (ICI) construction sector had a lower rate of lost-time injury claims than their non-unionized counterparts, after accounting for other factors like company size. In this presentation, Dr. Lynda Robson shares an update of that study. Click here for more information, along with a recording of the webinar.

The coronavirus pandemic dramatically transformed the Canadian construction landscape in 2020 with more disruption clearly to come in the new year. The Daily Commercial News and Journal of Commerce invited stakeholders to assess COVID’s continuing impacts for 2021 through the lenses of leadership, health and safety, the economy and projects, and innovation. Click here to read more.

All workplace COVID-19 outbreaks in Toronto will be published weekly beginning today (Jan. 7), in the following categories determined by Public Health Ontario and based on the North American Industry Classification System. Read more here.

Consultants at BTY Group say construction activity could pick up in 2021 across the country amid anticipated spending on infrastructure and renewable energy. Read more here.