All building trade workers should be certified, the Barrett inquiry into leaky condos was told yesterday.
"People have a right to expect qualified practitioners, period, full-stop," said John Leech, director of the 8,500 - member Applied Science and Technologists and Technicians of B.C. He said the provincial government should draw up a new act to regulate building construction. Currently, only electricians and plumbers need to have a trade qualification certificate, leaving about 60 trades with no such requirement.
Commissioner Dave Barrett was quick to pick upon Leech's proposal.
"We've consistently heard how this is not a problem," he said. "Can you explain to us how certification of the trades does not mean rampant trade unionism? Is it or is it not in the interests of the end-buyer of a construction project to know, not whether or not it is union, but whether or not somebody on the job has been asked, 'Do you have the certification for the role that you're playing on this job?"
CEP Local 298