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Former Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA) chair Don Gosen couldn’t resist a quip as he received his second of two awards at the COCA annual general meeting held in Toronto recently.

After accepting a COCA Construction Hard Hat Special Achievement Award from COCA president Ian Cunningham, in recognition of his service to the association and construction industry, Gosen, who was named the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT) chair last August, joked, “I’ll wear this to the next College of Trades meeting.”

The College has had a fractious first six years of existence but COCA stalwarts Gosen and Cunningham say they are invested in ensuring OCOT moves forward to serve the public as effectively as possible. Cunningham and COCA executive committee member Martha George were named to the OCOT Trades Appointments Council last year.

“It is an exciting pathway that we have taken,” Gosen commented, indicating COCA’s growing support of OCOT.

“In the beginning when the College of Trades started six years ago it was very divisive for our industry. We had COCA members on either side and we had COCA members violently opposed to the College of Trades. There was bad press, there was a political football in the previous election. But we have made progress beyond that,” said Gosen.

“Part of our strategy at the College of Trades, we want to engage stakeholders like COCA. So there is not an adversarial situation anymore.”

Cunningham suggested COCA had taken a keen interest in OCOT from the beginning, noting the council has served a watchdog role as OCOT has evolved as a promoter and regulator of the construction trades and three other trade sectors.

He said the appointment of former provincial Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis as OCOT registrar and CEO last fall gives OCOT positive momentum.

“I think there are big things ahead,” said Cunningham. “George Gritziotis has published his business plan for 2018 which I think was very ambitious and I think there is lots to monitor over at the College.”

The Ontario legislature approved major reforms to the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act in December 2016 but enforcement, scopes of practice, appointments and other controversies continued to flare up last year.

OCOT released its Strategic Plan and 2018 Priorities report Jan. 25, promising to build “partnerships with consumer groups, employer and labour organizations, and government to lay a foundation for regulatory excellence that protects the public interest and promotes the importance of qualified skilled tradespeople.”

“We have an opportunity to do a lot more than in the past, and that 2018 strategic document outlines those areas where we want to be active,” said Gosen, listing the promotion of apprenticeship as a significant goal.

“Protecting the public interest, we talk about it but there is more we can do to follow up on that and to prove to the public that we are doing that.”

The COCA hardhat award noted Gosen’s service not only to COCA and OCOT but also as chair of the Grand Valley Construction Association and chair of the Ontario Electrical League. He is a licensed master electrician and the former president of Gosen Electric Limited, a non-unionized electrical company based in Waterloo region.

“One of the criticisms we get at the College is that it is Toronto-centric or we don’t relate well to smaller contractors,” said Gosen.

“But my background is smaller, not union contracting, not Toronto based, so I think it gives us a chance to appeal to the rest of the province while still recognizing Toronto.”