News & Events
OGCA and IHSA team up to promote CoR in Ontario
February 3, 2014
The Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) and the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA) are joining forces to promote the Certificate of Recognition (CoR) safety program at an IHSA open house/OGCA leadership conference Feb. 26 in Mississauga. 
“We thought it was a natural fit to hold the two events at the same time,” said OGCA president Clive Thurston during an interview with Daily Commercial News. “It made sense to combine our resources and put on a really good event.” The event will be held at the Centre for Health and Safety Innovation. The nationally trademarked program provides employers with a common tool to audit their health and safety management systems. In Ontario, certification is granted by IHSA. The organization is also responsible for ensuring CoR standards are upheld. 
To date, a total of 60 firms, including 12 OGCA members, have achieved certification while another 330 firms are registered in the program, said Paul Casey, IHSA’s vice-president of programs and strategic development. One of the highlights of the day-long event is a leadership session featuring presentations by users/buyers of construction and large /small contractors. “Here you will meet buyers of construction who are demonstrating leadership by mandating CoR as a prequalification requirement on their public and privately funded projects and general contractors who are leveraging CoR as a tool to keep their workers safe,” IHSA and OGCA said in a flyer announcing the event. Panel details are being finalized, Casey said. The two organizations have been actively promoting CoR adoption in the industry and with owners, including those at the municipal level. “Owners are now saying that this is the way to raise the (safety) bar,” Thurston said. Both the Toronto Transit Commission and Infrastructure Ontario have endorsed the program. IO announced last spring that it intends to implement CoR. Details are pending. The transit commission is rolling out implementation in phases, starting in July, on contracts valued at more than $25 million. It has asked the OGCA to undertake a joint promotion initiative. The Feb. 26 event also features rotating CoR breakout sessions, aimed at providing information to attendees on how the program works. Also on the agenda is a luncheon speech by Elizabeth Witmer, chair of the province’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Former board chair Steven Mahoney will be presented with the OGCA’s 2013 Douglas Chalmers Award for Safety. The theme of the event is Leadership in Protecting Ontario’s Workers.