Millwright Regional Council And MPP Sandy Shaw, Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas
Hamilton, ON. – The Millwright Regional Council met with MPP Sandy Shaw Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas on April 12, 2022 to discuss tax fraud and the underground economy in Ontario’s construction industry, and ways to partner together on this issue.
The underground economy in Ontario’s construction industry undermines the province’s fiscal position and hurts legitimate contractors. A study commissioned by the Ontario Construction Secretariat, estimates that annual revenue losses due to underground activity have increased by 30% over the past decade.
According to Business Manager Scott McCoy of Millwright Local 1916, Hamilton,
“Contractors that achieve a competitive advantage by styling their employees as independent operators enjoy an unfair advantage over contractors that comply with their WSIB and tax obligations.”
According to Statistics Canada, the total value of underground economic activity in 2018 was highest in the four largest economies: Ontario ($22.8 billion), Quebec ($14.2 billion), British Columbia ($10.8 billion) and Alberta ($6.2 billion). These four economies accounted for 88.4% of total underground economy, while the total GDP created by these four provinces accounted for 87.1% of total economy.
Tax fraud in construction makes job sites less safe because contractors who operate off the books or misclassify their employees as independent contractors cut corners and compromise the safety of workers, such as not paying appropriate Workers’ Compensation premiums.
We are encouraged by MPP Shaw’s support to end construction industry tax fraud and working together towards solutions that reign in the underground economy.
The UBC Tax Fraud Days of Action is taking place across Canada and the United States April 11-16, 2022 to bring awareness to the issues of tax fraud and the underground economy.
Safety is our Highest Priority. Learn more at www.stoptaxfraud.ca
About the Millwright Regional Council (MRC)
The Millwright Regional Council (MRC) is composed of eight affiliated Local Unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) across the Province of Ontario. We represent thousands of woman and men working as progressive cross-trained construction and maintenance professionals with exceptional skills to install, maintain, diagnose, and repair precision machinery, UBC millwrights are vital partners in industries as diverse as energy, automotive, aerospace, food processing, pharmaceuticals and more.
