Millwright Regional Council, Sister Chairs and MPP, The Speaker of The House Ted Arnott, Wellington Halton Hills
Toronto, ON. – The Millwright Regional Council and Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB) Chairs met with MPP Ted Arnott, Wellington and Halton Hills on Monday April 4, 2022 on 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 Heather Ferguson, MRCO Business Representative Millwright Local 1410 Kingston, and Co-Chair of the MRCO’s SIB Committee, “Construction industry tax fraud negatively affects economic growth in Ontario and reduces tax revenues for all levels of government, putting pressure on the government’s ability to provide the services and benefits that Canadians enjoy and expect.”
Between 2013 and 2017, the Province of Ontario and Federal Government lost between $1.8 billion and $3.1 billion annually as a result of contractors operating in the underground economy. This represents an increase of 30% since OCS last study in 2009 when annual revenue losses were in the order of $1.4-$2.4 billion.
We are encouraged by MPP Arnott’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.
