ONTARIO Continued ments
ONTARIO Continued ments clawed back; and over two years extend the home office expenses tax deduction and increase the temporary flat rate to 0 a year. In late fall, the skilled trades received a boost. The Government of Ontario announced million in funds over three years to alleviate the skilled worker shortage. This will help shrink the growing gap in skilled tradespeople, fuelled by a growing number of retirements combined with fewer youth entering the trades. According to provincial estimates, by 2025, as many as one in five jobs in Ontario will be in the skilled trades, but the average age of people entering the trades is 29. One third of tradespeople are nearing retirement, with a projected shortfall of 100,000 construction workers over the decade. The announcement is in response to the Apprenticeship Youth Advisors report commissioned last fall by the province. Some recommendations include providing financial support for non-apprenticeable skilled trades, establishing select secondary schools as regional skilled trades training institutes, and making it easier for employers to participate in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP). An additional .9 million is provided, for a total of million annually, to expand OYAP. Starting in 2022-2023, funding for pre-apprenticeship training will increase to million annually. The number of hires from underrepresented groups will be increased as well for women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, newcomers, Francophones and people with disabilities. In addition to funding, the province said its new training authority, Skilled Trades Ontario, would become operational in January 2022. It’s being designed to help more young people find suitable careers in the skilled trades and complete their training faster. n QUEBEC Continued from page 8 sectors expect a strong 2022, even though they caution of ongoing challenges like the pandemic, disruptions to supply chains and securing skilled labor, which will continue to have a major impact. The cabinet sector notes they have order files booked into April, and there does not appear to be a sign of slowing down for consumers wanting to renovate or buy new homes. Of concern are the increased supply costs affecting 50 FEBRUARY 2022 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
projects already in production and the added cost of materials for the new projects. It will be a struggle to cover new orders, which could push longtime customers to look to competitive products just to get jobs off the floor and to their customers. Better availability of inventory is expected to be gradual, most likely by summer or fall. It is also expected that commercial project interest that had slowed in the early months of COVID will rise and compete with the renovation and remodeling sectors for raw materials that will remain difficult to secure in 2022. Some trends seen are: the aging living in place, where people do not want to live in a seniors residence; the multi-generational living and creating spaces that suit different ages, and micro-living, as the cost of real estate continues to drive this area, along with the demand for affordable housing, which all drive more business. The labor shortage and employee retention being felt across the country in all industry sectors is a big issue that will not be resolved quickly. Attracting youth to the trades is a challenge as the cabinet sector is not a wellknown trade to youth, and often one they do not consider. The challenge requires a concerted effort to fix. Other concerns seen are hikes in costs of manufacturing, insurance, labor rates, and health and safety, which all make it difficult to offer competitive pricing, and that are also competing with cheap imported products. These challenges continue to test the resilience of the sector who employ a great number of citizens and contribute to the economy. It is important to support the “Buy Canadian” message. It is predicted that the housing market will remain strong and see only slight movement in interest rates, thus keeping residential and commercial projects seeking materials to keep projects moving. n NEWS DEVELOPMENTS Continued from page 11 Ten Oaks facility. For more information, go to www.tenoaksflooring. com. NWFA COMPLETES 59TH HOME WITH GARY SINISE FOUNDATION St. Louis, MO—The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), headquartered here, has provided flooring Matt Grube (920) 740-9140 mgrube@northernhardwoods.com Atlantic Mine, MI Newberry, MI Please turn the page PREMIUM NORTHERN HARDWOOD LUMBER Ryan Peterson – Sales Manager (715) 533-6193 rpeterson@northernhardwoods.com www.northernhardwoods.com FEBRUARY 2022 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 51
