Labour Minister Jean Boulet is expected to soon announce his game plan for reviewing the inspection system on construction sites in Quebec.
He said he planned to unveil the plan “immediately” during a press briefing on Wednesday when he takes office.
The Minister of Labor reacted to the revelations of the Duty on the decrease in investigations carried out by the Régie du Bâtiment (RBQ) on construction sites concerning contractors who do not have a license.
Asked about the existence of a “slackening” in the investigations, Mr. Boulet responded as follows: “That is under review and we have intentions that we will confirm shortly on this.”
The Minister of Labour had already indicated in the past that he wanted to review the inspection system in the construction industry. According to our information, he would like to better align the interventions of the various organizations on the ground, namely the RBQ, the Commission de la construction (CCQ) and the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), which all carry out inspections on different subjects.
During the parliamentary commission on Bill 51 in the spring, the Régie du Bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) said it wanted to “collaborate” in the establishment of a “new inspection and surveillance model.”
On Wednesday, the minister also indicated that the RBQ had stopped conducting systematic inspections following complaints in favour of broader investigations. “Now, there are no investigations every time there is a complaint. We take into account the reality of each contractor and we set up Accès Construction a number of years ago to combat undeclared work.”
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