I understand , from Mr. Walker's impassioned speech at one of the all candidate meetings, that he feels very strongly that the College of Trades was completely out of line for raising the Licensing fees for trades from $60 every three years to $120 per year. Granted, there was no apparent warning before this hike and that must have been a shock.
However, let's put this in perspective.
An auto mechanic/plumber/drywaller/carpenter makes about $65 to $120 per hour. Therefore, they have to work 1.5 to 2 hours to pay their new yearly license fees.
Dental assistants/hygienists make $20 per hour and their fees are $135 per year, so they have to work 6.2 hours to pay their fees.
Personal Support Workers, who make $ 12 t0 $15 per hour pay $120 for their licenses. You do the math.
And the list goes on.
Licensing fees for other various professions are as follows:
College of Teachers - $150
College of Nurses - $175
College of Physicians and Surgeons - $1570
Upper Law Society of Canada - $1866
Lawn Care Company Operators - $200
Dentists - $1570
Professional Engineers - $1570
CPA's - $1084
These fees are all subject to HST.
You get what you pay for and most folks would rather [I think] hire someone who has a paid up membership in a professional association who not only looks out for their members but also maintains accountability standards for professional conduct. Every profession has 50 % of members who graduate at or near the bottom of their class. It is a good idea to have in place some system where customers have recourse for resolving complaints. Otherwise you simply take your chances and we have all heard horror stories where people have been taken advantage of and have had no avenue for resolving their issues.
If an unlicensed tradesperson has been doing the same job for years, and as Mr. Walker stated "nobody died", then why not have them take an appropriate, job related test to make sure that they are up to par. Most professions must constantly stay current with new techniques and trends.
I would certainly prefer to take my business to the professional tradesperson who did that.
Sherry Hutchison
Georgian Bluffs
