Monday, March 10, 2025 CLAC Is Ready to Step up to Support Ontario Workers CLAC, Ontario’s largest all-Canadian construction labour union, stands ready to support workers affected by the emerging trade war with the US News Cambridge, ON—CLAC has an established apprenticeship sponsorship service and scalable preapprenticeship construction bootcamp program to respond to workforce demands. The three-week entry-level bootcamp program can be delivered directly where employers need workers. “Our program bridges the critical skills gap by providing hands-on training in essential construction trades,” says Colin deRaaf, CLAC’s Ontario training, apprenticeship, and jobs director. “Participants gain practical experience and industry health and safety certifications, creating a direct pathway to meaningful employment in high-demand sectors.” The sponsorship service and bootcamp program were created with support from the Ford government’s Skills Development Fund and can help get Ontario through what may come in the months ahead. “The government’s plan to protect Ontario calls for spending $200 billion to build roads, highways, transit, and other infrastructure, and CLAC will help ensure we transition workers to deliver,” says deRaaf. CLAC members currently work throughout Ontario for companies that build essential infrastructure—hospitals, long term care facilities, bridges, roads, affordable housing, retail/wholesale, and water/wastewater facilities. “CLAC will continue to fight for Ontario’s workers in the face of a tariff war,” says Ian DeWaard, CLAC’s Ontario director. “We’re ready to expand our programs to support both workers and economic stability. “Our members work for small- and medium-sized companies across the province that will face cost increases and economic uncertainty during this tariff war. The Ford government’s planned infrastructure investments will help Ontario weather the storm, and we want to ensure that the companies our members work for and others have the skilled workers needed to deliver on these important projects.” You might be interested in Workplace Lessons We Can Learn from Chess 16 May 2025 RVilla Caledonia Retirement Living Employees Unanimously Ratify New Contract 15 May 2025 Using Technology to Further the Cause of Progressive Trade Unionism 15 May 2025 Haebler Construction Employees Unanimously Ratify New Collective Agreement 14 May 2025