Cam Allen says the Ontario government needs to bring instandards about how home inspectors are trained and operate. (ElliotFerguson/The Whig-Standard)
As the last millennium edged to a close in 1999, Cam Allen satin a room in Gatineau, Que.
Allen, a Kingston-based home builder and inspector, convenedalongside the federal housing minister and other officials on that day nearly20 years ago, as the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation laid out itsplans for a national home inspection licensing program.
The room was hopeful that all provinces could adopt the samelegislation.
“Now, this is 2016,” Allen said. Ontario has yet to implementany licensing program, with the legislative process on a potential systemcontinuing into the fall. “Do I make my point?”
It’s certainly been a long haul for Allen, as well as otheradvocates of provincially regulated home inspector legislation. On Aug. 17,Ontario Minister of Government and Consumer Services Marie-France Lalondeissued a news release reaffirming the government’s commitment to regulate thehome inspection industry.
“It’s a very nice politically laid out press release thatCanadian Press got their hands on,” Allen chuckled.
The release laid out a set of goals, including the licensing andqualification of inspectors, standards for contracts, reports, disclosures andperformance, and the establishment of an independent administrative authority.
However, according to Allen, the government’s hands are stillmore so tied in background work than with any tangible milestones forward.
“I’ve been on their butts, and so has everyone else. I thinkwe’re going to see the legislation by October, possibly November,” he said.
A private member’s bill by MPP Han Dong to regulate Ontario homeinspectors is currently waiting in limbo, awaiting a second reading after thefirst steps prompted little contention.
Although Allen says there hasn’t been any push back fromprovincial politicians, the details of the legislative process have createdhurdles in moving forward in any tangible way.
“The committee hasn’t held their meetings because the chair ofthe committee resigned and the Liberals haven’t appointed a new one yet,” Allenexplained. “There’s quite a bit to this.”
Though he maintains that “chances of a private member’s bill succeedingare about as much chance as I have growing hair,” he’s now optimistic about theactions of Ontario legislators.
“I think, politically, they’re moving ahead as quick as theycan. They’ve just got so many things on their plate,” he said. “Where they’reheading is probably going to give them the right answer, because they’vewatched the screw-ups that’ve happened in B.C. and Alberta.”
In those Western provinces, he said, the licensing structure hadbeen “really screwed up” by allowing association standards to become theaccepted practice.
“Then promptly, one of the associations — an American-basedInternet outfit — back-doored the whole thing, and you could basically buy alicence online for Alberta,” he said.
He believes the Ontario government is deeply aware of the flawsin Alberta and B.C.’s course of action, despite two associations here lobbyingto take operation of the licensing system.
“In effect, it would be the biggest mistake the province wouldever make, because it would put them in the same boat that Alberta and B.C. arenow trying to get out of,” he said. “It’s costing Alberta almost a millionbucks to fix the screw-up, and that’s money Alberta hasn’t got.”
Following several conversations with former minister DavidOrazietti and correspondence with Lalonde, Allen said he was confident that theright steps would be taken to align home inspection with other professionaltrades in the province, according to his own experience.
“I have a master carpenter’s licence. Electricians are licensed,plumbers are licensed, but you don’t have to belong to the carpenters union orthe electricians union,” he explained.
His ideal way to approach the circumstance of home inspectorswas to create a similar licensing authority and structure, requiring a set quotefor education, logged hours and examination.
“That’s my driving point, is to make it an open and fair,trained, educated licensing standard,” he said. “Based on the information thatthey’re presenting, I think that they’ll get it right.”
Scott, it’s time to let Roy run on his own. If her wants to display to the world he has an unprofessional, unsubstantiated beef with an association that wont let him play because of his unprofessional attitude, let him.
He is only creating a problem for himself and anyone associated with him. Just let him rant. I’ve contacted Nick, Chris and the ESOP committee and if they are not prepared to do anything to protect the good name of InterNACHI, then nothing you, I or other members of the profession can either.