Effective March 1, the City of Vaughan will begin its rollout of the Certificate of Recognition (CoR) program—or equivalent form of certification—as a condition of contract.

​City council endorsed CoR as a component of its bidding process for construction contracts in December. Implementing the requirement, said the city in a news release, will help reduce health and safety risks in the workplace.

It aims to roll-out CoR in four phases. On March 1, all contractors—regardless of the size of project on which they intend to work—must be registered to obtain their CoR certifications.

In the second roll-out phase, those contractors wishing to be prequalified to work on project valued at more than $25 million must obtain their CoR certifications by September 2021.

Phase three sees CoR certification required for general contractors, construction consultants, external project managers and major subtrades by September 2022. This condition will apply to those contracts valued at more than $10 million.

Finally, by September 2023, CoR certification will be a requirement for all general contractors, construction consultants, external project managers and major subtrades wishing to work on projects valued at more than $500,000.

Contractors looking to work with the city will be required to provide a copy of a valid certificate or an equivalent Ontario health and safety certification—judged at the city’s discretion—in order to win the bid.

The decision by Vaughan is the latest in a long series of purchasers that are adopting the Certificate of Recognition qualification as a condition of contract. Organizations such as the cities of Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton require certification on some or all projects. As do Infrastructure Ontario, the Toronto Transit Commission and Metrolinx.

And in November, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development announced that CoR 2020 would be one of the occupational health and safety management systems recognized under its accreditation program.