Former MPP and cabinet minister David Tsubouchi has been appointed the new registrar and CEO of the Ontario College of Trades, replacing Bob Guthrie. The appointment was made by the college's board of governors and announced today by Chair Ron Johnson. Both Johnson and Tsubouchi are former Progressive Conservative MPPs elected in the 1995 election that brought Mike Harris to power. Johnson left the legislature in 1999, Tsubouchi in 2003.
Current Progressive Conservative critic for apprenticeship reform Garfield Dunlop congratulated Tsubouchi on his appointment in a release today.
"Perhaps, under Mr. Tsubouchi's leadership, Ontario’s tradespeople will start to see the mess at the College of Trades cleaned up."
"I welcome this appointment and look forward to working with him. I, along with my caucus colleagues, will continue to work hard to advocate for hard working tradespeople in Ontario."
In an interview with QP Briefing, Dunlop says Tsubouchi's appointment is good news, but he thinks the prominent appointment of two Tories isn't a coincidence.
"There's no question the government when they appoint conservatives like Mr. Tsubouchi and even Ron Johnson is trying to defuse certain issues. I can tell you I think David Tsubouchi in particular because of his history, I'm happy to see him in that position," Dunlop said.
"He'll be a much more open mind. I'm hoping the lines of communication are opened up."
Dunlop has long called for the College of Trades to be scrapped, arguing it's an unnecessary and expensive bureaucracy. His party would also like to see current apprenticeship ratios rewritten to allow more people into the trades.
Other high-profile Tories have found their way into substantial provincial appointments under the Liberals, most recently Elizabeth Witmer's 2012 move to head the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, which prompted the Kitchener-Waterloo byelection that year.
Dunlop maintained he had nothing against outgoing CEO Bob Guthrie, "but he came from Saskatchewan to here and was kind of like a deer in the headlights with that particular job."

Tsubouchi puts another Tory face on the College of Trades

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