For more than 15 years, MECA’s core focus has been helping contractors understand and navigate safety regulations so they can operate viable, compliant businesses. Residential roofing continues to face the highest failure rate in construction — largely due to a safety system that doesn’t align with real-world work environments.
After extensive work with safety experts, legal advisors, and industry partners across Canada, we’ve identified two primary issues driving the problem:
1️⃣ Fall protection requirements don’t reflect roofing realities
Fall protection rules were introduced with limited consultation between industry, government, and equipment manufacturers. As a result, the current system often fails on walkable-pitch, single-storey homes — which represent roughly 40% of Manitoba’s housing stock.
Key challenges:
- Rope and harness systems restrict mobility and often force workers into fall-arrest scenarios where there isn’t enough height for the equipment to function safely.
- Increased tripping hazards and secondary injuries.
- Significant slowdown in productivity (up to 50%+), driving up consumer costs.
- Frustration and turnover among skilled workers — which reduces safety overall.
Contractors repeatedly tell us they feel less safe with rope and harnesses on these roofs and fear penalties more than hazards. Attempts to comply result in infractions and Stop Work Orders, despite widespread acknowledgement that the method is impractical.
2️⃣ Compliance is judged by infractions, not actual safety performance
Regulators typically assess safety programs based on the number of Stop Work Orders and administrative penalties issued — without considering company size. Larger companies with strong safety programs are more visible and inspected more often, resulting in more infractions simply due to scale. These large companies, which often have the very best safety programs that meet Certificate of Recognition standards, are being perceived as deficient because they are accumulating more infractions simply due to their size and increased visibility. They feel they are “sitting ducks” and that it is impossible to be compliant with the rules.
Meanwhile, many smaller companies lacking even basic safety programs are never inspected. This creates an uneven playing field and discourages growth.
Industry Impact
This environment keeps the industry fractured: too many small contractors, not enough established mid- to large-sized companies.
Why does size matter?
Larger companies are more able to:
- Provide structured safety programs and COR-level compliance
- Offer employee benefits, proper payroll practices, and long-term career stability
- Operate professionally and consistently, supporting a healthier industry
When growth is discouraged, the entire sector suffers — including safety outcomes.
I don’t fault smaller businesses for being where they are. That is all part of the journey. My business went through those years also, and they can’t be skipped. When an industry is inadvertently held back from development, we end up with widespread challenges, as seen above.
What Needs to Change
An industry requires an even playing field to grow in a healthy way. The government’s job is to help the industry create an even playing field so that everyone has clarity and equal opportunity to come to the market and try and succeed in business.
A healthy industry requires clear rules and fair enforcement. Before focusing solely on fall protection methods, we must ensure every company:
- Is legally registered and insured
- Has a basic safety program in place
- Meets minimum regulatory standards
MECA’s membership requirements reflect this approach. Certified Contractors hold COR certification. Our Uncertified contractors must demonstrate that they have met a long list of criteria to prove their commitment to a level of professionalism that complies with the basic laws for operating a business in our province.
Moving Forward Together
These are complex issues, and our perspective is one piece of a larger conversation. We have a unique vantage point on the issues and our own biases. We happen to be the most personally affected by the situation and have the least power to shape the scene.
MECA is committed to working collaboratively with regulators and industry stakeholders to create practical, effective safety compliance that protects workers and supports sustainable business growth.
If you’re not already a member, consider joining MECA today.