[dan deutekom]

Don't get me started I feel that one of the main drawbacks to getting skilled reliable labour in this industry is exactly this thinking. Landscapers in Ontario mostly get away without paying overtime by using antiquated laws that follow "agriculture", "horticulture" or farming. With most planting being not bare rooted, there is no reason to have things done "today". Most of our "landscaping" is really the same as most construction trades. We lay lockstone, build decks, excavate etc. We really don't plant that much. You add this to being a seasonal business and it is no wonder it is hard to get reliable labour.

Then you look at Landscape Ontario promoting the banking of hours ( http://www.horttrades.com/attach/200...s_brochure.pdf ) so that your employees don't get paid overtime during the long weeks but get paid a regular wage all year long. The problem with this is that most small landscape companies can't meet a payroll during a long winter and the employee ends up with a yearly salary that would be about $7000.00 less than if they take all of their pay when it is earned and collect employment insurance when laid off in the winter.

We have to wake up. We are competing with construction industries for our labour. Stop trying to find ways to cheap out on your most important resource. You mostly get what you pay for.