IUOE News February 2015
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BC BUILDING TRADES EXECUTIVE MEET WITH JUSTIN TRUDEAU<br />
Construction industry discussed with Liberal Leader<br />
On December 16th members of the BC Building Trades Executive<br />
Board and the Construction Labour Relations<br />
Association of BC met with federal Liberal Party Leader Justin<br />
Trudeau at the Operating Engineers office.<br />
The meeting was an important opportunity for the new<br />
leader to hear about key issues in the construction industry in<br />
BC.<br />
Participants discussed the failures<br />
of the Temporary Foreign Worker<br />
program and its abuse by employers.<br />
In 2013, the BC Building Trades<br />
challenged the program when the<br />
International Union of Operating<br />
Engineers Local 115 and Labourers<br />
Union Local 1116 took HD Mining<br />
to court for hiring foreign miners<br />
when local Canadians were available<br />
Business Manager Brian<br />
Cochrane with Justin<br />
Trudeau one on one<br />
outside the OE Building.<br />
to work. Since the case was dismissed<br />
two other coal mines in the area<br />
have closed leaving HD Mining the<br />
only operational mine in the Tumbler<br />
Ridge area. To date, not a single<br />
Canadian miner has been hired.<br />
Building Trades executive members called on the Liberal<br />
leader to support policy that puts Canadians first in line for<br />
resource jobs, to which Justin Trudeau agreed in principle.<br />
Participants at the meeting also discussed using apprentices<br />
on publically funded federal projects. Federal Conservative<br />
government policy merely asks contractors to report if they<br />
have apprentices working on public projects. This does not go<br />
Justin Trudeau meeting with the BC Building Trades Executive<br />
Board in the main Boardroom at OE’s Burnaby office.<br />
far enough. Representatives from the Building Trades asked<br />
the Liberal Leader to commit to placing apprenticeship quotas<br />
on federal projects.<br />
Over the coming months representatives from the Building<br />
Trades will continue to meet with Liberal and New Democrat<br />
Members of Parliament and advance our issues in the upcoming<br />
federal election.<br />
After the BC Building Trades<br />
Executive Board meeting,<br />
Justin Trudeau stopped in and<br />
met the staff at Local 115’s<br />
Burnaby office.<br />
<strong>News</strong> March <strong>2015</strong> 17
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