TUESDAY, DECEMBER 09, 2003

Recent calls for easing up on foreign work visas are untimely and uninformed. The other day Jock Finlayson, Chief Economist for the Business Council of BC, called on the Federal Liberals to address the looming skills shortage by opening up the borders to foreign workers.

Before we start clamouring for more foreign workers let’s take stock of what is already available to non-Canadians. Presently more than 90,000 foreign nationals enter Canada annually to help Canadian employers temporarily address skills and labour shortages. In addition, more than 150,000 skilled workers permanently immigrate and settle in Canada.

According to Citizen and Immigration Canada (CIC) the criteria for issuing Temporary Foreign Worker Permits includes the following: wages and working conditions must be comparable to those offered to Canadians, hiring the foreign worker must fill a labour shortage, employers must have conducted a reasonable effort to hire or train Canadians for the job and the hiring of a foreign national must transfer new skills to Canadians.

As the spokesperson for 35,000 highly skilled construction workers in the province I want to know that Foreign Worker Permits are not being used so that some employers undercut wages and work conditions by hiring offshore labour. Foreign workers are finewelcome, but only when Canadian workers are not available or qualified for the job.

Recently HRDC authorized Foreign Worker Permits for eleven workers from India to dismantle the former pulp mill in Gold River for shipment to Thailand. This was allowed while hundreds of trades workers are unemployed in BC. Specifically I refer to Boilermakers, Ironworkers and Millwrights whose union halls currently have unemployed are full of booked in members booked into their dispatch systems. These qualified tradesmentradesmen who are and unemployed workers are and readyprepared to go to work and are furious. It has Page 2

been reported that the foreign workers in Gold River will not be paid their wages until they return to India. Are Canadians not even going to see taxes remitted on the work done by foreign nationals? The community of Gold River has likewise lost out as local unemployment is currently at 50%. I have been told that tThese foreign nationals are reportedly being housed, six to a flat, at an apartment complex in Gold River.

I am encouraged by the recent attention and promotion directed at the Building Trades as a valuable career option. As a journey-level plumber with over 30 years of experience in the industry I speak from personal experience about the pride and skill trades workers enjoy. Unlike white collarwhite-collar workers, trades workers design, fabricate and install complex building systems that enable our modern infrastructure to run smoothly. This is a truly rewarding career.

Is there a skills crisis? The answer is Notnot right now. The skills shortage that is receiving so much attention is still a potential crisis. Can anything be done about it? Absolutely. We must begin by supporting our youth and construction employers to invest in full scope trades training.

As a result of government cut-backscutbacks and the creation of a self-help approach to trades training, earlier this year, apprenticeship registration has fallen off. The new Industry Training Authority is not working. Watering down trades qualifications with ‘modular’ semi-skilled certifications will not meet employers’ needs for a fully skilled flexible worker. Instead the construction industry will be dragged down by task trained, semi-skilled workers. There is still time to fix the problem. We must return to a system that endorses full scope of training. The Apprenticeship Authority must go back and hire consolerscounsellors to shepard apprentices through the system. Employers must have government support and incentives to see their apprentices all the way through to Red Seal certification. Once workers are trained, inspectors must be allowed to enforce trades qualifications.

I have nothing against the hiring of foreign workers as long as their employment benefits a skill transfer to Canadian workers or genuinely fills a labour shortage. Let’s not run down the industry and jeopardize public safety by importing unskilled or semi-skilled foreigners to undercut living wages and benefits for Canadians.

For further information contact Wayne Peppard at L(604) 916-0027 (cellular).

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For further information contact 

the BCYT-BCTC office:  604-291-9020

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