March 21, 2007

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Please accept the following issue for discussion and provide answers in reference to temporary guest workers. All together, there are many Canadians who are construction tradesman and many of them, like me, live in Alberta.

The following is an important issue I wish you to bring up to your fellow members of government. I would like your support for my position on this issue when your Government colleagues both discuss them privately and in public.

In brief, my opinion on Temporary Importation of Foreign Workers is:

I do object to bringing in temporary foreign workers for limited periods of peak activity. Those jobs have to be offered first to Albertans, then to other Canadians at the same rate of pay that we receive.

I request that regular audits on an ongoing basis prove that temporary foreign workers rate of pay is equivalent or above the average rate of pay of this specific tradesman’s rate. When it is shown that this rule is broken, the temporary foreign workers are returned to their home country and the construction contract is then given back to Canadian workers.

As an example of the injustice occurring: currently Canada has about one million (1,075,000) Canadians that are out of work. It takes about nine months out of work for approximately one million (1,075,000) Canadians to become employed in a new job.

Foreign workers must receive equal pay and benefits as provided in our collective agreement and not a lower wage as offered by lower pseudo labor organizations that make sweetheart contracts with contractors. Bringing in outside skills can’t be just a backdoor way to get disgracefully priced labour. It cannot be a means of breaking up unions using the support of the governing bureaucracy.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a coker project currently underway. From what I understand most of this project was awarded to a major contractor with the exception of the electrical subcontract that was awarded to Braid Electric, which is planning on bringing in temporary foreign labour. I strongly disagree with this, as I am aware we have tradesmen that are out of work in Alberta and across Canada.

I recommend that more critical fast track training and education for tradesmen be provided in order to bring our approximately one million (1,075,000) Canadians into the work force. This fast track preparation and schooling for tradesmen must be initiated before bringing in temporary foreign workers.

The extra expenses drained from our economy after one year using temporary foreign workers in work camps are presently approximately $131,163,123.51 as per my accompanying spreadsheet document. If this continues as predicted in the next nineteen years the economy of Canada will abandon $502,178,640,130.63.

Sincerely,