Another fine example of irony, this time over bringing foreign workers into B.C.

Posted on by Laila

While  some unions in B.C are fighting to stop foreign workers from coming to B.C.,

“Unions in B.C. will be back in court this week trying to stop a group of foreign workers from coming to Canada to work at a new coal mine in Tumbler Ridge.”

… the British Columba Construction Association is continuing it’s quest to bring foreign workers to B.C, this time in California.

“The British Columbia Construction Association is heading to California in a continuing effort to recruit skilled foreign workers to fill in-demand jobs in the BC construction industry….The trip will focus on a job fair in Indio, California on December 4th. Previously the BCCA travelled to Ireland in October and had more than 2,000 applications for skilled trades jobs…BCCA vice-president Abigail Fulton said foreign workers are sought only after effort has been made to find Canadians to fill skilled trades jobs.”

14 thoughts on “Another fine example of irony, this time over bringing foreign workers into B.C.”

  1. I’m beginning to think the whole reason the BC Libs gutted ITAC in the first place was to create a skilled labour shortage. Now they can claim we have “import” workers to fill that skill gap. Capitalists always look for cheap labour.

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  2. Harper is doing the same at the tar sands too. All company’s up there are permitted to hire cheap labor.

    What China isn’t taking, the U.S. is. There are American oil workers coming to Canada, as well as American War Veterans. Americans won the contract of, the tear down of the old smelter in Kitimat. They are also building the new smelter. They brought their own workers with them.

    BC mills were shipped to China, along with our raw timber. Any of the new mines and expansions owned by China? China will bring their own over to work those mines. There are new mines in Northern BC, owned by the U.S. They will bring their own over too. Christy lied and said. The Chinese miners here right now are temporary. Ida Chong contradicted Christy, she is bringing more to work BC mines. That may be where the 2,000 number, of Chinese miners came from. The new mines and mine expansions owned by whatever country, is bringing their own to work here.

    The takeover of China began a long time ago. Harper and Campbell began China’s takeover of Canada. CSIS even warned, about China’s huge inroads into Canada. BC was specifically mentioned. We lost BC years ago.

    None of the resource jobs in Canada are for Canadians. People just refuse to listen, they still don’t. This country isn’t Canada anymore anyhow. BC is the prize that Harper and Communist China, absolutely need the most. BC is the conduit for China. Do you really think, a pipe burst and tanker spills will stop Harper and China? They can sail right through the oil spill. The pipeline can be patched. They don’t give a damn about this province? Do they? Convince me.

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    1. New poll supports the fact that most Canadians are against temporary foreign workers… http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/most-canadians-cool-to-temporary-foreign-workers-poll-says

      “Sixty-eight per cent of respondents in the CBC/Nanos survey said they “oppose” or “somewhat oppose” allowing temporary foreign workers into the country if there are Canadians looking for work who are qualified for the same jobs. Six per cent were unsure.

      The survey results were released on Monday, hours after Immigration Minister Jason Kenney unveiled details of a new program intended to speed the arrival to Canada of foreign tradespeople whose skills are in demand.

      Kenney said the Skilled Trades Stream will accept up to 3,000 foreign workers next year, and touted the program as a way to address labour shortages, particularly in remote regions of the country.
      The federal government is working with provinces, territories and labour groups to draw up a list of occupations that will be eligible. It’s expected to include electricians, welders, heavy equipment mechanics and pipefitters.

      Michael Atkinson, president of the Canadian Construction Association, argued the new program will help reduce the country’s reliance on temporary labour.

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  4. The import of foreign workers into Canada, is simply, cheap labour, and, to pit worker against worker! A divided work force is easier to control, when they are fighting amongest themselves. It is imperative, that the Unions in Canada, educate these workers. With educated workforce, foreign or otherwise, it is imparative that workers all stick together, for the betterment of all. The Conglomerates will import foreign workers all over the world. Taiwan, for instance is dealing with the same! United we stand, divided, we fail!!!!

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    1. Agreed.This is the position the union movement needs to take,and has been taking.This is the old tactic of using race to divide workers against each other. It’s worked throughout most of history. Hopefully it won’t work today.

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  5. The “buiness groups” are holding these seminars in the U.S.A. to attract workers. Seems a little dumb given the unemployment rate is going up & the number of jobs is going down. The people lining up at the food bank are growing. I suspect this constant desire to bring in temporary foreign workers is to complete the lieberals “story” about jobs, jobs, jobs. yes I’d like to know where those jobs are & so would a lot of people who are under employed.

    bringing in foreign workers is a ploy by business to bring in workers who won’t require benefits or complain. Dangerous working conditions, no problem, ship the body home. Recruiting American War Vets is a great idea. Any change to their working conditions will be an improvement. Bringing in foreign workers means there is less opportunity for Unions to organize at these work sites. Unions not only work to obtain better working conditions & wages for their members, but non unionized employers tend to offer higher salaries in areas where there are a lot of unionized workers. Bringing in foreign workers is just an attempt to bring down the standard of living of Canadians & enhance the profits of corporations.

    If Canada does have a skilled worker shortage then fine, bring in landed immigrats so the workers will have the same rights as all Canadians.

    If there is a lack of skilled workers in B.C. it is the lieberals fault. They had plans on the books for years but did nothing to improve access to skilled trades education. There are thousands of people living in B.C. would like a chance at a better paying job but won’t get it because they lack the skills. Instead they remain in min. wage jobs & line up at the food bank to feed their kids. You’d think the lieberals might have figured out a way to deal with this but then that would have required some thinking.

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    1. Sure there is a skilled worker shortage….Canadians are having fewer children or none at all, thus the need for foreign workers. Plus, universities and colleges need to offer more classes but they need more money to build more classrooms and hire more teachers. There is a shortage of workers to build the schools and a shortage of teachers….it’s a vicious circle…..and where does the money come from to do all this so no more foreign workers come to Canada? Taxes.

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  6. I would think the same questions should be asked for these recruitment issues, that are being asked about HD mining – where is the proof there is no skilled labour? Where are the job listings? Where is the documentation ?

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  7. We know, there are thousands of University and College Graduates, with huge student loans. They really need good paying jobs. My son is an Electronics Engineer. He can work in mines, gas fields, refineries, instrumentation or, in any communications needed, in any resource field, or in anything else involving electronics. His University friends too, are looking for good paying jobs, anywhere and every field. They feel lucky, if they can find beer slinging jobs. At least they have tips, to help pay their loans.

    Canadians are Harper’s cannon fodder. He only wants the very wealthy and the very poor. That’s the way it is in China. To accomplish this, Harper has to get rid of the Unions. That’s the only way, he can drive the minimum wage down to match China’s. Harper absolutely loves China’s Human Rights because, they don’t have any. Chinese resource workers, work for up to less than $17.00 per hour less than Canadian resource workers. The Chinese miners send their money home, they don’t spend the money in Canada. Canadians have to live on the cheap Chinese wages, which of course we can’t. Canada has the highest cost of living, in all of the Americas.

    Of course, for BC mining jobs….They must speak Chinese Mandarin to win mining jobs, in our English speaking province.

    My son and many others, have over $35,000 in student loans. That was with him working, while in University. How do they do they pay all of that, on a minimum wage?

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    1. Julie,
      I think that the jobs shortages are in the “Trades” . Not in engineering.
      Too many kids seem to immediately head to university after High School because ” if you dont have a university education you wont get a good job.”
      Bullshit.
      I had friends in the 1970’s that went directly to university after graduation…I chose the “other” route….
      I began working at menial, minimum wage jobs. How does washing dishes in a mental hospital grab you? For $1.85/hour ? I hated it but stuck it out for 1 year until I had enough money to get the hell outta there. Moved to Calgary. First job was washing cars for Tilden at the Calgary airport for $2.85/hr. Did that for 2 weeks then got a job sandblasting $5.85/hr. Dirty, evil, noisy work, but it paid.
      Then got a job driving a dump truck. $12.35/hr. Etc. Etc.etc.
      Always moving up, learning new skills, constantly upgrading…….
      All while my friends were getting degrees and huge student loan debts.
      Ahhh yes remember the 1970’s and early 80’s when university students would refuse to pay their student loans and the govt eventually paid a good portion of it. Those days are done.
      Moral of my long winded story……
      Just because you have a great education .
      Dont expect the world to beat a path to your door.
      Try and get a job in a related field to your degree.
      Electronics engineer? Try working for an electrical company as an apprentice electrician. Or a Controls company such as Honeywell, Seimans, Trane, ….. Aircraft maintenance ? Ericksson Air Crane, etc. OR working with engineering firms such as SNC Lavalin or Buoygues as an estimator or maintenance or whatever. These are all jobs that are directly related to his education.
      Eventually he will see a Electronics engineering job and be able to show them he was working in related industries, not slinging beer…..
      And be willing to move. Because for every job he turns down ….there are 10 other people waiting to snap it up….. and not just chinese people……

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  8. Good bye Canada… you were once our lovely Country. I’m sure going to miss this GREAT COUNTRY. 😦 R.I.P. Our Government has FAILED to Stand on Guard and Protect our Land. Now our kids and grand kids will be unemployed because there will not be any skilled training available for them. We should be investing in our children’s future not in foreign workers. But that’s just my opinion.

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