Mason calls foul

October 19, 2011

Alberta’s NDP Opposition leader Brian Mason is calling on Premier Redford to intervene after 200 Canadian insulator tradespeople were laid off in favour of temporary foreign workers.

“This is reckless use of a poorly designed program that steals the jobs that belong to Albertans and Canadians,” says Mason. “The PC government’s unqualified support for temporary foreign worker program shows they’re too cozy with industry and are failing to stand up for Albertans’ interests.”

Two hundred Canadian members of Insulators Local 110 were hired through a subcontractor by Flint Energy over the past year for a project at the Firebag 3 oilsands site. Meanwhile, Flint applied for a Labour Market Opinion, a first step to hiring temporary foreign workers. In early October, Flint laid off the union workers after receiving approval to hire up to 150 temporary foreign workers for an insulating job.

“It’s clear this program is more about cheap labour for companies than fixing worker shortages. It’s another PC gift to the oil industry at Albertans’ expense,” Mason says.