Evidence of meeting #82 for Natural Resources in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was electricity.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Wetaskiwin, AB
He was an independent contractor, though, an independent businessman.
4:55 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
I wasn't a contractor.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
What do you mean?
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Wetaskiwin, AB
That would be the difference: you would have these writeoffs if you were self-employed.
4:55 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
But I'm the guy who needed it. I left home for 10 days' work.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Wetaskiwin, AB
Fair enough, I'm not disputing that, but there are differences. There are ways you can capture that, but you're saying there's a way we can capture that from a tax credit perspective.
4:55 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
Truly.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Blaine Calkins Conservative Wetaskiwin, AB
I know many people fly in all the time. I fly back and forth from Ottawa. Flights originate in Atlantic Canada and in Montreal; they stop in Ottawa, pick up folks like me to fly me back home. I see so many people from what I consider eastern Canada, flying to Alberta every week to work.
Has your organization looked at anything to make some of that more palatable, whether it's the EI system or anything else—
4:55 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
Most of those costs are picked up by the client.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
It's millions of dollars.
We used to get an EI travel credit. When you left home and you got a job somewhere, then you let EI know that you were able to secure some work, and at that point they'd pay you a certain amount of money. Guys used to come from New Brunswick to my local, and I think they used to get about 450 bucks. I'm talking about the early nineties. But they would get a cheque from EI for the $450. At least it paid the cost of their coming from New Brunswick to Kingston. They'd work there for three or four months, then they'd go home. They're off employment insurance, they're contributing to the income tax system. It's a win-win, and we don't seem to be able to get any support for it. To tell the truth, we've been pounding that for 10 or 12 years.
5 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Mr. Calkins.
Continuing the five-minute round, we have Monsieur Gravelle, then Mr. Trost, and then Mr. Anderson.
5 p.m.
Conservative
5 p.m.
NDP
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
He's used it all, and unlike the chair, I'm not going to give you my opinion, but I'd like to hear your opinion.
5 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
5 p.m.
NDP
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
I don't want to waste my time with that.
I've got some good news for you, Mr. Telford. My colleague Chris Charlton has a private member's bill that would cover the exact costs you were talking about, the costs of your travelling to Thunder Bay. I think that's a great idea.
I want to talk a little about upgrading a refinery. How many jobs would upgrading a refinery create for your workers, roughly, just a general view?
5 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
At the Edmonton West upgrade at Scotford, my particular trade had 4,000 people on the job. That job lasted for over three years. It was a 12,000-person job. That's an upgrader.
5 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
It was a three-year project.
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NDP
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
Once this refinery is upgraded, how many of your members would end up working at the refinery?
5 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
The Irving Oil refinery every day has about 185 of my guys working. You can sort of figure the size of Irving Oil.
5 p.m.
Director of Canadian Affairs, United Association Canada, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
Oh, they're forever.