Good afternoon, Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
My name is Nole Coutrouzas. I serve as the business manager for the Millwright Regional Council, representing 10,000 highly skilled millwrights across Canada who install, maintain and repair the equipment that powers Canada's economy. I also serve as president of the Hamilton-Brantford Building and Construction Trades Council and as vice-president of the Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin and Grey Building and Construction Trades Council, representing an additional 30,000 skilled trades workers across Ontario.
I'm here to speak to one central point today: A true buy Canadian policy must include Canadian skilled trades labour, not just Canadian materials and manufacturing. Canadian workers must be at the centre of buy Canadian. When we talk about buy Canadian, the focus is often on goods, steel, equipment and materials, but those products do not install or maintain themselves. It is Canadian skilled trades workers who build, assemble, install and maintain the infrastructure and industrial systems that these investments depend on.
If public funds are being used for projects in Canada, there must be clear requirements that work is performed by certified journeypersons and registered apprentices, trades are recognized under provincial and territorial trades designations, and qualifications meet interprovincial or Red Seal standards, where applicable. Without these protections, buy Canadian becomes incomplete and risks excluding the very workers who deliver these projects on the ground.
Canada has built a world-class skilled trades system through apprenticeship training and interprovincial standards. Billions of dollars have been invested by governments and industry into workforce development, including such programs as the union training and innovation program, otherwise known as UTIP. However, there are no consistent requirements tied to federal funding to ensure that these standards are upheld on publicly funded projects. This creates a gap whereby work may be performed without proper certification. Trades standards may be undermined, with public investment and training not fully utilized. We should be maximizing that investment, not bypassing it.
Another critical issue is the use of international labour mobility pathways that allow foreign workers to enter Canada for industrial installation work. We have seen this on major projects that include such facilities as the NextStar project in Windsor, Ontario. Similar concerns are emerging with upcoming developments like the Volkswagen PowerCo plant in St. Thomas, Ontario.
Foreign technicians are brought in through such mechanisms as business visitor provisions for after-sales service, intra-company transfers and international mobility program streams tied to free trade agreements. These pathways are intended for highly specialized proprietary work. However, there is growing concern that they are being used to perform general skilled trades work, work that Canadian millwrights and other skilled trades workers are fully trained and available to do. This creates a backdoor pathway that bypasses the Canadian labour market, undermines domestic workforce participation and contradicts the spirit of buy Canadian.
Where a labour market impact assessment or any labour market access pathway is being considered, building trades unions should be formally notified and engaged to ensure that Canadian labour standards are upheld and that qualified local workers are given first opportunity to perform the work. These organizations can provide real-time, on-the-ground insight into labour availability and help ensure that policy intent is respected.
Let me be clear: Canadian trades support global investment, but not at the expense of Canadian workers being displaced from work they are fully qualified to perform. When Canadian skilled trades workers are employed, their wages are spent in Canada, they support local businesses and communities, and they contribute directly to Canada's GDP and tax base. When that work is performed by temporary or external labour with limited integration, a portion of the value is lost to the Canadian economy.
Buy Canadian is not just about procurement; it is about economic retention and growth. Canada already has the workforce. Policy must ensure that it is used. We have invested in it, we have trained it and we are ready to deploy it. If we are serious about a buy Canadian policy that strengthens our economy, then we must ensure that it includes Canadian workers, Canadian standards and Canadian opportunities.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to your questions.