Human Resources Committee on Oct. 26th, 2006

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

You would do it?

[Joyce Reynolds]

We hire students right now for just the summer months. We'll hire students whenever they want to work, and one of the things we offer is a lot of flexibility in terms of work hours, so depending on where you are in the country—

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

That's the point.

[Joyce Reynolds]

As you're saying, we're looking at this spreading right across the country; we're hearing more and more from our members in every part of the country. When you have to throw back your keys and say “I have to close my restaurant because I don't have people to work in my restaurant”, believe me, we want everybody in our industry, anybody who's willing to work.

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

You have to live in Alberta.

My neighbour filled in an application but he was told that they did not want him for only three months, because they would have to do it all over again after he left. It all depends on the place where you live. For his part, he installs asphalt, he doesn't make chocolate cakes. The situation is less difficult in Toronto. There are Tim Hortons restaurants or other similar businesses. It is another story when we are dealing with a single industry. The person cannot go and work for an hour an a half at an hourly rate of $7.70. You have to be logical. It is not easy to see the difference between rural and urban environments. In cities, it's easy, but less so in rural areas.

I'm waiting for your comments.

[Joyce Reynolds]

We do have restaurants in pretty well every community in every riding across the country; I don't think there's a single riding in the country where there isn't food service. So there have to be restaurants in that riding as well. I'm not familiar enough with the ridings to know if they've applied at restaurants, but I can tell you that our members are really looking for anybody who is willing to work and to provide a good public face to the customers they serve. They will train them to do the job and they'll provide them with career paths as well within the industry.

It's surprising, but you may have a region that has much higher unemployment, but in most regions across this country our members are really desperate for employees and are willing to work with employees and train them to do the job.

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

I would like to have the list of the restaurants which established themselves in our area.

I am now going back to the construction sector.

Did you try to encourage young girls and young women to come and work in our sector? When she lived in the United States, my niece was a jointer. She is very skilled.

Do you have a different advertising to attract young women in this industry? Women could without difficulty carry on occupations like electrician, jointer or painter.

[David Wassmansdorf]

In the industry we do have some specific targeted programs to try to attract women, and the Canadian Home Builders' Association has been involved with that aspect for probably 20 years now. So it does exist. Do we need to do more as part of this comprehensive strategy? Definitely. We would love to have more women in the industry, because I can tell you that in some of those fussy trades like painting and trim carpentry, even heating and air conditioning, boy, it would be great to have more women because they tend to be fussier. So we'd love to have more women.

Mary, you've been around a little while. Mary is somebody who is looked upon as one of the early people in the industry. She moved her way through sales and marketing into construction, and now is the general manager of a home building company. Maybe, Mary, you've got—

[Mary Lawson]

I've been the only woman in a boardroom in our industry many times for many years. However, I've also been asked to mentor young women who are interested in our industry. In trade capacities and supervisory capacities, women make wonderful site superintendents. The opportunity is there; it's being encouraged. We're seeing more and more women coming into the industry; certainly in the apprenticeship programs, there are quite a few women. Not every skill is possible, but there are quite a few that work. We have just got approval for two programs at George Brown College that are exclusively for women. They're pilot programs. One is carpentry and one is heating and air conditioning—residential only. So it's coming.

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The reality they live at school is one thing but in a men's world, surrounded by all these male chauvinists, it is probably another thing.

Do women feel comfortable working with some men? Are they sometimes subjected to their jealousy? Are sexist remarks made from time to time on construction sites?

[Mary Lawson]

I don't think it's any worse than in other job situation. I certainly have never run into any particular problem, and I've been involved on construction sites for many years now. It's all about knowing what you're doing. It's all about understanding why you're there and what your job is and doing it. Quite honestly, the women are doing it better than a lot of the guys.

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

I can see, Ms. Lawson, why they won't let you go, even as the past, past president. They keep bringing you back, kicking and screaming, I'm sure. You are probably a great volunteer, but it looks as though you'll never get out of what you're doing.

[Mary Lawson]

I don't really want to; I thoroughly enjoy it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

I'm sure you're a great spokesperson for the industry.

I'm going to move over to Mr. Albrecht for five minutes.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

I find it rather strange that in an environment in 2006 where transportation is so readily available and we can move with ease around the globe, there's this reluctance to embrace a mobility concept even within Canada, as far as moving from one area to another is concerned. If I can be so partisan as to suggest it—since it's my last meeting here anyway—maybe this is simply indicative of a true conservative value of seeking opportunity wherever it is. That's my comment.

I have a question addressed to all of the groups. Many of you mentioned the idea of seeking out opportunities for aboriginal people. I'm wondering what kind of success rate you've had with it. That in itself also will probably often necessitate a moving from an area—at least in many cases in the northern communities, of moving from a northern community to an area where employment is more readily available.

What kind of success rate have you had with it?

[Cheryl Paradowski]

I can speak to it a little bit. There is an aboriginal human resource council, so there is one specifically dealing with that issue that is cross-sectoral and works with many of us. They have a Workforce Connex project underway right now that has multiple focus groups moving across Canada to bring together employers and agencies that serve aboriginals, as well as aboriginal workers, to talk about the issues of integration when moving from the world of the reserve into the world of work, and the different sorts of accommodations needed.

There is a pilot project underway right now that the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada is undertaking, and Safeway, which is a major western grocery chain, is participating in it. These are creating the models that are going to be best practices in better integrating that workforce into the mainstream.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Is there a fairly high uptake?

[Cheryl Paradowski]

Currently there seems to be, I think because of the pressures of requiring workforce are creating the need for employers to engaging in this more actively, perhaps, than they have in the past.

[David Wassmansdorf]

There's a sector council within the aboriginal community, and they are doing work with our association as well. They have a representative who sits on our national education and training advisory committee.

Beyond that, as well, there are some bands that quite frankly are looked at quite highly for the work they've done in taking some of the funding they've received to build new housing on some of their reserves.

There are the Quinte Mohawks, for example, building energy-efficient R2000 housing. Some of the best housing that's being built in the province of Ontario is being built by the Quinte band. There are examples that can be looked upon as real success stories.

[Joyce Reynolds]

Our industry works with another sector council, the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council, who also have employability programs for aboriginal groups. Our members also try to recruit through aboriginal employment centres—I would say with mixed success, to be perfectly frank with you.

I think there's more emphasis being put on that area, and hopefully it will improve. It's going to have to improve.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

I have a couple of questions regarding trades. The first one is with respect to the red seal, which I'm learning all about as I get into this role in human resources. Some 47 or so out of a possible 200 trades are red sealed, and I realize there are certainly different things.

You indicated that none of the 43 that could be available from the construction trades are red sealed for you, for the residential side. Is that correct?

[David Wassmansdorf]

For the residential, correct.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

My question is twofold. The first one is, what can we do? I realize this is a provincial issue. Provinces have to get together to determine what's going to be red sealed, obviously standards, etc., etc. What can we do to encourage that? If we look at this incentive we've put in place, or the government did, in terms of tools and trades and things, potentially 150 other trades aren't given the chance to take advantage of this because they're not red sealed, in terms of that.

[David Wassmansdorf]

Could I indulge the committee and ask Paul Gravel if he could comment on this? He's worked very closely with the apprenticeship board.