Good morning.
I'd like to thank the committee for allowing me to present on such short notice. While I've known about the hearings for several months, unfortunately I had no idea about the dates they were to occur. My presentation will focus solely on the construction industry.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Building and Construction Trades Council represents 16 construction trade unions in the province, and I believe you've already heard from a number of my counterparts throughout the country. However, while I know many of them have made some very important points about the industry and the effect temporary foreign workers will have on the construction industry, I have a few additional comments to make that I do not think have been a part of other presentations. I don't want to take up too much of your time repeating the issues that have already been presented; therefore, I will focus on those that are important to this locality and those that I think you may not have heard.
Construction is cyclical, and most construction workers, as you're likely aware, often lead nomadic lives. Some areas of Canada experience construction booms, while other areas are experiencing a drought. Newfoundland has had more than its share of droughts, more than any other construction region of Canada. Therefore, we export our construction workers more often than any other provinces do. This makes mobility a very important issue for eastern Canadian construction workers. The main focus here is to get construction workers to other areas that require them. Some industries that share mobility issues enjoy tax incentives provided by the Canadian government to allow tax breaks on travel expenses. Tax breaks for construction workers who travel across the country to fulfill their work obligations would be a great benefit to the industry in many respects. It would ease the burden on the families who make sacrifices to allow members, both men and women, to travel the distances over spans of time for work. It would also ease recruitment issues for contractors who try to fulfill labour requirements within the country.
The unionized construction industry is heavily involved in apprenticeship and training. I'm sure you're aware that the federal government is promoting apprenticeship training as a means of fulfilling the country's labour needs over the coming decades. The construction trade unions and their contractors have invested substantially as well, both in time and millions of dollars, to support this campaign. The country depends on a large infusion of work in the boom areas to fulfill apprenticeship requirements and complete training programs. For example, work in western Canada right now is helping many of our apprentices complete their programs and become journeypersons. Here in this province, a typical apprenticeship is four years, but with our normal volume of work, that apprentice could take six to eight years to attain journeyperson status.
The person hours required to reach that level are not in our economy right now to make apprentices in the four-year period. If temporary foreign workers are added into this mix, it will have a detrimental impact on our apprenticeship programs, programs that our federal government fully supports. In fact, the major weakness the federal government identifies with apprenticeship right now is the low level of completions.
I'm not suggesting there is no need for immigrants or temporary foreign workers; it's just that we should first look within and handle our internal mobility issues and support our Canadian apprentices before we open the doors too wide in anticipation of a labour shortage that may not happen for another 10 years, and in fact may never happen if we're successful in our recruitment efforts internally. It is difficult to recruit when young people see a nearly decade-long effort to attain journeyperson status and a comfortable wage level.
If contractors are allowed to employ workers from developing countries and pay third-world wages and benefits, it will provide an unfair advantage and bring our own industry into chaos. It would be catastrophic for workers in this country. Canada is a prosperous nation, and its citizens are conditioned to a comfortable lifestyle supported by good wages and working conditions. Unions have struggled for many years to bring our workers to a level where we pay generous taxes, and gladly do so, because it sustains a standard of living we're very happy with. Undermining the gains we have made will have a trickle-down effect on the entire economy.
Foreign workers, who are conditioned to exploitation and starvation wages, feel they are living like kings when they come to Canada and live on government support while they're being resettled. This is a culture clash, and while we do not deny that some temporary foreign workers may be needed in the future, we have some major concerns, both economically and socially, regarding the impacts it will bring if not regulated properly.
All groups throughout the country—government, unions, and industry—are focusing on recruiting women into construction to fulfill the anticipated heavy labour requirements of the future. Construction, of course, has been a traditionally male-dominated career choice; however, since the Hibernia construction project, more and more women are choosing to explore the career option, and we are encouraging that.
There is also a noticeable absence of aboriginal construction workers in our province. We have a significant aboriginal population but a very small presence in the industry. Because of fluctuations of work in this province, they are not encouraged to remain in construction. As well, the Newfoundland and Labrador aboriginal population does not appear inclined to follow the kind of nomadic lifestyle committed construction workers here have to embrace.
As we look down the road to more extensive projects, we hope to see more aboriginals complete apprenticeships and become journeypersons and remain in the industry.
These are two groups with substantial numbers, of which successful recruitment could fulfill a large part of the labour requirements for this province and for Canada as a whole. We recommend that government put more focus on employment equity efforts in the construction industry. This will not just fulfill the requirements of industry, but it will provide good paying jobs for Canadians who really need them.
Looking simply at numbers and moving players around at the level bureaucrats must do at times, it's easy to lose the personal focus. In fact, there are many women and aboriginals who would benefit tremendously from the lifestyle the construction industry could provide. It is simply a matter of, first, allowing them to see that, and second, making the opportunity available to them.
As I am sure many of my colleagues elsewhere have pointed out to you, temporary foreign workers quite often wind up in the underground economy. Then we are all losers. This underground economy undermines government at many levels, the unions and what they stand for, and our Canadian society and lifestyle overall.
The underground economy is gaining strength over time and should be addressed. I understand the Quebec government has realized the substantial losses it is incurring and has initiated actions to end these practices.
We recommend the federal government take a serious look at this matter and take action to address the issue and reclaim the tax dollars lost to this illegal practice.
In summary, my recommendations include (1) tax incentives for construction workers to travel to meet the labour requirements of our country, (2) enhanced support for apprenticeship and training, (3) stronger focus on employment equity within the construction industry so that women and aboriginal populations are encouraged into construction careers, (4) strict regulations governing the importation of temporary foreign workers, tight controls over length of stay in the country, and prevention of exploitation of such workers in terms of wages, working conditions, and benefits, and (5) investigation and controls to eliminate the underground economy in the construction industry.
Thank you for your time and consideration.