Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to address you today.
My name is John Mandarino. I'm the Canadian national director with the Laborers' International Union of North America, or LiUNA. The department and area of LiUNA that I direct is the Canadian Tri-Fund, and among the responsibilities of the Canadian Tri-Fund is training and recruitment for the organization.
We represent approximately 110,000 union workers across Canada, predominantly in the construction sector. LiUNA has 19 training centres across Canada and 10 training centres alone in Ontario. Since our inception in 1903, LiUNA has prided itself on keeping our doors open to skilled immigrants. Through our comprehensive training infrastructure, we have trained tens of thousands of immigrant workers, and they in turn have become the foundation of our membership. In fact as an organization, LiUNA depends upon healthy, robust, and steady immigration to recruit and train our future workforce. We have come to rely on immigrant recruits to build the strong union that we have today.
Through our commitment to training and the hard work we have put into establishing comprehensive training programs to develop a safe and productive workforce, we've established the tools to overcome many of the obstacles that might seem to be a hurdle in delivering training to new Canadians. Through partnerships with community groups and government agencies, we have overcome language barriers and worked to embrace new cultures.
The construction industry has been in an economic boom. The need for trained and skilled labour has perhaps never been greater. There is a labour shortage that has to be addressed. LiUNA, along with our employer partners, continues to recruit and train to fill these shortages. As we have done since the mid 1900s, LiUNA has embraced wave after wave of new Canadians to bring them into our membership to build a strong construction industry that remains a key factor in Canada's economic growth and strength.
LiUNA represents workers in 32 different sectors of construction and five major industries, including manufacturing and hospitality. We've made a commitment to our employer partners that we will recruit and train workers to build our highways, our schools, and our homes, to fabricate our machinery, and to serve conferees and visitors to our great city. It is because of the diversity of work we represent there is a need in LiUNA to constantly recruit, train, and embrace new Canadians as new members in our union and in our workforce. The diversity of our representation is also one of the reasons that there is great opportunity for work.
I am the son of Italian immigrants who came to Canada in their early fifties. Without the opportunity to enter this country and prove that we could contribute and enrich Canadian society, I don't know where my family would be. Syrian refugees deserve the same opportunity, and it is our turn to embrace the next wave of new Canadians, train them, and provide them with the opportunity to contribute and enrich our Canadian society.
LiUNA is prepared to offer new Canadians work opportunities. Through local unions and training centres across Canada, we can provide outreach and connection to jobs. As I said, new Canadians provide an opportunity to fill labour shortages and strengthen the workforce in key areas of the economy while providing themselves with a new life, a career, and a chance to build a future for their next generation.
The Laborers' International Union of North America is prepared to be a partner in this opportunity. A strong and successful immigration program must provide newcomers a foundation upon which they can build their new future. LiUNA, through our training programs and industry partnerships with employers, is prepared to be a partner in providing the materials and tools to help the Syrian refugee community build that foundation in Canada.
I'm proud to be speaking to you here today on this issue and I am excited about our country's future. As a first generation Canadian, I'm proud of the opportunity that Canada is providing to Syrian refugees and excited at the infinite possibilities this opportunity will provide for their generations of Canadians.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you here today.