Thank you.
Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. My name is Tom Griffiths and I'm a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 625. I represent 1,000 electricians in Nova Scotia and P.E.I. I'm also a delegate to the Mainland Nova Scotia Building Trades Council. Together we represent 14 construction trades and over 14,000 construction workers in this province.
I speak today in opposition to the ratification of the trans-Pacific partnership. This deal was agreed to by a defeated Conservative government just 14 days before they faced the wrath of Canadian voters, voters who were fed up with their anti-worker agenda. In their rush to pass this trade deal before being swept from power, this former Conservative government failed to consult with Canada's building trades unions, who together represent nearly one-third of the skilled tradesmen in Canada. Mr. Harper knew we would oppose this deal.
However, they did find the time to consult their friends, the Merit Contractors Association of Canada, a group of open-shop contractors who employ less than 1% of the construction and skilled tradespeople in Canada. Merit supported this deal because they knew it would drive wages lower in this country, a less than honourable motive.
The TPP allows for foreign companies to bid on contracts in Canada with the labour rates and working conditions common in their third world countries, and after they underbid Canadian companies for those projects, they're allowed to bring their own workforce in to Canada to do the work, with no regard for prevailing wages, licensing and certification, or typical worker benefit packages. They're not even subject to the labour market impact assessment currently used to control the temporary foreign worker program. The so-called business visitor class permits them to bring installers, repairers, and maintenance personnel into Canada to work without requiring them to attain a work permit. What kind of government—