Evidence of meeting #71 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Director, Federal and Ontario, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
That's a provincial law.
Conservative
Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON
Thank you.
Mr. Atkinson, you raised the issue of foreign export credit agencies—I presume that's state financing versus commercial financing in foreign countries—as an advantage for foreign P3 bidders on Canadian projects. I presume the most analogous use of EDC would be to help our companies bid on foreign P3 projects, not support domestic companies in domestic P3 bidding projects.
What is the solution here? Is it to restrict foreign P3 bidders on Canadian projects from using state financing and they'd have to come up with some sort of commercial financing? Would that then drive down the number of bidders and drive up the cost of a P3 project?
President, Canadian Construction Association
That's an excellent question.
One of the solutions we're looking at, at least with respect to the immediate concern we have, and that is the proposed regulatory changes to EDC's domestic powers, is to carve out some kind of an exemption, or at least some kind of pre-approval from ministerial authority, provided it's timely, to allow Canadian firms faced with that situation...where they know that without EDC's support, or some other vehicle to enable them to provide that kind of financial security, that they are going to be at a competitive disadvantage.
Conservative
Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON
State financing for domestic projects when you're faced with a foreign state.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Can you elaborate on how this union monopoly has prevented aboriginals from obtaining employment opportunities?
Regional Director, Eastern Ontario, Christian Labour Association of Canada
In the example I gave with Manitoba Hydro, really, it's a lack of competition. If there's one union or a group of selective unions that have sole jurisdiction over a certain amount of work, they may do things well or they may do things poorly. To take an issue like employment of local aboriginals or the Métis population in Manitoba, we have had feedback from those populations that the building trades unions are in fact doing a poor job and they're not meeting the requirements. However, the situation dictates that no other group will have a chance to do it better because our signatory companies and our union cannot do that work and we do not have a chance to prove ourselves in terms of how we may do that work better.
With regard to the situation across the country, we work with aboriginal groups to encourage apprenticeship training in local employment with aboriginal groups. We have a very strong track record of doing that. However, in Manitoba, unfortunately, we don't have that opportunity.
Director, Federal and Ontario, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada
If I could quickly add one thing, this gets back to the previous question as well. This is actually not just about CLAC versus the building trades. The same construction monopoly that happens in Waterloo that the carpenters union has affects LiUNA, the labourers union, who also do carpentry work.
In Nova Scotia, or any other province, even in some maritime provinces, if the carpenters union certified a municipality today, the Labourers' International Union of North America would be shut out just as much as the CLAC would be. This is not simply a one-union issue. This is one union, the carpenters union in many cases, having a monopoly over everybody else.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Okay.
Mr. Kooy, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Atkinson, thank you very much for being here.
I hope everybody has a good weekend. We'll see members back here on May 21.
The meeting is adjourned.
