International Trade committee  —and it's about the training people have received. In Peru, in Mexico, and in Japan, they do not have an apprenticeship system that is equivalent or equal to our system.

International Trade committee  It's because they're not able to.

International Trade committee  No. This is a new wrinkle in our universe. As I mentioned previously, NAFTA has a system for professionals and there's no real mechanism, other than a paper application at the border. So this is new wrinkle, and this is why we were so surprised. The temporary foreign worker syste

International Trade committee  Sure, but those are construction engineering companies, not necessarily trade contractors or general contractors.

International Trade committee  Right, but generally when they go, they don't take hands-on workers because that company is not the actual construction company. They hire sub-construction companies to actually do the work for them.

International Trade committee  It could very well be, but I'm saying the opportunity will exist and we need to think carefully about whether that is something we want.

International Trade committee  In the NAFTA, for instance, there's no mechanism, per se. To get a NAFTA visa between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, you take your passport, your job offer, your proof of credentials, and you go to the border, where either border patrol in the U.S. or CBSA says yes or no based on

International Trade committee  We tried a number of times to meet with the government and the previous trade minister to talk about the TPP, but our meeting requests were always declined.

International Trade committee  No. Even groups like the Canadian Construction Association, which represents contractors, trade contractors, big companies that do construction, had no idea these things were coming in this deal, especially the access to subnational procurement. All of the infrastructure bids in

International Trade committee  I think on the whole, we're going to get more than we give. Our contractors generally aren't operating worldwide. they are operating in North America. May I respond quickly about the safety question?

International Trade committee  From a general contractor perspective or a trade contractor perspective, most of those contractors are headed to the United States. They go to Florida, to Colorado, to the Midwest, to Chicago. This doesn't help them. In fact the U.S. trade representative was proud of the fact tha

International Trade committee  You have to have a system in place to take a look at local labour market conditions before issuing a work permit. We don't have a problem with temporary foreign workers to fill skills gaps or shortages for employers. That's why employers use the TFW program: the oops, the band-ai

International Trade committee  Yes, sir. —that Canadian workers have been afforded the same rights of entry as we have provided in our letters. Canada's Building Trades Unions spends $500 million a year of our members' money training Canadians. In some provinces we deliver provincial curriculum. All of our

International Trade committee  Thanks very much. I feel like I've joined the opposition ranks sitting over here today.

International Trade committee  Good morning, committee members, chair, and fellow witnesses. CBT represent 500,000 skilled trades workers all across Canada in most trades, from bricklaying to welding, to carpentry, to crane operators, to electricians. Our members work in all sectors of construction, but main