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Alberta has never used provisions of "Westray Act" even though it could act as an effective deterrent to corporate negligence

The president of Alberta's largest union organization today called on the Redford government to start making use of the nine-year-old federal Westray Act that allows investigators to launch criminal prosecutions against corporations and senior corporate managers who, through negligence or misdeeds, have caused their workers to be killed or injured on the job.

"The federal government has given the provinces the power to prosecute individual employers and managers under the Criminal Code, but the Alberta government has never taken advantage of those powers," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"That needs to change. Holding individual managers and CEOs personally responsible for workers deaths will provide a huge incentive for corporations to clean up their acts when it comes to workplace health and safety. Fines and civil prosecutions under the Occupational Health and Safety Code are not enough. If we're serious about promoting workplace safety, criminal prosecutions have to be part of the government's tool kit."

In a letter to Alberta's Jonathan Denis, Alberta's newly appointed Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, McGowan said that every workplace death and serious injury "should be looked at through the lens of Bill C-45," the law passed in 2003 that amended the federal Criminal Code (click here for Westray Act). Under the amendments, corporations and corporate managers can be found criminally liable if they fail to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of workers and the public on their worksites.

"Workers and their families deserve to know police have done more than rule out foul play," wrote McGowan. "Specifically, they need to know that authorities have investigated the possibility of criminal negligence. Indeed, it is now the law of the land in Canada. That law should be respected."

In addition to encouraging Denis to make criminal prosecution a regular part of the Alberta government's "tool kit" for promoting workplace safety, McGowan also encourage the Minister to direct police forces around the province to establish dedicated units to investigate worker deaths alongside investigators from the provincial government's occupational health and safety branch. Click here for the memorandum sent to all chiefs of police in Ontario by the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Corrections Services, dated March 30, 2004.

"Without dedicated units trained in the use of Bill C-45 provisions, I'm convinced that this important and powerful tool will never be used effectively as a deterrent to criminal negligence on the part of employers," said McGowan.

On May 9, 1992, 26 miners working underground at the Westray Mine in rural Nova Scotia were killed by a methane explosion. The company was found guilty on 18 non-criminal counts of operating an unsafe mine under the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act. Criminal charges against senior company officers were dropped because, at the time, the Criminal Code did not allow for such prosecutions.

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MEDIA:

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, President @ 780-218-9888 (cell) or 780-483-3021 (office)

30 years ago: Fort McMurray will receive $2,199,000 in provincial funding under the Arterial Roadway, Public Transit and Transportation Systems Management programs.

Under the 5-year Trust Agreement public transit project are eligible for 100 per cent provincial subsidy assistance. Arterial roadway and transportation systems management projects are eligible for two-thirds total assistance.

15 years ago: This year's Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs will be remembered as the time the Fort McMurray Oil Barons exorcised the playoff demons of the past to win the Doyle Cup.

The Oil Barons swept the Olds Grizzlies aside in four games with relative ease. One demon exorcised.

Next on the list was the St. Albert Saints. Not a problem for the Barons who were now on a roll with six playoff wins in a row. Demon number two exorcised

5 years ago: One tank collapsed and killed two Chinese workers on April 24. A second collapsed on Saturday, May 19. And the Alberta Federation of Labour says a third tank is leaning heavily and is on the verge of collapse.

The federation is demanding the province suspend the contract of a Chinese firm erecting huge oil containers at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s Horizon site 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

Occupational Health and Safety officials said no one was injured in the second incident.

Fort McMurray Today, Wed Apr 9 2012

Canadian companies that want to bring in highly skilled foreign workers temporarily will be able to do so faster and pay them less under new federal immigration rules aimed at addressing the country's persistent labour shortages.

In areas of the country that are booming economically – particularly Alberta – companies are complaining about the lack of skilled workers, a problem that Ottawa has identified as one of Canada's biggest policy challenges. Of 190,000 temporary foreign workers who entered Canada last year, 25,500 went to Alberta.? Businesses that use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which allows employers to bring in workers if they can prove they have advertised the jobs locally without success, say they are relieved that it will become less cumbersome, but critics worry the changes will lead to lower wages across the country.

Under the new rules, Ottawa promises to respond to employer requests for highly skilled workers within 10 days, instead of the 12 to 14 weeks it currently takes to get a Labour Market Opinion – a government approval that's one major step in bringing a worker into Canada.

Also, previous rules required foreign workers to receive the "average wage" paid to Canadian workers in the same region, but the new rules will allow employers to pay up to 15 per cent less than that average wage.? ?In an interview, Human Resources Minster Diane Finley said Canada's skills shortages mean there will be more temporary foreign workers coming to Canada regardless of the latest changes.?

"[Wednesday]'s announcement is going to make the system more efficient, it's going to be more effective for the employers and it's going to add protection to temporary foreign workers who are brought in while still ensuring Canadians get first crack at the jobs," she said.? ?

While the new national rules will apply only to high-skilled jobs at first, the government says it could be expanded to include other occupations.? ?Ms. Finley made the announcement in the small, industrial town of Nisku, in central Alberta, which produces infrastructure for energy producers. Labour-starved Alberta relies on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program as a key pillar of its fast-growing economy.

But although Alberta applauded the changes, the province is hoping for further changes to Canada's immigration laws, including an increase in how many people Alberta can nominate for permanent residency under the provincial nominee program – or no cap at all. Currently, it can put forward 5,000 people per year.

"We'd like to see the cap removed, but if we could get it up to 10,000 that would be very helpful," said Alberta Human Services Minister Dave Hancock, whose department includes the employment and immigration file.

"The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is not the be-all and end-all. It is a way to get workers when we need them," Mr. Hancock said, but residency is preferred. "The permanence is an important factor. ... Ideally, you want somebody who will actually come to stay."

Alberta's provincial government has also complained that a four-year cap on how long a worker can stay short-changes Canadian companies, which help develop employees' skills (and, in some cases, fluency in English or French), then are forced to kick them out. Other countries are benefiting from Canada's training, the Alberta government has argued.? ?

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business's Alberta director, Richard Truscott, applauded the changes and said the TFW program is a "godsend" for some businesses. He added that more changes are needed to cut red tape and improve the overall immigration system.? "This is one first step in that direction, but there are many more steps to go," he said, noting the labour shortage is "going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

Immigration consultant Peter Veress, the president of Calgary-based Vermax Group, also praised the move, saying a 10-day turnaround would be a big improvement.? He said the jobs are typically ones that Canadians don't want. "I don't think we can fix the [labour shortage] problem domestically," he said.

?But Nancy Furlong, secretary treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour, says it is inappropriate for the federal government to bring in policies that will force Canadians across the country to compete for less pay.? ?Ms. Furlong said the change will make it less likely that Canadians across the country will move to areas like Alberta, where there are skills shortages, because employers will opt for the foreign workers who can be paid less.?

"They're trying to drive down salaries and wages and frankly I don't think that's the job of our government to take one side, that being business, and find them ways of making money off the backs of citizens of the country by allowing them to drive wages down. I just think that's just wrong, totally wrong."?

South Asia Mail, Mon May 7 2012

The history of Alberta's labour movement will be commemorated in song on Saturday at the Red Deer Public Library.

Singer/songwriter Maria Dunn will be joined by Shannon Johnson on violin and vocals, and Sharmila Mathur on sitar and percussion. Their Piece by Piece provincial concert tour is in celebration of the Alberta Federation of Labour's centennial.

Video and live performance, story and song, will be combined at the 7:30 p.m. event to tell the history of the immigrant women who worked in an Edmonton's garment plant that was later moved to Haiti.

The concert in the library's Snell Auditorium is organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour, in conjunction with a local committee working with the Red Deer and District Labour Council on plans to commemorate the AFL's 100th anniversary.

The local group is fundraising to mount a stainless steel installation on the outer wall of the Alberta Trades and Labour Society building in downtown Red Deer.

Donations for this project are welcome. Otherwise, tickets to the concert are $10 by calling 403-391-4242.

Red Deer Advocate, Sun May 6 2012

Five years of dealing with temporary foreign workers affected Yessy Byl in a way she did not expect. There were the stories, from the more than 1,000 people she spoke with in her job as a labour advocate, of neglect and mistreatment – overtime not paid, commitments not honoured, hefty "hiring fees" deducted from weekly cheques. And yet many of them wouldn't make a formal complaint for fear they'd be fired just for speaking out.

It left her deflated and disillusioned. "My faith in this country has been badly shaken," she says. "I have to remind myself: There are some good employers."

For Ms. Byl, and many other critics, Canada's growing numbers of temporary foreign workers have raised important questions about the kind of country we are becoming, and how a nation that has long welcomed immigrants is establishing a burgeoning second class of labour, devoid of many of the rights to democratic participation and workplace choice other Canadians enjoy.

As Canadian employers struggle to address a burgeoning labour shortage, temporary foreign workers have become a pillar of the economy – there are now more than 300,000 here, triple the number a decade ago. Visiting workers once associated with harvest time in Canada's orchards and tobacco fields now turn up everywhere from fast-food chains and abattoirs to the Alberta oil sands.

Anticipating another surge in demand, the Harper government has, in the past few weeks, formalized a series of changes to speed up the program. Now able to bring in people with just 10 days notice and to pay them 15-per-cent less than a Canadian would earn, employers have responded with joy. They still must prove they can't fill a job any other way, but others see deeper significance in the trend and are holding their breath.

Howard Ramos, who studies social justice and equity at Dalhousie University, says he is "really worried that Canada as a country is beginning to move away from immigration."

If the commitment to bringing in people who are not bound to a particular job and have more rights really is being eroded, he says, the change in direction is unprecedented and will have an impact that is "bad for the long-term future of Canadian nation-building."

Ken Lewenza, national president of the CAW, agrees. He says Ottawa's new rules are "an assault not just on foreign workers. They are an assault on Canada and what we stand for."

"There's got to be a larger conversation," he says, "about whether it is right of Canada and employers to exploit workers." One CAW local discovered that 30 Thai and Mexican fish-plant workers were being housed in just two three-bedroom homes in Wheatley, Ont. But they were too frightened to speak out, worried they'd lose the ability to work in Canada.

Canada needs people

There is little question that Canada needs people. Virtually every sector of the economy is forecasting shortages: The information, communications and technology industry needs 106,000 people in the next five years. Mining needs 112,000 by 2021. Construction needs 319,000 by 2020. Alberta, with a population of 3.8 million, forecasts a need for 607,000 new workers in the next decade, and expects to fall 114,000 short.

Many experts argue that without temporary foreign workers the predicament would be even worse – that visitors enable economic growth. They already fill many of the gaps even though they are allowed to work for no more than four years, and are severely restricted in other jobs they can take if fired.

In 2008, at the height of the last boom, 190,768 such workers entered Canada. Last year, despite a one-fifth rise in national unemployment rates, the number of foreign entries did not plunge – in fact, it rose by precisely one person, to 190,769.

Experiences with temporary employees in Europe and the United States show that they can bring fundamental change, positive and negative. Germany's famed "guest workers" were instrumental in making the country an industrial powerhouse. Yet elsewhere in Europe, their presence has brought problems. In France, for example, race riots of the past decade were blamed in part on the ghettoization of overseas workers whose secondary legal and societal status fomented anger. In the U.S., too, the use of foreign workers has stoked a national debate over how to integrate needed workers into society.

Supporters of Canada's recent changes contend the changes actually protect workers. To achieve a quick decision on bringing in outsiders, a company must agree to random audits to ensure they are following the rules. If they fail, and don't correct the problem, they can be banned from bringing in more workers for two years.

"The consequences are very significant" – and being blacklisted could "make you lose a competitive advantage," says Loretta Bouwmeester, a Calgary employment and labour lawyer.

Not only are companies now conducting internal audits to make doubly sure they are following the rules, she adds, it's so expensive to find people and get them here (employers often must cover travel costs) that "there's still an incentive to look in Canada first."

Enforcement has been lax

But critics say Ottawa and the provinces have been so lax in enforcing current rules that employers no longer fear being caught for underpaying workers, charging them illegal fees or doing an insufficient job of canvassing for Canadian labour.

In an e-mail response, a representative for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada declined to confirm that more money will be spent on auditing, but did say that resources within the program will be shifted "to focus on post-application compliance."

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, says there is no question the visitors are cost-effective for those who hire them. In fact, he argues, "they're putting downward pressure on wages when all the economic indicators suggest that wages should be going up."

Anecdotal evidence, from small contractors, suggests that's already happening, as well-paid Alberta crews are having trouble competing.

But for now, at least, paycheques are still getting fatter: adjusting for inflation, wages in Alberta have risen 12 per cent since 2005, according to figures provided by ATB. Across Canada, they are up 7.5 per cent.

And in Alberta, some believe any downward pressure could actually be helpful.

"I don't think it will distort the labour market – and at very worst, the wages in oil-and- gas extraction could handle coming down a notch or two," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist for Edmonton-based ATB Financial.

Globe and Mail, Sun May 6 2012
Byline: Nathan Vanderklippe

Exploited workers, unfair wages, picket-line bravery and basic employee mistreatment were all-too common in yesterday's workplace. Today, these are often thought of as issues of a past and less-civilized time. However, this is not always the case.

The Heritage Museum is displaying a new exhibit in honour of the Alberta Federation of Labour's centennial anniversary from April 24, until the end of June, tracing the federation's history. Museum president and CEO Sylvia Larson is proud to host the exhibit. "There are stories that need to be told," said Larson. "The employment situation needed to be straightened out, so the Federation of Labour was necessary." The exhibit describes several of these stories and they are interesting tales indeed.

In 1995, Calgary's hospital laundry workers walked into a cafeteria and were met with devastating news. They were about to be fired. Just two days earlier, the workers had already been forced to accept rather sizeable pay cuts in a desperate bid to salvage their jobs, for a total of 28 per cent in wage cuts over two years. It would be of no avail. In the cafeteria that day, they were delivered the brutal truth in a cold and matter-of-fact manner.

There would be no severance packages even for those workers whom had dedicated themselves to the job for more than a decade. The stunned workers would receive nothing more than a cruel good-bye on their way out the door.

The newly formed Calgary Health Authority decided to force the old workers out, replacing them with Edmonton contractors who were more than willing to do the work for less money. They expected no ramifications for their unjust actions, after all the 90's were wrought with government cut-backs and job loss. They were sadly mistaken. The perceived 'pushovers' decided to push back – and hard.

The 120 workers at two hospital laundries, which included many immigrant women and single mothers, became unlikely heroes during a time when the Klein government commanded a five per cent rollback from most of its employees, sending many Albertans into a state of panic.

The day after the devastating news, 60 Canadian Union of Public Employees, (CUPE) laundry workers from the Foothills hospital took to the street in a wildcat strike.

The following day, 60 members of the Alberta Union of Public Employees, (AUPE) from Calgary General Hospital joined them in the illegal strike.

No one could have expected that the normally docile group's newfound outrage would set into motion the eruption of a subdued Alberta labour movement and be an inspiration to public sector workers across the country.

Wetaskiwin Times, Fri May 4 2012

RED DEER: One of Alberta's best-known folk singers is coming to Red Deer to present songs about the life of immigrant women workers in one of Alberta's longest standing manufacturing facilities.

Maria Dunn will lead a trio of performers into the Snell Auditorium at the Red Deer Public Library at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2012 as part of a province-wide tour to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Alberta Federation of Labour. The tour, which consists of 13 concerts, will wrap up in the Crowsnest Pass during its Doors Open Festival on the August long weekend.

In GWG: Piece by Piece, Maria presents stories about the immigrant women who built a new life around the work they found in Edmonton's Great West Garment plant - a plant which was bought out by Levi Strauss, and moved to Haiti in 2004 after 93 years in Alberta. Many of her songs are based on research conducted by Edmonton historian Catherine C. Cole, through which she depicts the resilience, hope and sisterhood in workplace and Union that brought these women through the challenges and hardships they faced. Appearing with Maria Dunn will be Shannon Johnson (violin, vocal) and Sharmila Mathur (sitar, percussion), both well-known artists in their own right.

This multimedia event will utilize video to introduce as well as situate songs in their historical context, with visual images of the people and the locations in which the stories occurred. In each case, Maria will add her own personal introduction before presenting the song, a combination which will make for an engaging and educational 60-minute presentation.

A Juno-nominated storyteller through song, Maria's lyrics are set to melodies inspired by Celtic and North American folk traditions. The songs she presents in this concert, as well as in "Troublemakers," the other concert on this tour, continues a tradition of labour music which has played an important part in the history of work and workers' organizations. Maria has performed at union and political gatherings, fundraisers and concerts across Alberta and Canada, as well as in other parts of the world. She writes her own material, and has worked with Ground Zero Productions, Shannon Johnson and such writers as Catherine Cole to produce the concerts that will make up the 2012 Centennial Tour. (See Maria's website at www.mariadunn.com)

The Red Deer Concert is organized in conjunction with a local union committee that is working with the Red Deer & District Labour Council on plans to commemorate the AFL Centennial by mounting a large stainless steel Labour Disc on the outer wall of the Central Alberta Trades & Labour Society (CATALS) Building in downtown Red Deer. The completed project will be unveiled in a 2012 Dedication Ceremony on Labour Day, September 3, 2012.

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For more information or for tickets, call:

Karen Reay, Red Deer & District Labour Council at 403-391-4242 [email protected]

Ken Collier, Red Deer 2012 Centennial Group at 403-342-7989 [email protected]

Kirsti Tamblyn, Ground Zero Productions at 780-420-1400 [email protected]

Celebrations are underway across the province to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Alberta Federation of Labour, and Calgary trade unionists have plans to mark the Centennial by drawing attention to their city's rich and dynamic labour history.

A 2012 group of trade union and community activists attached to the Calgary & District Labour Council are launching a "Calgary Labour Walk," a project designed to provide a different perspective on the city's history by focusing on places where events of significance to working people took place.

Group leader Susan Keeley says, "While the recent elections may reinforce the idea that the Calgary area has a conservative mindset, history tells us this has long been the centre of a fight for workers' rights. It's important that Calgarian don't forget their history and how working people built the success this city now enjoys. That's why we organized this labour walk."

The group's research has uncovered fascinating stories about the achievements, losses and victories of the workers who built and maintained our city at the same time as they struggled to build a decent life for themselves and their families.

From the stonemasons who cut sandstone in the 17th Avenue Quarry for some of Calgary's grandest buildings to the municipal workers who ran the city, but also spearheaded the formation of Canada's largest union; from the skilled tradespeople who serviced locomotives in the CPR's Ogden Shops to the hospital workers who repeatedly took the government to task with demands for quality healthcare, the workers' history provides a decidedly different view of the way the City was built and maintained.

A number of the identified sites have been incorporated into a large fold-out map of Calgary with images, locations and descriptions, and thousands of copies printed. It will all be launched at 2:00 p.m. on May 5, 2012 at the CUPE 37 Hall at 5112 3 Street SE, Calgary, where transit buses have been engaged and tour guides trained to take people on a tour of the Labour Walk.

Participants are invited to come back to the CUPE Hall for an evening of food, refreshments and a labour history concert, Troublemakers: Working Albertans, 1900-1950, presented by Maria Dunn as part of a province-wide tour to celebrate the AFL Centennial through song.

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For more information contact:

Susan Keeley, Retired CUPE Representative 403-248-2472 [email protected]

Nick Lepora, CEP, VP, Calgary Labour Council 403-278-5216 [email protected]

Winston Gereluk, 2012 Centennial Coordinator, 780-483-3012 [email protected]

Union leaders in B.C. and Alberta are upset with changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program that reduces the time it takes for employers to hire skilled trades people, but the Merit Contractors Association is applauding the federal initiative.

"This is a complete sell out to employers, who want access to cheap labour" said Tom Sigurdson, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Territory Building and Construction Trades Council.

"These are vulnerable workers, many unable to speak English and unwilling to complain about unsafe workplaces and abuses to workplace rights."

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSD) Diane Finley announced on April 25 that the federal government intends to make the TFW program more responsive to skilled labour shortages.

"Our government is looking at ways to make sure businesses recruit from the domestic workforce before hiring temporary foreign workers, while also reducing the paper burden and speeding up the processing time for employers that have short-term skilled labour needs," said Finley during a tour of Advance Engineered Products Ltd.'s manufacturing facility in Nisku, Alberta.

Employers with a strong track record will receive an Accelerated-Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) within 10 business days.

If approved, it will allow them to hire temporary foreign workers in high-skill occupations, including the skilled trades.

A Labour Market Opinion (LMO) assesses the potential impact that hiring a foreign worker will have on Canada's labour market.

According to Sigurdson, the changes to the program are part of an overall employer's strategy to reduce wages by increasing the supply of cheap exploitable labour.

Sigurdson said employers are complaining that the skills shortage is hurting their ability to proceed with construction projects, but the last survey by the trades council showed unemployment at about 25 per cent for Building Trades unions.

"In B.C. today, we can supply workers for every single trade," he said.

"There is no skills shortage, instead we have a wage shortage."

Alberta union leaders agree.

"We have said all along that the TFW program was being used to drive down the wages paid to Canadian workers and the federal government confirmed this in writing," said Nancy Furlong, secretary treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL).

Furlong pointed out that changes to the TFW program include a new wage structure, which provides employers with greater downward flexibility.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) said wages that are up to 15 per cent below the average pay for an occupation will be accepted in specific regions.

Furlong argued the reduction in both wages and the processing time of temporary foreign workers will exacerbate the unemployment problem in Canada.

Sigurdson said the wage reduction will only open the door to further abuse of this vulnerable group.

In addition Sigurdson said the changes to the TFW program will have a negative impact on apprenticeship training.

"Where is the incentive to hire apprentices and invest in training when employers can get access to cheap foreign labour?" he asked.

"The government says it wants to support apprentices but instead is willing to provide the training opportunities to TFWs."

Despite these objections, Merit Alberta is very happy with the recent changes.

"While we await an examination of the specific operating rules for ALMO, we are encouraged by this and other recently announced initiatives by the federal government with respect to addressing skills shortages across the country," said Stephen Kushner, president of Merit Contractors Association in Alberta.

"This is but one component of a broad range of domestic and foreign solutions to long term human resource challenges facing our industry."

HRSDC and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) jointly administer the TFW program.

HRSDC is responsible for issuing Labour Market Opinions to employers, while CIC is responsible for issuing work permits to temporary foreign workers.

The new Accelerated-Labour Market Opinion has the following features:

a simplified, online application process;

faster and timelier processing for employers with a good history;

risk-based and random in-depth compliance reviews of employers after LMOs are issued;

enhanced automation to reduce paperwork, and improve capacity to track compliance and share information; and

call centre support for employers.

Employers will have to consent to post-LMO reviews to verify compliance with TFW program requirements.

This involves making a reasonable effort to recruit from the domestic labour force, as well as providing wages and working conditions that are consistent with Canadian standards.

Last month, CIC announced plans to reduce the work experience requirement for eligible temporary foreign workers applying to stay in the country permanently.

The proposed changes to the Canadian Experience Class will reduce the requirement to 12 months of full-time experience down from the previous 24 months.

The change would make it easier for skilled tradespersons to become permanent residents, since their work is often project-based and can be seasonal.

Journal of Commerce, Tues May 2 2012
Byline: Richard Gilbert