ALF V1

The current safety blitz under way by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is a good step in making construction sites safer, but the province's largest labour organization says a one-off isn't enough.

On Monday, Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk announced his ministry is increasing inspections of single and multi-family construction projects in Alberta, the third of three planned focused inspections for 2011.

"Throughout the province, we're beginning to see an increase in new home construction. We need to ensure safety on these job sites is a priority," said Lukaszuk. "I've said all year long that increased attention on residential construction projects was on my to-do list. Today's the day."

Given that OH&S has an office in Fort McMurray, ministry spokesman Barrie Harrison confirmed Wood Buffalo construction sites will "without question" be included in the provincewide campaign.

Last year, nearly 1,700 inspections of Alberta's residential construction sector resulted in 1,000 orders being issued. According to an OH&S statement, a lack of proper fall protection topped the list of infractions, followed by issues with hazard assessments, safeguards, and clear entrances, walkways and stairways.

Once the focused inspections and re-inspections are complete and the results are tabulated, the findings will be shared with Albertans. These will include the number of sites visited, the total number of inspections, and the number and types of orders issued, said the statement.

"Several officers will be wholly dedicated to this campaign for at least the next month," said Lukaszuk. "My message to Alberta's home builders and their contractors is that we are on our way."

However, the blitz of residential construction sites by inspectors is a welcome step in making worksites safer, but the Alberta Federation of Labour says this short, one-off campaign is not the solution to safety woes.

Employers have been warned inspectors are on their way and have been told how long the blitz will last, noted AFL president Gil McGowan.

They will make an effort to clean up their acts and follow OH&S rules for a few weeks but, once the blitz is over, they will be free to return to their dangerous ways, knowing that they are unlikely to see more inspectors until another blitz is announced.

"What is really needed to encourage permanent change in worksite practices are regular and random inspections that come without warning," he said.

"To make our workplaces safer, to save lives and prevent injuries, blitzes must also be backed up with more concrete action, including hiring more inspectors and giving them increased powers to issue on-site tickets for violations."

The AFL has released a 10-point plan to improve safety with these and other recommendations including more prosecutions of problem employers, protection for workers who blow the whistle on unsafe practices, the posting of all safety records and violations online and mandatory joint worker-employer safety committees.

"This is not rocket science, nor is it revolutionary," said McGowan. "Most of these policies are already in place in other provinces. Alberta workers deserve at least the same level of protection."

He quipped Lukaszuk has become the minister of blitzes, having already announced focused inspections this year on commercial construction sites, young workers and forklift operators. Each time, despite employers being warned in advance, the inspectors uncover lots of problems.

Just imagine what the inspectors would find if their visits weren't broadcast in advance, offered McGowan.

"The AFL has been offering the same simple advice on how to save lives and prevent injuries for many years. It is disappointing that the minister says this issue is a priority, but lacks the will to take real action to protect workers," he said.

"It seems he prefers to play politics and create a false impression for the media that something is being done."

Fort McMurray Today, Wed Sept 14 2011
Byline: Carol Christian

Since he left his native Nepal 13 years ago, Shyam Thapa Chhetri has spent his entire adult life working with his brother Shalik as domestic servants at the home of a telecom executive in Delhi, for $130 to $186 a month.

Now their employer is trying to get the brothers to come with him as he runs a major oil company in Calgary.

Asim Ghosh, the chief executive at Husky Energy Inc., has successfully gone to court to force diplomats at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi to reconsider their initial decision to refuse the Chhetris temporary work visas.

The case has shone a light into the world of temporary workers, a category of newcomers whose arrival has now outpaced permanent immigrants in Alberta, raising union fears that Canada is becoming a country of guest workers.

If the Chhetri brothers eventually get their visas, they are to come to Canada to keep Mr. Ghosh's house clean, wash and iron clothes, cut grass and shovel snow, and prepare meals in either of the Bengali, Uttar Pradeshi or southern styles of Indian cuisine.

Visa officers in Delhi were concerned that the brothers wouldn't leave Canada after their work visas expired. But a Federal Court ruling last July ordered the applications to be reviewed again.

In Canada, the Chhetris would earn 13 times more than in Delhi, though accommodation won't be included so they would have to face Calgary's housing market on $28,537 a year. (They are to be paid $13.72 an hour, with 10 weeks of paid vacation and medical and dental benefits. Alberta has an annual minimum wage of $21,492 for domestic employees.)

To justify their hiring, Mr. Ghosh obtained a labour market opinion (LMO), a federal government document certifying that no Canadian was available to fill the Chhetris' jobs.

"These guys will likely do very well for themselves. Typically, a fellow like this is looking for continuity," said Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

Mr. Kurland, who has advocated for temporary workers, said many others are not so lucky and languish in poorly paid jobs with little oversight or legal recourse.

The issue is especially topical in Alberta, home to nearly a quarter of Canada's temporary foreign workers. Nearly 43,000 of the 113,000 LMOs issued last year by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada were for Alberta.

Hiring temporary employees is supposed to be a tool of last resort, but looser federal rules have allowed employers to fast-track foreign workers into Canada, Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said.

Because Mr. Ghosh has employed the brothers for more than a decade, it is unlikely that their stay in Canada will be temporary, Mr. McGowan argued. "The federal government's Temporary Foreign Worker program has completely gone out of control," he said.

Still, Mr. Ghosh had trouble persuading consular staff to let him bring his servants to Canada.

After successfully managing Vodafone Essar Ltd., India's second-biggest telecom firm, Mr. Ghosh was named Husky chief executive in June of last year, earning an annualized salary of $1.2-million.

By October, he had obtained a favourable LMO for his two domestics. The following month, visa officers rejected the Chhetris' applications. Officers said the brothers had weak ties to Nepal and suspected that the huge salary hike would lead them to stay in Canada.

The Federal Court, however, ruled in July that the wage gap shouldn't disqualify the two men. Earning more is "the very reason for coming," Mr. Justice Donald Rennie said.

While "a yellow flag was reasonably raised" by the visa officer, the case deserves a second look, the judge ruled.

Mr. Ghosh will not comment on the case, a Husky spokeswoman said.

the Globe and Mail, Wed Sept 14 2011
Byline: Tu Thanh Ha and Carrie Tait

On August 31, 2009, Hyatt fired its entire housekeeping staff at three non-union hotels in the Boston area, replacing women who had worked at Hyatt for decades with workers from a temporary agency. Many of the fired workers report that Hyatt required that they train their replacements. Their replacements now earn minimum wage and clean as many as 30 rooms a day. Few if any of the subcontracted workers receive health insurance.

The story of the "Hyatt 100" represents just one dramatic example of how Hyatt's aggressive use of subcontractors is destroying good jobs. Using subcontractors allows Hyatt to pay housekeepers poverty wages while evading legal liability for unsafe working conditions or hiring undocumented workers. In Indianapolis, San Antonio and many other cities, Hyatt has continued to expand the use of subcontractors.

In response, unionized Hyatt workers have been in a protracted contract fight with Hyatt, taking action and even striking to curb the company's ability to outsource jobs.

See a profile of Hyatt's use of subcontractors in the Huffington Post: "Poor and Poorer: As Hotels Outsource Jobs, Workers Lose Hold On Living Wage."

Read more about the campaign to Bring Back the Hyatt 100.

Jewish clergy nationwide have done an investigation and issued a full report on the problem of outsourcing and other Hyatt abuses: Open the Gates of Justice: A Clergy Report on Working Conditions at Hyatt Hotels.

Hyatt Outsourcing and Health and Safety Violations

To date, OSHA or its state counterparts have issued 3 citations against two of the Hyatt's housekeeping subcontractors at two hotels, alleging violations of safety regulations that protect housekeepers and other employees. The agencies have proposed fines of more than $50,000 for Hyatt's subcontractors.

hotelworkersrising.org, Wed Sept 14 2011

Gary Mar has a $660-million question to answer if he wants to become Premier of Alberta, says the province's largest labour group.

"That's how much money Mar will be giving away to wealthy corporations if he follows through on his plan to cut corporate taxes again," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, which represents 145,000 workers. "The question he should answer now is: How will he make up a shortfall in revenue of two-thirds of a billion dollars?"

Mar, the frontrunner in the race to become leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives and Premier of the province, yesterday revealed a policy that includes a further two-per-cent cut in corporate tax rates. In recent years, the province has cut the tax rate by one third to 10 per cent from 15 per cent.

"Albertans need to know how he will make up that shortfall - what cuts he would make to vital public services in order to make this overly generous gift to his corporate pals. Our health-care and education systems are already straining from the pressure of inadequate and unstable funding. Mar was a cabinet minister in the Klein era. Are we heading back to the hugely unpopular Klein-style cuts," asks McGowan.

"There is absolutely no reason to cut corporate taxes again. These tax cuts don't create new investment and they aren't needed - the evidence is undeniable," says McGowan.

Yesterday, the RBC Economics Provincial Outlook report said Alberta's economy is set to grow by 3.7 per cent in 2011 and 3.9 per cent in 2012, fuelled by investment in the energy sector. Oil and gas producers are set to spend more than $24 billion this year, an 18-per-cent increase over 2010. According to the Alberta government, per-capita investment in the province in 2010 was almost twice the national average at $18,930, with a total of $70 billion invested "due to the economic recovery and higher energy prices." Last month, it listed nearly $186 billion in major projects under way in the province.

"Alberta is awash in investments because the world wants our natural resources. Throwing money at corporations isn't going to make them invest any more. It's just going to lead to the province's cupboards being bare when it comes to paying for services."

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MEDIA CONTACT: Gil McGowan, AFL president, 780-218-9888

A blitz of residential construction sites by inspectors is a welcome step in making worksites safer, but this short, one-off campaign is not the solution to safety woes, says the province's largest labour organization.

"Employers have been warned inspectors are on their way and have been told how long the blitz will last. They will make an effort to clean up their acts and follow Occupational Health and Safety rules for a few weeks but, once the blitz is over, they will be free to return to their dangerous ways, knowing that they are unlikely to see more inspectors until another blitz is announced," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, which represents 145,000 workers.

"What is really needed to encourage permanent change in worksite practices are regular and random inspections that come without warning," says McGowan. "To make our workplaces safer – to save lives and prevent injuries – blitzes must also be backed up with more concrete action, including hiring more inspectors and giving them increased powers to issue on-site tickets for violations."

The AFL has released a 10-point plan to improve safety with these and other recommendations including more prosecutions of problem employers, protection for workers who blow the whistle on unsafe practices, the posting of all safety records and violations online and mandatory joint worker-employer safety committees.

"This is not rocket science, nor is it revolutionary. Most of these policies are already in place in other provinces. Alberta workers deserve at least the same level of protection," says McGowan.

"Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk has become the minister of blitzes, having already announced focused inspections this year on commercial construction sites, young workers and forklift operators. Each time, despite employers being warned in advance, the inspectors uncover lots of problems.

Just imagine what the inspectors would find if their visits weren't broadcast in advance," says McGowan.

"The AFL has been offering the same simple advice on how to save lives and prevent injuries for many years. It is disappointing that the minister says this issue is a priority, but lacks the will to take real action to protect workers. It seems he prefers to play politics and create a false impression for the media that something is being done."

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MEDIA CONTACT: Gil McGowan, AFL president, 780-218-9888

EDMONTON — The minister in charge of worker safety launched a month-long inspection blitz Monday, focusing on the province's booming residential construction industry.

This is the third and final inspection campaign this year from Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, who earlier targeted workplaces that employ young people and workplaces that use forklifts.

"We put the industry on notice. We let them know that we perceive them to be problematic," Lukaszuk said.

But critics question the timing of Lukaszuk's announcement, saying he shouldn't have warned employers ahead of time.

"They'll keep their noses clean for the next month or two and then go back to business as usual," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. "And business as usual means that an unacceptably high number of construction workers will continue to be put at risk."

Last year, Occupational Health and Safety officers conducted nearly 1,700 inspections in the residential construction sector and issued 1,000 orders. The most common infraction was a lack of proper fall protection, which can include guardrails or harnesses, followed by issues with hazard assessments, safeguards and clear entrances, walkways and stairways.

Bob Barnetson, a professor of labour relations at Athabasca University, said the numbers suggest a pervasive problem.

"If more than half of employers aren't complying in a very small number of inspections, I think that's good evidence of widespread non-compliance," he said, adding that there is no financial incentive for employers to ensure worker safety and little disincentive if they don't.

"There's not very much chance of them getting caught violating the law. And if they do get caught, there's basically no chance there's going to be any sort of penalty."

McGowan attributed the "abysmal" condition of residential construction sites to a hot economy, which has increased demand for housing while at the same time drawing experienced workers to the more lucrative commercial and industrial construction industry. He said if the province really wanted to improve conditions, it would conduct inspections more frequently and without warning.

Lukaszuk shot down the criticisms, saying "the warning is always out."

"You should not be safe because I'm sending officers out to catch you. You should be safe because you want to come home at the end of the night to your family and you don't want your workers to get hurt," he said.

Lukaszuk also announced Monday that he has ordered a draft of legislation that would allow occupational health and safety officers to ticket workers and fine employers on the spot. He also said a smartphone app is in development that would let anyone anonymously submit a photo and location of a safety violation. He also dismissed McGowan's call for whistleblower legislation that would protect the identities of employees who report violations at their workplaces.

"If everyone can report on anyone anonymously and all complaints are looked into, I don't know what is left out," Lukaszuk said.

Barnetson said the government's real test will be what action it takes after the blitz is over.

"Charitably, this is a warning to the industry to do something. Uncharitably, this is a PR stunt by the government," he said.

The Alberta chapter of the Canadian Home Builders' Association, which represents the province's residential construction industry, did not respond to request for comment Monday.

Edmonton Journal, Mon Sept 12 2011
Byline: Nicki Thomas

Occupational health and safety officers will be targeting Alberta residential construction sites in a month-long inspection blitz to make sure workers and employers are following workplace safety rules.

"There is a very good likelihood that one of our officers will be attending your job site, and be prepared and be aware of the fact that we are watching out and that we want you to comply with the regulations of occupational health and safety," Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk said Monday.

Lukaszuk said the results of the month-long inspection blitz will be released to the public. Officers have also been told to file their orders with developers and site owners, as well as contractors and subcontractors.

"There is no excuse of not knowing what your subcontractors are doing on your job," Lukaszuk said. "At the end of the day, the responsibility flows all the way to the top."

Officials in Lukaszuk's ministry have started drafting new legislation which will allow officers to ticket workers and fine employers on the spot for safety violations. Currently, officers secure job sites and issue orders or stop work orders when infractions are found.

The Alberta Federation of Labour called the blitz a welcome step but said more needs to be done. Warning employers about the inspection blitz makes it easy for them to temporarily clean-up their act, said AFL President Gil McGowan

"The last thing he should be doing is what he did today ... because that's basically telling the employers to clean up for now and then you can go back to business as usual," McGowan said.

Last month, a CBC News investigation found a number of construction workers working without safety harnesses on the roofs of houses.

Labour groups and independent safety consultants believe workers, and their employers, ignore safety laws because they have no fear of being caught.

According to the province, almost 1700 inspections of residential worksites led officers to issue more than 1,000 safety orders in 2010. A lack of proper fall protection was the primary infraction cited by inspectors.

CBC News, Mon Sept 12 2011

EDMONTON - Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk has stepped up his push to get permanent status for temporary foreign workers in Alberta after hearing of recent cases of abuse of some Filipina women.

These women were told they could gain permanent status if they had babies here — a false statement — and a handful were impregnated, Lukaszuk said.

Now their lives are complicated — pregnancy will soon force them to leave their jobs and accommodations. At that point, they have to leave Alberta and face going back home with their babies, he said.

The cases were brought to him by Women Changing Together, an organization that helps immigrant women, Lukaszuk said Friday.

"I wasn't surprised, having dealt with many cases of abuse as an MLA, but I was heartbroken," Lukaszuk said. "Over and over again, we see evidence that the prolonged use of temporary foreign workers is not a good thing."

On Friday, Lukaszuk sent a second letter to federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney reiterating Alberta's plea to grant permanent status to the 50,000-plus temporary workers currently in the province.

He also sent a copy of a report by parliamentary secretary Teresa Woo-Paw that concludes the temporary program is not a long-term solution to Alberta's labour shortage and carries significant negative impacts for the communities, workers and employers.

About 75 per cent of the complaints from foreign workers for violations of labour standards were upheld, — a substantial number, Lukaszuk said.

But those complaints may only show part of the problem, as many workers fear to bring their complaints forward, he said.

"These workers have the same rights and protections as Albertans, but in a practical sense they are not as likely to exercise those rights."

Lukaszuk says he's willing to look at the Manitoba system, one suggestion in the Woo-Paw report, but he did not make a firm commitment.

"That's putting a Band-Aid on a Band-Aid," he said.

Under that system, employers have to register with the province and show a clean record on upholding labour standards before they can apply to the federal government to bring in workers.

The report also calls for some government assistance to help smaller communities with integrating large numbers of temporary workers.

Gil McGowan of the Alberta Federation of Labour says he's pleased the minister recognizes that the temporary workers program is flawed and is not the best way to meet the labour shortage.

But like some other advocacy groups, the AFL urged the province to adopt the Manitoba system because is allows the government to track where temporary foreign workers are employed, at what kinds of jobs, and with what skill levels.

That kind of data makes it easier to enforce labour standards, McGowan said.

"We particularly need tougher inspection and enforcement to prevent the widespread abuse of vulnerable TFWs that we have seen in the past," he said.

Lukaszuk said it's impossible to pinpoint exactly how many Alberta employers now bring in temporary foreign workers, since the approvals come from the federal government. "But it would be in the tens of thousands," he said.

At the height of the boom, more than 60,000 were brought in, he said.

It's also impossible to know how many workers have stayed illegally and are working underground because the province does not track when contracts expire, he said.

The pressure on the workers to find a way to stay in Alberta is immense, said Lukaszuk, especially those from Third World countries.

"You can tell people as often as you want that they are temporary but many will do anything to stay. Back home, their entire family is living a middle-class existence thanks to their job here."

Canada brings in about 170,000 temporary foreign workers each year, while about 280,000 immigrants are allowed into the country annually.

Edmonton Journal, Fri Sept 9 2011
Byline: Sheila Pratt

The Alberta government has recognized the failings of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, but has missed an opportunity to offer real solutions, says the province's largest labour organization.

"We welcome the conclusion in today's report that the TFW program is flawed and is not the answer to Alberta's labour needs," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, which represents 145,000 workers. "But they've failed to make the step from conclusions to solutions."

In the report, titled Impact of the TFW Program on the Labour Market in Alberta, MLA Teresa Woo-Paw says: "As a result of this review process, I have concluded that we cannot continue to use the TFW Program to fulfill our province's long-term labour shortages. Doing so has significant, negative impacts for the long-term growth of our economy. Although temporary foreign workers (TFWs) have a place in our economy, the TFW program is not a long-term solution to Alberta's labour market needs."

McGowan says: "Despite the government accepting this clear conclusion, it has offered no concrete solutions. In particular, we are seriously disappointed that the Employment and Immigration Minister has failed to adopt the Manitoba model for dealing with the TFW issue, which the AFL promoted in its submission to the review of the program."

The Manitoba government maintains a rigorous monitoring policy that involves registration for any employer hiring temporary foreign workers, as well as a rigorous system for monitoring brokers and recruiters.

"Unlike Alberta, the government of Manitoba knows precisely where temporary foreign workers are employed, at what kinds of jobs, and what kinds of skill levels. This makes proactive enforcement, payroll inspection, monitoring of recruiter activity, status of work permits, and the monitoring of labour market needs much easier. We particularly need tougher inspection and enforcement in order to prevent the widespread abuse of vulnerable TFWs that we have seen in the past," says McGowan.

"In his response to Woo-Paw's report, Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk said he would lobby the federal government to remove the annual caps on the number of TFWs that can be nominated for permanent immigration and to expand routes to permanent residence for low- and semi-skilled TFWs. He also said he would ask the federal government to reform the mainline immigration system," says McGowan.

"Make no mistake. We welcome these attempts to lobby the federal government, but these and the other measures adopted by the minister are not enough," he says.

"When it comes to his targets for lobbying the federal government, the minister is definitely on the right track," says McGowan. "He has many of the right targets. But here at home in Alberta, he's basically committing to the status quo. Given Woo-Paw's conclusion that the TFW program is broken, that's clearly not good enough. For example, it's not enough to simple 'continue enforcing' existing legislation. We need new and better legislation to deal with employers and brokers who abuse workers," he says.

"It is also inconsistent for the Alberta government to point out the serious flaws in the TFW program while also saying it wants to make it easier for employers to apply to bring in TFWs," says McGowan.

"What's also missing from the report is any acknowledgement that the Alberta government has played a big role in the problems that an expanded TFW program is purportedly needed to address. Employers in some areas, including construction, are having a hard time finding workers, but that's because the Alberta government has approved too many big oilsands projects at once," he says.

"We probably wouldn't even be talking about shortages and foreign workers if the government had followed the advice of former Premier Peter Lougheed and had set a more reasonable pace for development in the oilsands."

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MEDIA CONTACT: Gil McGowan, AFL president, 780-218-9888

The Harper government has quietly buried a controversial promise to ban bitumen exports to countries that are environmental laggards, as Alberta and the energy industry formalize plans to ship oilsands product to lucrative Asian markets.

One person familiar with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's surprise announcement during the 2008 federal election campaign said the pledge was simply electioneering at the time and was to be "buried and never seen again."

Alberta's energy minister Ron Liepert also wonders whether the campaign promise is even a government policy any longer, noting the issue has never been discussed with him during his two years in the portfolio.

However, a spokeswoman for federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Wednesday the government policy - designed to halt the flow of raw bitumen and jobs overseas - remains in place but is being regularly examined.

"Our 2008 platform commitment remains in effect. We continue to review on an ongoing basis," said Julie Di Mambro, press secretary to Oliver.

As criticism mounts in the United States over oilsands development - and the potential for additional shipment stateside via the Keystone XL pipeline - Canadian politicians and energy companies have increasingly been eyeing emerging markets such as China, India and Korea.

Space has already been fully booked on Enbridge Inc.'s proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline, potentially linking Alberta's oilsands to energyhungry Asia-Pacific countries.

The line would carry raw bitumen or upgraded synthetic crude 1,170 kilometres from northern Alberta to the port of Kitimat, B.C. The project remains under review by the National Energy Board and could be operational by 2016.

Di Mambro noted the federal government has referred the Northern Gateway project to a joint review panel that's consulting with Canadians.

"We await the recommendations of this panel and remain committed to ensuring that any project is environmentally sustainable," she said.

However, plans for the pipeline to ship oilsands product to the West Coast, and then by supertanker to Asia, seemingly conflict with the prime minister's three-year-old promise.

In September 2008, Harper announced during a Calgary campaign stop his government would halt the flow of oilsands products and jobs to countries with greenhouse gas emission standards weaker than Canada's.

"This is the right thing to do for our environment and our economy," Harper said at the time.

The Conservative policy - which was, at the time, to apply to bitumen exports to China - was to take effect in January 2010 and apply to new export deals and not impact existing contracts. But barely a word has been heard of it since, as billions of dollars of Asian investment flood into Canada's petroleum sector and the federal Tories continue to mend what were once threadbare relations with China. At the same time, companies on both sides of the Pacific have com-bined to pledge billions to build the Northern Gateway pipeline and premiers trumpet the need to feed Asia's insatiable energy appetite.

"That may not even be a policy of the federal government any longer," said Liepert, who notes the federal Conservatives have been very supportive of opening up Asia-Pacific markets.

"It's something that, in the two years I've been in the ministry, hasn't been mentioned to me."

Politicians in Canada point to the oilsands protests in the U.S. as more reason to build Enbridge's Northern Gateway project, increase pipeline capacity to the coast and look for new customers.

Officials with Enbridge said they've heard nothing from the Harper government about the promise and don't expect it will impede shipping oilsands product to new markets.

"It's certainly not an issue that has been raised with us," said company spokesman Paul Stanway. "It's not on our radar at the moment."

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, which has been fighting for the federal and provincial governments to keep oilsands value-added jobs in Canada, said he never expected the federal Tories to hold to their pledge.

"When the promise was made, we thought it had more to do with politics than real policy," McGowan said. "It was a reaction to the climate of the day . . . I'm not surprised to see very little is being done to see that policy becomes reality."

Calgary Herald, Thurs Sept 8 2011
Vancouver Sun, Wed Sept 7 2011
Byline: Jason Fekete