ALF V1

EDMONTON - The number of temporary foreign workers in Alberta doubled during the last two years of the boom to reach 57,843 - more than the population of Grande Prairie, Alta.

The new figures from Citizenship and Immigration show Alberta now has almost the same number of foreign workers as British Columbia, with 58,456 as of December 2008.

But as Canadian jobless figures rise, the fate of these workers in Alberta - mostly on two-year contracts in jobs ranging from engineers to welders and coffee-shop servers - is in question.

Even though Alberta shed 16,000 jobs in December and 5,700 in January, small businesses must continue to bring unskilled labour from overseas to staff hotels and restaurants because Canadians won't take those jobs, says Danielle Smith, Alberta director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan says it's a difficult situation, but the shrinking number of jobs in the province should be made available to Canadians first - even if that means foreign workers who lose their jobs have to leave.

Meanwhile, advocates say the workers arrive with the expectation of immigrating, and should be allowed to stay and become citizens after contributing to the economy.

Skilled oilpatch workers who suddenly find themselves unemployed won't take jobs in a downtown hotel for lower wages, Smith says.

"We've done such a great job of convincing Canadian-born students to go onto higher education and get trade training, that there's lots of jobs that are difficult to fill," she says.

The program should not be revised for a temporary downturn, says Smith, adding it's necessary to take the long view.

But McGowan says bringing in even more unskilled foreign workers during the downturn will continue to keep wages down in service and retail jobs.

"It's not that Canadians won't do those jobs; they won't do them at the wages being offered," he says.

Importing skilled workers for those jobs, meanwhile, should be curtailed, says McGowan. That means the federal government should quickly revise the list of 170 occupations defined as being in short supply - which still includes everything from petroleum engineers and welders to bakers, jewellers and barbers.

Edmonton Journal, Page A1, Thurs Feb 26 2009
Byline: Alexandra Zabjek and Sheila Pratt

The province said its oilsands strategic plan announced Thursday will benefit both industry and the environment, while sending a message to the world that Alberta's economic engine isn't going to throttle down anytime soon.

"I think it clearly sends a message to the rest of the country and the world that the oilsands are going to be developed, they're going to be developed for a long-time and they're going to be developed in an environmentally responsible way," said Lloyd Snelgrove, president of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat.

"So, the discussion isn't anymore are they going to be closed, are they going to be scaled down.

They're going to be developed."

Called Responsible Actions, the document is a 20-year strategic plan that will provide an integrated and coordinated policy approach to responsibly managing Alberta's oilsands areas (DOB, Feb. 12, 2009).

Industry reaction to the strategy was generally positive but low key.

"I see it as a roadmap. I think for us what's going to be critical is taking this roadmap and turning it into an implementation plan," said Greg Stringham, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers' (CAPP) vice-president of markets and fiscal policy, said.

"The government has already said they're going to start moving in that direction and we're anxious to sit down with them."

Stringham said the strategy addresses many of the key issues that were identified during almost two years of oilsands consultations conducted previously. However, much work remains to be done before full-scale implementation can occur.

"I think that on all of the various strategies in the report, we're going to have to sit down with (government) and say, 'How do we turn this into either policy or an action plan as we move forward," Stringham said.

"You start with a strategy, move to the objective and then you move to the implementation plan. I think that's what will occur."

One of Canada's largest oilsands producers is also taking a wait and see approach.

"At this early stage we are very supportive of having a long-term view for the industry," said Shawn Davis, Suncor Energy Inc. spokeswoman.

"We're looking forward now to sitting down with other industry members and the government to flesh out the details."

Until that process takes place, Davis said it's too early to offer effective comment on the package presented Thursday by the province.

"At this point in time it's a little difficult to comment on the details or practical applications because the report has a lot of over-arching strategies rather than specifics," she said.

"We are absolutely supportive of those over-arching strategies but it's really hard for us to say how (the strategy) is going to relate to our business, whether we're supportive or not supportive of the practical application of it, because it's just not in there at this point in time."

With some critics labeling the provincial government's newly-minted oilsands strategic plan no more than a 47-page public relations exercise with little substance, Premier Ed Stelmach was on the defensive yesterday.

"Some one said today, 'Where's the teeth?' Well this is the brains. It's laying out a long-range plan to work together in a coordinated approach so that we develop this world class resource responsibly," Stelmach told reporters in Edmonton.

"It's really a framework for a growing and greener economy."

The premier said that dialogue with industry and other stakeholders will be key to moving the strategy forward, although he offered no timelines and few details as to how and when those efforts will commence.

"This is the roadmap for the future and I'm confident that with working together with industry and all parties that have an interest in this area that we're going to manage our environmental impacts and social impacts as well," he said.

The head of an oilsands' group said industry is keen to work with government to begin discussions on how the plan will be rolled out.

"It allows us to get on with development of what is a pretty important resource," Don Thompson, president of the Oil Sands Developers Group, an industry organization, said. "We look forward to working with the government."

Stelmach was adamant that the timing of the release of the strategy had nothing to do with the pending Canadian stopover of United States President Barack Obama, who makes his first official visit to Canada on Feb. 19.

"(Work on the strategy) started two years ago and I don't think that President Obama even thought he was going to be a candidate two years ago. It's all speculation," he said.

With the strategy offering little immediate guidance, the premier was asked what the government was going to do to help bring back the industry, which because of the current market and financial crisis and low commodity prices, has seen a massive scale back of proposed projects of late.

Stelmach sidestepped the question and instead said the current downturn will allow the oilsands sector to catch its breath and prepare itself for when an economic rebound occurs.

"The oilsands operators are investing a considerable amount of money - billions - and are now taking this time during the downturn to maintain their plants and that's going to allow them to catch up," he said.

"As well, as some of the operating costs and other costs related to new development come down, we'll see the investment come back."

The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) was one of the more vocal critics of the Tory plan. It said that Premier Stelmach's promise to keep oilsands jobs in Alberta instead of shipping them down a pipeline to the U.S. seems to have been compromised.

"What this document says is that government will 'urge' and 'encourage' big energy players to diversify the industry. But what it doesn't say is that the government will actually intervene," says Gil McGowan, AFL president.

"This kind of limp language is cold comfort to the thousands of construction and energy workers who have lost their jobs over the past two months - and the thousands of others who will almost certainly meet the same fate over the next year."

McGowan said the report downgrades the government's promise to upgrade and refine more bitumen in the province to an "aspirational goal."

At the same time, the report says the government will "encourage the development of more outbound pipelines - which, up to this point, have been little more than bitumen superhighways, taking raw bitumen (and potential Alberta jobs) to refiners in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast," McGowan said.

The AFL also believes the plan seems to accept the argument - "advanced by industry groups like the CAPP" - that Alberta actually needs to ship more raw bitumen to the U.S. in order to "find a better market price."

McGowan says that by embracing this argument, the government has basically given up on its previous promises to champion value-added jobs.

"The Tories can't have it both ways. Either you believe we should create value-added jobs here or you believe that raw bitumen should be shipped to the States," McGowan said.

"This report suggests the government has sided with the big upstream energy players who want to export more raw bitumen. As a result, everything else in the report dealing with the subject of value added jobs is little more than lip service."

The recommendations will do little to slow the pace of development or improve environmental controls, said Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute, a non-profit Alberta-based group that researches environmental policy.

"It's a plan to do more planning," Dyer, the group's oilsands director, said. "It lacks specifics, timelines and accountability. There's nothing binding."

Daily Oil Bulletin, Fri Feb 13 2009
Byline: Paul Wells

When it comes to Premier Stelmach's oft-repeated promise to keep oil sands jobs in Alberta instead of shipping them down the pipeline to the U.S., his government's new oil sands plan is little more than an admission of defeat.

"What this document says is that government will 'urge' and 'encourage' big energy players to diversify the industry. But what it doesn't say is that the government will actually intervene," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"This kind of limp language is cold comfort to the thousands of construction and energy workers who have lost their jobs over the past two months - and the thousands of others who will almost certainly meet the same fate over the next year."

McGowan points out that the report downgrades the government's promise to upgrade and refine more bitumen in the province to an "aspirational goal."

At the same time, the report specifically says the government will encourage the development of more outbound pipelines - which, up to this point, have been little more than bitumen superhighways, taking raw bitumen (and potential Alberta jobs) to refiners in the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast.

The plan also seems to accept the argument - advanced by industry groups like the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) - that Alberta actually needs to ship more raw bitumen to the US in order to "find a better market price."

McGowan says that by embracing this argument, the government has basically given up on its previous promises to champion value-added jobs.

"The Tories can't have it both ways," says McGowan. "Either you believe we should create value-added jobs here or you believe that raw bitumen should be shipped to the States. This report suggests the government has sided with the big upstream energy players who want to export more raw bitumen. As a result, everything else in the report dealing with the subject of value-added jobs is little more than lip service."

 

McGowan says that, when it comes to creating more value-added jobs, the only concrete measure offered by the government is the already announced creation of a system for collecting bitumen in lieu of royalties.

"But given the global credit freeze and low international oil prices, building up a big pool of bitumen isn't going to be enough to convince anyone to build here instead of in Texas," says McGowan.

McGowan says the report also fails to recognize the changing political realities related to the oil sands - in particular the election of the Obama administration in the U.S., which is clearly serious about cleaning up the environment and reforming America's energy economy.

"Given the new political realities, it baffles me how the government could release a report that says so little about setting the bar much, much higher on environmental issues," says McGowan. "What Albertans needed was a big vision: like using the wealth generated by the oil sands to leverage our province towards a greener, more broadly based economy. But it just wasn't there."

- 30 -

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President @ 780.483-3021 (office) or 780.218-9888 (cell)

 

On June 18, 2006, Kevan Chandler went to work, as usual, as a farm worker at the local feed mill. He never made it home again that day. While cleaning out a silo, he was buried by falling grain.

Because he was a farmworker, government safety officers didn't investigate, and the employer could not be held accountable for the accident. His wife couldn't get WCB benefits, and his kids were left without a father.

This is because under Alberta law, farm workers are not covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, or any other labour law. They are denied the basic rights the rest of us take for granted.

Judge Calls for Safety Inclusion

In 2008, a fatality inquiry was called to explore the causes of Kevan's death and to examine ways to prevent similar deaths in the future. In January 2009, Judge Peter Barley released his findings.

Judge Barley states that Kevan's death could have been prevented if farm workers had been included in occupational safety legislation. He recommends changing the law:

"It is recommended that paid employees on farms should be covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, RSA 2000 Ch. O-2, with the same exemption for family members and other non-paid workers that apply to non-farm employers." (p. 7)

Join the Campaign for Farm Workers

UFCW Canada has launched a campaign to pressure the Alberta government to include farm workers in safety legislation. UFCW represents farm workers in B.C., Ontario and Manitoba, and are now extending their campaign for farm-worker rights to Alberta.

They have set up a website, and launched a letter writing campaign.

Help farm workers achieve basic safety protections. Here is what you can do:

1. Tell the Alberta government to start taking farm safety seriously by sending a quick e-mail to Premier Ed Stelmach that calls for the immediate implementation of Justice Barley's recommendations.
2. Encourage your family members, friends, co-workers and neighbours to help make a difference by joining the End the Harvest of Death campaign.

Together we can make sure that Kevan Chandler's death was not in vain.

On June 18, 2006, Kevan Chandler went to work, as usual, as a farmworker at the local feedmill. He never made it home again that day. While cleaning out a silo, he was buried by falling grain.

Because he was a farmworker, government safety officers didn't investigate, and the employer could not be held accountable for the accident. His wife couldn't get WCB benefits, and his kids were left without a father.

This is because under Alberta law, farmworkers are not covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, or any other labour law. They are denied the basic rights the rest of us take for granted.

Judge Calls for Safety Inclusion

In 2008, a fatality inquiry was called to explore the causes of Kevan's death and to examine ways to prevent similar deaths in the future. In January 2009, Judge Peter Barley released his findings.

Judge Barley states that Kevan's death could have been prevented if farmworkers had been included in occupational safety legislation. He recommends changing the law:

"It is recommended that paid employees on farms should be covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Ac, RSA 2000 Ch. O-2, with teh same exemption for family members and other non-paid workers that apply to non-farm employers." (p. 7)

Join the Campaign for Farmworkers

UFCW Canada has launched a campaign to pressure the Alberta government to include farmworkers in safety legislation. UFCW represents farmworkers in B.C., Ontario and Manitoba, and are now extending their campaign for farmworker rights to Alberta.

They have set up a website, and launched a letter writing campaign.

Help farmworkers achieve basic safety protections. Here is what you can do:

1. Tell the Alberta government to start taking farm safety seriously by sending a quick e-mail to Premier Ed Stelmach that calls for the immediate implementation of Justice Barley's recommendations.
2. Encourage your family members, friends, co-workers and neighbours to help make a difference by joining the End the Harvest of Death campaign.

Together we can make sure that Kevan Chandler's death was not in vain.

 

Read more

EDMONTON - Stephen Harper may represent an Alberta riding, but he certainly wasn't thinking of the growing number of unemployed people in his home province when he and his cabinet crafted yesterday's federal budget.

"Prime Minister Harper and his Finance Minister Jim Flaherty talked a good game about helping Canadians weather the recession that's unfolding across the country," says Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.

"But they failed to take any steps to address the fact that only about 22 percent of unemployed people in Alberta are currently eligible for EI benefits - the lowest eligibility rate in the country. Unless the eligibility rules are loosened, there are going to be a lot of unemployed Albertans who won't get the benefits they've paid for - and which they will desperately need to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table."

Under the current system, EI eligibility is calculated using a complex formula that factors in the prevailing unemployment rate in a given province: the lower the rate, the longer people have to work to qualify for benefits. As a result, an Albertan has to work 720 hours before becoming eligible for EI benefits, while people in some Maritime provinces have to work as few as 420 hours.

"The logic behind this system is supposed to be that it would be easier for an unemployed worker in a province like Alberta to find a job than someone in a province like New Brunswick," says McGowan.

"But with a recession that's clearly global in nature, it's not going to be easy to find a job anywhere. The bottom line for us is that a lost job is a lost job, no matter where it is lost. No matter where a laid-off worker is from, he's going to face the same cash crisis. That's why we're so disappointed the budget didn't end the discrimination between regions."

The problem caused by the EI system's complex eligibility rules is particularly serious for young workers, contract workers and part-timers - who have a harder time stringing enough work hours together.

McGowan says that improved eligibility rules - and increased benefit maximums - wouldn't only be good news for individual Canadians: they would also be good news for the broader economy.

"When you put money into the pockets of unemployed workers, you can be guaranteed that money will be spent right away in the communities where they live," says McGowan. "And that's exactly what our economy needs. You can't say the same thing for either tax cuts - which people may simply stash in their mattresses - or infrastructure spending - which could take months to roll out."

McGowan says he will be writing letters to both Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and NDP Leader Jack Layton, urging them to demand amendments to the federal budget that end the discrimination against workers who lose their jobs in Alberta and other western provinces.

"Both Ignatieff and Layton have said they want to work more closely with and win the trust of western voters," says McGowan. "Here's their chance."

- 30 -

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President @ 780.483-3021 (office) or 780.218-9888 (cell)

Percentage of Unemployed receiving EI Benefits, October 2008
	Number of beneficiaries receiving regular benefits October 2008	Unemployed by Province, October 2008	% Unemployed receiving regular benefits
	Seasonally adjusted
Canada	485190	1139700	42.57%
Newfoundland and Labrador	36110	34600	104.36%
Prince Edward Island	7860	9100	86.37%
Nova Scotia	27400	37200	73.66%
New Brunswick	29520	35700	82.69%
Quebec	155430	301500	51.55%
Ontario	149440	471400	31.70%
Manitoba	10490	27400	38.28%
Saskatchewan	8300	21500	38.60%
Alberta	17160	78300	21.92%
British Columbia	43480	123000	35.35%
Sources:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/081219/t081219c2-eng.htm
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-x/2008010/6100035-eng.htm

 

When the Economic Party is Over...

• Someone has to clean up the mess. The latest Labour Economic Monitor, the AFL's digest of economic statistics and analysis, is out - and this time looks at the quickly changing economy. Find out what is really happening, what is causing the rapid flux and how you and your family might be affected. Read Labour Economic Monitor ...

Hands off Our Assets!

• On January 20, Edmonton City Council will consider privatizing the Gold Bar Waste Treatment Plan by handing it over to EPCOR at a fraction of its value. EPCOR plans on using the asset to help it win bids to operate privatized utilities in other cities in North America. Edmontonians would lose public control of this valuable public asset and public accountability would be lost. Edmontonians need to make their voice heard in the next few days.

The Making of Our Movement

• As we build toward the AFL's Centennial in 2012, we want to celebrate our past victories and achievements. Last year we launched Project 2012 to create popular material to celebrate labour history in Alberta. The latest in our series of posters has just been released. It is the first poster in the "Making of Our Movement" series, and it honours the courage and struggle of the workers in the 1986 Gainers Strike. A powerful image anchors the poster, which is available free of charge from the AFL office. Framed copies are also being sold for $150. See sample of the poster ...

Fed Up With Labour Laws? Change 'Em!

• The winter 2009 issue of Union magazine came out recently, offering a look at the state of Alberta's labour laws and what we can do about them. Union is the AFL's seasonal publication of insight and analysis. The issue also examines the growing use of Temporary Foreign Workers, the possibility of "decent work", and takes a look back at a groundbreaking coal miners's strike in 1906. And remember, subscriptions are FREE! Read Union Magazine ...

Moving Forward

• Workplaces are becoming more diverse, which presents both challenges and opportunities for workers. Three of the AFL's Standing Committees are collaborating to organize a conference that is looking at diversity in the workplace. The conference will address racism, aboriginal issues, Temporary Foreign Workers, and pride and solidarity. The Conference runs February 27 & 28 at the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton.

Urgent Action

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Stop the Bloodshed in the Middle East
With over 700 Palestinians and 13 Israelis killed and the death toll mounting daily as the Gaza offensive escalates, citizens around the world are urgently demanding action to end the violence and protect civilians.

One group has launched an online petition calling for robust international action to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and take further crucial steps toward a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Join the more than 400,000 people worldwide who have signed the petition and are calling for an end to the bloodshed. Sign the petition ...

Events

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The Folly of Free Trade Agreements
The Parkland Institute is hosting a speaking event with Professor Jane Kelsey, one of New Zealand's best-known critical commentators on issues of globalisation, neo-liberalism and so-called liberalized trade. Dr. Kelsey will be talking about how working people around the world suffer the worst under free trade agreements, and how such deals embed the corporate principles of neo-liberalism.

Tuesday February 3
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
University of Alberta Campus (ETLC 1-003)
Edmonton

Did you know ...

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Temporary Foreign Workers in Alberta

In December 2007, there were 37,257 TFWs in Alberta, which would make up Alberta's 10th largest city.

There were 73,000 unemployed Albertans in the same month.

Unskilled workers now make up 1 in 4 TFWs in Alberta.

60% of food industry employers with TFWs were found by the Alberta government to be breaching the Employment Standards Code in some significant way.

CALGARY -- The big retreat from plans to expand oil sands projects has begun to show up in job losses and declines in expected corporate revenue.

Flint Energy Services Ltd. slashed between $100-million and $150-million from its 2009 revenue outlook yesterday and announced a spate of immediate layoffs, adding its name to a rapidly growing list of oil field service companies that are cutting staff and gearing down.

On Wednesday, international steel maker Evraz Group SA announced 400 layoffs across Western Canada, following industry giants Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co., which are letting go more than 2,000 people as the air rushes out of energy spending plans.

Fully $200-billion in planned developments have been deferred, delayed or cancelled in the past six months, according to a recent tally compiled by the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI).

While the prospect of reduced activity in the oil sands is now hitting home in the energy sector, the effects are expected to soon wash across the wider provincial and national economies.

The latest deferral came from western giant Suncor Energy Inc., which on Tuesday iced work on its two major projects - an upgrader and oil sands expansion - and cut its 2009 capital budget in half to $3-billion.

In the oil sands alone, capital spending plans for this year have now declined to about $13-billion from an expected $20-billion, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said yesterday. Across the industry, capital projections in 2009 have dropped by $10-billion to $40-billion as companies race to hoard cash in the face of basement oil prices.

The impact on the economy is, however, likely to be far greater than those numbers would suggest. In 2005, CERI calculated that every dollar spent on big oil projects stokes nearly $2.50 in further spending in Alberta, plus another roughly $2.50 in the rest of Canada. In other words, a $10-billion decrease in energy spending translates into about $60-billion in lost economic activity across the country.

"If this trend continues of lower oil prices and the costs of these projects do not come down proportionately, we will be seeing more and more of these cancellations and more and more of these ripples affecting the rest of the economy," said CERI president and chief executive officer Marwan Masri.

That prospect has prompted a round of gloomy reflection across the country, as the companies that supply big energy producers attempt to grasp how the sudden changes will affect them.

"It's something that we are giving a lot of thought to," said Gary Love, the chief financial officer at Toronto-based ShawCor Ltd., whose subsidiaries include the world's largest applicator of pipeline coatings.

Although the company's main focus is on supplying services for major pipelines such as TransCanada's Keystone and Enbridge's Alberta Clipper, Mr. Love is now considering what to do if oil sands cuts hurt other parts of his business in coming months.

"We can reduce shifts - these are the sorts of things that one would consider should the need be there," he said. "But we haven't seen that yet and we don't know if we will or when we will."

Those who track Alberta's needs are, however, worried. The Construction Owners Association of Alberta maintains a graph showing how many workers will be required based on plans to build projects worth $100-million or more. Last October, more than 70 projects fit that description, and the association forecast a rise in demand to about 43,000 people by the second quarter of 2010. The recent round of spending cuts has prompted it to halve that number.

"It's very sobering for us, and it certainly should be a warning flag for industry and government when it comes to planning for the future," said association spokesman Lloyd Dick. "If these projects aren't running, there's going to be significantly less demand for heavy industrial labour for the future."

Yet if there is indeed a greater storm coming, it is only beginning to make itself felt. As recently as the first week of January, a spokesman for Calgary- based Flint told reporters that his company was still feeling the pinch of 1, 000 empty positions, and the volume of existing work has kept the industry busy enough to avoid many layoffs.

"Right now there are a lot of projects still on the go, but the big question is what happens after those projects are complete, and at this point there is absolutely nothing on the horizon to replace what's currently under construction," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"We're currently in what I would describe as the afterglow of the boom. The boom itself is over, but the day of reckoning hasn't arrived yet."

The Globe and Mail, Fri Jan 23 2009
Byline: Nathan Vanderklippe

Let's Make Parliament Work - Support the New Coalition

• Stephen Harper has failed. He promised in the election to make the minority government work and to address the economic crisis. Instead, he has used the crisis to attack working people. We need a government with a stronger vision, one that will work on stimulating the economy and protect Canadians' jobs and pensions. We need to make Parliament work, and the coalition government is our best way to do that. The AFL wants to encourage all Albertans to support the coalition government. Make your voice heard! There are two ways you can support the formation of a coalition:

1. Attend Edmonton Rally - Thursday Dec. 4, 6:00 pm at City Hall - Edmontonians of all party stripes will be attending a short rally to publicly show their support for the coalition government. The AFL is encouraging Edmontonians to attend.
2. Contact your MP - No matter where you live, you can let your MP know that you support the coalition and want a government that will craft a real plan to stimulate the economy. You can send them an email in just one click!

Labour Economic Monitor (December 2008)

The May 2007 issue of Labour Economic Monitor compared a booming economy to a party, where some of the guests have a bit too much to drink and get carried away. Well, the party is over, and it's time to clean up the mess. The crash of financial markets in 2008 pushed the whole global economy into recession, and no one knows how deep or how long this downturn will be.