BC Conservative bill puts local jobs on public projects at risk.

For immediate release

March 19, 2026

NEW WESTMINSTER – The BC Building Trades has launched a campaign to protect Community Benefit and Project Labour Agreements to ensure major public projects are built by local, skilled workers from British Columbia, while expanding apprenticeships, training, and providing safe working conditions and paying family sustaining wages.

In early March, the BC Conservatives introduced legislation that would ban Community Benefits and Project Labour Agreements on all public projects.

“Community Benefit Agreements and Project Labour Agreements ensure BC workers build BC infrastructure and train the next generation of trades workers. At a time when we’re facing a skilled labour shortage, major private-sector projects are choosing to sign agreements with the BC Building Trades to secure skilled labour. The BC Conservatives’ bill would move B.C. backwards, preventing public projects from signing agreements and accessing that same stable labour supply,” said Brynn Bourke, Executive Director for the BC Building Trades.

“We’ve seen what can happen when public projects are built without these agreements,” continued Bourke. “The BC Conservatives want to take us back to a time when public projects like the Canada Line were built using temporary foreign labour. On that project, foreign workers were paid less than $4 an hour.”

The BC Building Trades is calling on the BC Conservatives to stand with – not against – BC skilled trades workers and to withdraw their bill.

– 30 –

Media Contact

Jordan Reid, BC Building Trades, Director of Advocacy and Engagement

604-992-3447

Background:

The BC Building Trades represents 50,000 unionized construction workers in BC, who make up approximately 50% of the province’s non-residential construction labour workforce.

Project Labour Agreements have been successfully used for decades in BC, starting with the construction of BC Hydro’s W.A.C. Bennett Dam in 1963, under a Social Credit government.

BC Building Trades members are currently working on major CBA public projects like the Broadway Subway line and the Cowichan District Hospital Replacement project.

To date, 94% of all hours on CBA projects have been worked by British Columbians, with 81% of all hours worked by those who live within 100km of the project. 1,550+ trainees and apprentices have been employed through CBA projects and CBA projects have a 98% success rate in filling skilled trades positions on-time.

The BC Building Trades campaign website is ProtectBCJobs.ca.

The post BC Building Trades Launches Campaign to Ensure Local British Columbians Build BC appeared first on BC Building Trades.

Al Phillips, President

“LET ME BE DIRECT: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition…

Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumptions — that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security — that assumption is no longer valid.

We are no longer relying on just the strength of our values, but also on the value of our strength. We are building that strength at home.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney captured the world’s attention with his hard-hitting speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Carney’s speech was celebrated by Canadians and people around the world for stating, bluntly, that “the rules-based order” of our world is “fading”.

For Canadians, we know exactly what he’s talking about. We know that Canadian sovereignty has been threatened. We know that Canada has been hit by American tariffs aimed at damaging crucial industries and our economy as a whole. We know that there are threats of separatism coming from inside our own borders.

It is clear that forces are trying to undermine our country, and in the face of that, Prime Minister Carney has rightly pointed out that our response must be grounded in both our values and our strength, a strength that  continues to build.

Building is where BC Building Trades members must play a crucial role. For Canada to maintain and build upon its sovereignty, we must be self-sufficient. That means the dire need for major infrastructure projects at an unprecedented rate.

Here in B.C., the provincial government has created the Look West plan. Look West aims to strengthen our workforce by focusing on skilled trades training and connecting industry to training opportunities.

Look West also lays the blueprint for delivering major projects faster by streamlining permitting, reducing barriers, and eliminating regulatory duplication. The provincial government’s ambition with this plan is to leverage B.C.’s natural resources to deliver these important major projects.

With this approach, B.C. has already secured nearly half of the major projects announced by the federal government, including LNG Canada Phase 2, the Northwest Transmission Line and the Red Chris Mine Expansion.

Through the Look West plan, B.C. plans to double investment in skilled trades training by 2028 29, build major projects faster with $200 billion in investment and faster permits, and secure 35 per cent of federal defence vessel contracts.

Not only is B.C. focused on 18 major projects in the short term, Prime Minister Carney recently said the federal government plans to announce a national electrical strategy to expand the national power grid.

All of these major projects provide incredible opportunities for BC Building Trades members. These are opportunities not only to work, earn good wages, and support families, but also to build Canada. To fight for our country.

Despite the challenges we face, Canada has an incredible opportunity to become self-sufficient and a world leader in major infrastructure, and BC Building Trades members are poised to be part of that.

I know our members are ready. To ply their trade with the highest level of skill and professionalism. To band together to complete crucial projects of national significance quickly and to the highest standards of excellence. To build this country with pride.

I know BC Building Trades members are ready to fight for Canada. So, let’s do what we do best and build.

By Al Phillips,
President

The post President’s Message – Building Canada’s strength through change and by securing our sovereignty appeared first on BC Building Trades.

The post Tradetalk Spring 2026 appeared first on BC Building Trades.

IF YOU STOOD AT THE TIP of False Creek in 1981 and looked out over the water, the sight would be nearly unrecognizable compared to today.

Downtown would still be there, but key pieces of today’s iconic skyline would be missing — chief among them, a 242,000-square-foot stadium designed to hold upwards of 54,000 spectators.

In its stead, you would see industrial land lining False Creek’s north shore, foregrounding the towers of downtown.

But within two years, in June 1983, the world’s largest air-supported domed stadium would be completed. And just a day after its grand opening, BC Place would set yet another record: the largest attendance at a Canadian soccer game to that point.

More than 60,000 spectators gathered under the 42-tonne, 3,720-square-metre inflatable roof to watch the Whitecaps christen the stadium with its first home win, breaking a 1-1 tie against Seattle in the 68th minute.

Paddy Byrne remembers working in the stadium before that giant roof was inflated.

“It was wild. When we were standing at centrefield, when the original project was being constructed, that suspended roof was sagging. It was not far above our heads,” he said.

“If you went up certain areas, you couldn’t see the other side of the stadium because the sagging roof was blocking your view.”

But one weekend, as construction was nearing completion, that changed. Returning to work on a Monday, Byrne recalls seeing the inside of the stadium with an inflated roof for the first time.

“It’s a total change in what you’d been looking at the previous week,” he said.

“Suddenly, there it is, suspended, keeping the weather out, and way above your heads, now. So, it was quite the transformation.”

Byrne worked on the original construction as a glazier, focusing on installing the glass revolving doors at the stadium’s entrances.

The doors had to be revolving because of that giant, inflatable roof, he noted. The sudden rush of air out of the building, if tens of thousands of fans were to leave through the regular doors all at once, would have caused the roof to crash.

Ahead of that Whitecaps game, Byrne recalls a “massive push” to get the job done so events could go on as scheduled.

“We were working two shifts in a day on the site,” Byrne said.

“You arrived inside, worked and ate on the jobsite and you went home, slept, and did the same thing all over again the next day. And that was seven days a week before the project was finally finished.”

But Byrne said the workers were motivated to get the job done, and not just for their pride in their ability to meet a strict deadline.

“It was exhausting… but I think a lot of the guys on the jobsite took pride in the fact that they were working on a pretty special project,” Byrne said.

“At the time when it was put up, it was the largest air-supported roof in North America, and perhaps the world, and we were working on it.

That’s not to say there weren’t also material perks to those extra hours. For one, the overtime pay added up — ‘we made off like bandits,’” Byrne joked. But he also spoke highly of the meals provided to workers in a full-time restaurant set up at midfield.

“You could wander down at any point in the day and get whatever you wanted to eat. I remember one evening being ravenous and going down and getting three steaks,” he said with a laugh. “We ate great on that project. It was fantastic. One of the best jobs I ever worked on for that.”

Just shy of three decades after Byrne saw the stadium take form with its newly inflated roof, workers witnessed another transformation.

Roy Bizzutto, Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association (OPCMIA) Local 919 business manager, remembers getting a view from north Burnaby of the “huge marshmallow” being deflated.

“We were in Capitol Hill doing a slab, and watching this thing slowly coming down,” he said. “It’s kind of weird. It’s an iconic thing that every time you see Vancouver, you always see BC Place.”

For 16 months, starting after the 2010 Winter Olympics, the stadium underwent a $514-million renovation, including replacing the inflatable roof with a retractable one.

That brought workers like Luis Walz and Juan Antonio, both cement finishers with OPCMIA Local 919, to the stadium to reinforce the cement columns, which were now supporting a roof much heavier than the original construction.

During the renovation, Antonio said it was almost unrecognizable as a stadium.

“It was just a construction site, like completely a construction site,” he said.

“It’s really busy. Busy, busy, lots of people. Everywhere you look, people are working, walking, doing all kinds of things.”

Bizzutto recalls watching videos of the construction from the 1980s and noticing a whole different world compared to today’s construction sites.

“There had to be a dozen cranes sticking out of that job, the original build, and guys are walking around, no hardhats on, no shirts on,” Bizzuto said.

Walz said that was nothing like the 2010 renovation, where the general contractor was, PCL, was “very strict.”

“We had a lot, a lot of rules,” he said.

Antonio and Walz typically work on high-rise buildings, and the stadium renovation meant a different kind of job — but it was also one that sticks out because of its status as a landmark.

“It’s an iconic place, and every time you go to Vancouver, you see it. You say, ‘Oh, wow, that is nice. I worked there,’” Walz said, adding that he points out to his kids that he worked on the stadium when they’re in the area.

It wasn’t just the roof and slab that were replaced. Since the airflow in the building was no longer a concern for roof stability, as it was with the inflatable roof, the revolving doors Byrne worked on have also been replaced.

But he still sees it as a special place that carries a bit of his DNA.

And more than 40 years after that original build, he’s still getting plenty of use out of the stadium when he goes to BC Lions games. And coming from Port Coquitlam, he uses another bit of infrastructure that also got its start in the Expo ’86 era to get there.

“I just jump on the train at Coquitlam Mall there, Coquitlam Centre, and I’m downtown in 45 minutes,” he said.

“It’s fantastic. I love it.”

By Dustin Godfrey

The post Building B.C. – The BC Place Story appeared first on BC Building Trades.

It is deeply concerning that this bill was introduced just two days after representatives from the BC Building Trades met with the BC Conservative caucus. Harman Banghu, Gavin Dew, Linda Hepner and Kiel Giddens all sat across from the BC Building Trades and at no point during that meeting were labour leaders informed that legislation to ban project labour agreements was imminent. Bringing forward such a significant proposal – without transparency or good-faith dialogue – raises serious concerns about the Conservatives’ willingness to engage honestly with the workers and organizations who help build this province.

Project labour agreements and community benefit agreements are proven tools that help ensure large, complex projects are completed efficiently, safely and with a guaranteed supply of highly trained and qualified workers. They establish clear standards of wages, training and working conditions before construction begins, creating stability on worksites and help keep projects on schedule.

At a time when private industry is looking to secure the labour supply needed to build major projects and are choosing to sign PLAs with the Building Trades to do it, it is ridiculous to prevent government from locking in that same labour security through project labour agreements. PLAs are a practical tool that help guarantee the skilled workforce government projects depend on.

The BC Building Trades calls on the Conservative Party of BC to withdraw this legislation.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Layne Clark – Director of Workforce Development, BC Building Trades Council
604-908-0239

Background

Established in 1967, today the BC Building Trades represents 20 craft construction unions and more than 50,000 unionized construction workers in BC. These highly skilled workers account for approximately 50 percent of the non-residential construction labour workforce. We work with construction companies to leverage the most out of development for all stakeholders, to advance the economic prosperity of the province, to put local workers first and to ultimately build a better British Columbia.

The post BC Building Trades Slam Conservative Bill as Direct Attack on Local Workers, Fair Wages, and Safe Job Sites appeared first on BC Building Trades.

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ON A DRIZZLY WINTER MORNING in 2005, Raul Aguilar balanced on the edge of a high-rise, a suction cup gripped to the pane of glass he was lowering into place. He was 19 years old and a recent immigrant from the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. New to the work, he already felt the strain in his shoulders and the tug of glass that can catch the wind like a sail. Despite the sweat and skill the job requires, he had zero training. He got paid but had no pay stub to show employment insurance or pension deductions.

“When I finished high school, I had to get work right away,” said Aguilar. “A friend introduced me to a guy that had a glazing company. I was new in the country and didn’t know how things worked. As long I got a paycheque, I thought that was all I needed.”

Aguilar was one of thousands of construction workers in British Columbia caught in a legal sleight of hand known as “misclassification.” It’s when employers treat workers as independent businesses instead of employees, shifting the risks and costs away from the company and onto the worker. For some, it starts with an innocuous request: sign this independent subcontractor agreement, and don’t expect holiday pay or sick leave. For others, it’s an unspoken condition of getting hired at all.

“Back then I was living paycheque to paycheque. I didn’t feel like I had any other option,” said Aguilar. “I was new to the country, young, and uninformed.”

A Hidden Workforce

Aguilar’s story isn’t unusual. In fact, it’s part of a vast and largely hidden system that is not only alive and well today but has become the standard of doing business in B.C.’s construction industry. A 2022 study commissioned by the BC Building Trades estimated that thousands of construction workers in the province are misclassified as independent subcontractors.

The report’s findings are stark. Employers who misclassify workers gain a labour cost advantage of up to 20 per cent, enough to significantly underbid contracts away from legitimate companies that follow the rules. Governments lose too; the study calculated that misclassification siphons off more than $115 million in unpaid taxes and premiums every year, ballooning to over $300 million when it includes underreported income by legitimate self-employed operators.

These aren’t victimless shortcuts. They leave workers without safety nets, drain public coffers, and tilt the playing field against honest contractors. And while the numbers quantify the problem, the lived reality is best understood through people like Jake Wilson.1*

(1* Jake Wilson is a pseudonym. The individual interviewed requested to remain anonymous)

More Than Numbers

Wilson, a drywaller from Surrey, began his career as a unionized employee. But his employment changed when he began suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing the deaths of multiple children in his volunteer work as a firefighter.

“I hit the alcohol and spiraled out of control,” said Wilson.

In a vulnerable state and not caring about his future, Wilson left his union and took jobs as an independent subcontractor when he needed money to feed his addiction. He didn’t have a GST number. He didn’t supply his own tools or set his own working hours. He was paid hourly. In short, Wilson didn’t fit the federal government’s legal definition of an independent operator. “I wasn’t really a subcontractor. I was just an employee that wasn’t on the books,” said Wilson.

It took time to heal, but with help, Wilson got into counselling and sobered up. He rejoined the union and is doing well today, but says he continues to see the use and abuse of vulnerable people in the trade.

Stories like Wilson’s show the human cost of what economists politely call the “underground economy.” The term conjures up images of shady cash jobs, but the reality in construction is more bureaucratic and insidious. It’s contracts that redefine workers, invoices that cover wages, and government forms that never get filed.

A Rigged Game for Contractors

For legitimate contractors, this underground system isn’t just unfair — it’s existential.

“Unscrupulous contractors are saving 20 per cent on their operating costs when labour is a big portion of the contract. It’s not the paint supplies,” said Dan Jajic, business manager of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 38 (IUPAT DC 38). Workers’ compensation benefits, employment insurance, holiday pay, and taxes add up. And that 20 per cent is the difference between winning and losing a bid. Contractors who still play by the rules are being punished while contractors who break them are walking away with the work.

Jajic has spent years watching contractors undercut honest firms by gaming the classification system. He’s blunt about the stakes: “This is not a problem of a few contractors cheating, it’s the business model of British Columbia.”

In other words, this isn’t just a worker problem. It’s a market problem. An industry that isn’t held to account isn’t good for anyone — not the workers, not the honest contractors, not the public. That competitive distortion explains why some contractors quietly tolerate the system while others lobby for stronger enforcement. In a booming construction market like British Columbia, deadlines are tight, and margins are slim. The temptation to shave costs by reclassifying workers or hiring subcontractors who already are is strong.

This is the most evident in the finishing trades, where the rate of self-employment is 44.8 percent, the highest in construction. It’s implausible that almost half of the total workforce in these trades (drywallers, painters, wall and ceiling installers, etc.) are self-employed. What is far more likely is that contractors in these trades categorize a significant portion of their workforce as self-employed to avoid payroll costs.

The Public Pays

For the government and for taxpayers, the consequences are measured in lost revenue and rising risks. Employment insurance contributions and pension plan deductions vanish when workers are misclassified. That revenue hole has to be filled somehow, either through higher premiums for compliant employers or fewer services for the public.

The 2022 study estimated that the B.C. government loses up to $308 million annually from the combined effects of misclassification and underreporting. That’s money that could fund schools, hospitals, or infrastructure projects. Instead, it slips into the shadows.

“This is real. There are people who are collateral damage,” said Brynn Bourke, executive director of the BC Building Trades. The underground economy hurts every British Columbian. When taxes go unpaid, when WorkSafeBC premiums aren’t collected, the whole system suffers. Everyone ends up paying more and getting less.”

Bourke has been one of the loudest voices calling for a revival of the Joint Compliance Team — a multi-agency task force that operated as a pilot program in 2001. Back then, officers from Employment Standards, WorkSafeBC, Canada Revenue Agency, and Employment and Social Development Canada worked together, uncovering misclassification on nearly one in three sites they inspected.

“When these teams were checking, it effected the mindset of the industry that they believed if they are in non-compliance they could get caught. We haven’t had that sense of fear, that sense of urgency for 20 years,” said Bourke. “It wouldn’t take much to bring these teams back.”

According to Bourke, the pilot program cost around $500,000, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of millions in lost taxes and premiums to the government. “The program pays for itself. The program more than pays for itself.”

Cracks in the Foundation

Despite its size, the underground economy often hides in plain sight. Workers file invoices instead of timecards. That invisibility corrodes not only individual security but also the collective future of the industry. Apprenticeships — the lifeblood of skilled trades — become less attractive when training obligations can be dodged through misclassification. Safety standards erode when employers aren’t liable for accidents. And a culture of corner-cutting takes root.

For many workers, especially newcomers to Canada, the system feels non-negotiable. Speak up, and the job offer vanishes. Accept, and at least there’s income, however precarious. For temporary foreign workers with no path to permanent residency, the situation is even more dire.

“They’re scared,” said Aguilar, who has noticed an influx of Hispanic temporary workers coming to Canada, particularly Colombians. “They’re the people that have been approaching me the most. They’re seriously scared even just talking to me because they’re afraid if the owner even gets a hint that they’re talking to the union, the owner has the power to just wait until their contract expires and they get sent back home.”

That fear is justified. Once a work permit expires, there is nothing unions can do to prevent temporary foreign workers from being sent back to their home country. The BC Building Trades conducted a report last year on the flaws within Canada’s immigration system and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The report revealed that almost no construction workers can enter the country through permanent immigration streams.

“We had all of these workers who were coming through with temporary worker permits, and double the national average were coming into B.C. through construction,” said Bourke. “It doesn’t have to be like this. We can treat everyone who works in construction in B.C. with dignity and respect. We can guarantee a minimum level of wages that are good wages, family-supporting wages that allow people to put food on the table. We can make sure that people coming from other countries to work in construction have a meaningful path to permanent residency.”

The irony is that this shadow system flourishes at the height of a construction boom. Tower cranes crowd Metro Vancouver’s skyline, billions are poured into infrastructure projects, and demand for skilled trades is higher than ever. Yet amid the prosperity, thousands of workers find themselves pushed outside the protections that prosperity is supposed to guarantee.

Toward a Fairer System

The solutions are neither simple nor cheap, but they are clear. Enforcement, as Bourke and Jajic both argue, is key. Procurement reform ensures that unions are part of verifying labour supply, and government contracts only go to firms with proven compliance records.

Provincial and federal coordination across ministry resources will help, too. Data-sharing between agencies can make evasion harder. But as with most underground economies, culture is as important as code. Until the risks outweigh the rewards, some contractors will keep cutting costs for as long as they can get away with it.

“The real way to effect change is to have people looking,” said Jajic. “I remember employers being audited by the CRA, WorkSafe, and Employment Standards back in the day. It had an impact. The Joint Compliance Teams aren’t going to touch every worker. But if there’s that fear that you could be tagged next, that’s how you affect behaviour. Education is great, but it’s not an effective way to address this problem. It has to be boots on the ground.”

From Misclassified to Organized

It was a pair of friendly and familiar boots that set Raul Aguilar on the path from misclassified worker to joining the union, earning his Red Seal, and becoming an organizer for IUPAT DC 38. Aguilar was installing glass in a high-rise when a union organizer walking the job site recognized him.

“He was a guy I went to high school with,” said Aguilar. “He asked me how much I was getting paid, if I had any benefits. He said I was being underpaid. He set up a meeting with the business rep with the glaziers’ union. He got me a job. That changed my life.”

Aguilar’s words cut through the spreadsheets and policy briefs. Behind every statistic, people are trying to build lives as they build the province. The underground economy may save some contractors on labour costs, but the real price is paid in human insecurity, public loss, and a construction industry weakened from within.

If a province as prosperous as British Columbia can’t protect the people who raise its towers and pave its roads, the question lingers: what kind of foundation is being laid for the future?

By Tatiana Tomljanovic

The post UNDERGROUND: The real impact of the underground economy in B.C. appeared first on BC Building Trades.

I WAS PLEASED TO JOIN the Prime Minister in Edmonton earlier this fall when he announced that the first series of projects would be referred to the Major Project Office (MPO) for consideration. The MPO was created to streamline regulatory assessment to fast-track projects of national significance. British Columbia had two major projects announced on the list: LNG Canada Phase 2 and the Red Chris Mine expansion.

Brynn Bourke – Executive Director

The Prime Minister identified other projects he’s considering for B.C., including the North Coast Transmission Line, Ksi Lisims LNG, and the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project.

There’s no doubt these projects bring economic benefits to B.C. and significant opportunities for our province. But, we can only fully realize that opportunity if there are meaningful measures in place to ensure local people are hired, that workers receive good-union wages, and that apprentices have pathways to work on these projects.

I have been reflecting on the past couple of months on what happens when we don’t put guardrails on these publicly-supported projects. As I write this, Stellantis is in the news after it was announced that it is closing its Brampton, Ontario, auto assembly plant and moving 3,000 jobs to the United States. This shock comes after the company received billions from the federal government for their electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor in 2023. That deal, coincidentally, was already being criticized for the hundreds of temporary foreign workers that were tied to the project.

We don’t have to look further than our own province for examples of projects gone wrong. HD Mining, an international mining company, sought to open a longwall coal mine in Tumbler Ridge and wanted to bypass Canadian workers to bring in several hundred foreign miners. BC Building
Trades unions intervened in the case to challenge the labour market opinions issued by the federal government.

Many Tradetalk readers will also remember the Canada Line case. Dozens of workers were brought in from Latin America to operate the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). It was discovered that many of them were being paid less than $4 Cdn. to run the equipment. BC Building Trades unions intervened in that case as well and were able to secure tens of thousands of dollars in back pay for the workers.

This issue of Tradetalk looks at the real impact of the underground economy. It also explores the connection with the Temporary Foreign Worker and International Mobility programs. I felt it was timely to bring these issues forward in light of all the talk about major projects.

We have a real opportunity to make these “nation-building” projects if we build them through Project Labour Agreements, prioritize hiring local workers and require opportunities for apprentices.

When I come to a table with the government or a project proponent to talk about these issues, I carry these hard lessons from HD Mining and the Canada Line with me.

I will never forget meeting one of the Canada Line workers from Latin America and hearing his story. He told me, “Every time I use the Canada Line, I see thousands of people. They don’t know who built it. We were hidden underground in the tunnel. I did the work, and I think — this is the place they ripped me off.”

We can do better.

By Brynn Bourke,
Executive Director

The post Major projects, major opportunities, and major questions – the Executive Director’s Message appeared first on BC Building Trades.

December 9, 2025

WHEN PHIL VENOIT FIRST SET FOOT in a shipyard, he was barely out of high school.

At just 18 years old, Venoit’s work experience had been as a manager of a McDonald’s.

“I’m not going to call it a rude awakening. It was simply an awakening to an industrial-type worklife,” he said.

“The transition between working in a fast-food restaurant to finding myself working on ferry construction in a shipyard was really night and day.”

Venoit has plenty of positive things to say about his time working in fast food — it instilled a lot of valuable working skills.

But Venoit, an electrician and business manager of IBEW Local 230, has even more positive things to say about his experience building the C-class ferries in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As the BC Building Trades launches a campaign to bring ferry building back to the West Coast, Venoit is frustrated that BC Ferries is sending contracts offshore to China for four new vessels to replace C-class ferries.

Unmooring from fast food and setting his anchors in the shipyard, Venoit said, was “probably one of the best changes I could have made in my life at that time.”

“I enjoyed the work, enjoyed the pace, enjoyed the meticulous nature in which the shipbuilding occurs,” he said. “There isn’t a lot of room to make mistakes in an environment like that. Because if you do, they’re prominent, and they take time to resolve.”

A mistake is bad in any setting, and nobody feels good about having to go back and fix their own error, much less someone else coming in to fix it.

But Venoit said the stakes can get even higher in shipbuilding, and not just because you’re dealing with a vessel carrying dozens or hundreds of people over a large body of water.

A fix that might take a few minutes in a house, he said, might take closer to a day on a ship.

“Working on a vessel is more of a permanent fixture, if you will, and so requires that extra bit of time to get it perfect,” Venoit said.

He described a ferry as a “floating city,” and that means it’s got all kinds of different types of electrical infrastructure to work on.

Throughout the project, an electrician might spend some time installing lights on the car deck, as well as on the electronic systems in the bridge, kitchen, engine room, passenger areas, or fire alarm and sprinkler system.

“It’s real harmonious-type work. You’re not just doing one little aspect of life,” he said.

Lee Loftus, a retired insulator and former Business Manager with Heat and Frost Insulators Union Local 118, would see BC Ferries from the moment they laid the keel in the shipyard through to dropping the completed vessel in the water.

“It’s pretty exciting to be able to do that and watch them launch this big vessel into the water,” he said.

And it was similarly exciting to work on vessels when they were pulled into drydock for work, “being able to walk under this huge, huge vessel.”

For as complicated as shipbuilding may be, though, B.C. is more than equipped for it.

And that’s what is so disappointing for many former shipbuilders, like Venoit, and those who would like to get into the industry: seeing a province with abundant workers and expertise shipping the work overseas.

Venoit recalls asking a chief engineer for a cruise ship several decades ago, where the best tradespeople are for shipbuilding.

“He immediately stated, ‘Hands-down, Canadian electrics and mechanics,’” Venoit said.

“Design? Italian, all the way. But [when] it comes to tradespeople, electrics and mechanics, he said, Canadian hands-down, around the world.”

Loftus agreed with that assessment.

“Burrard drydock in the shipbuilding industry in Canada, actually led the way on module constructions,” he said.

“It used to be built and laid piece by piece. We were building it in module constructions and putting it into place. We led the world construction… it’s really unfortunate we abandoned that. We could and should be world leaders.”

For both, the industry’s decline began in the 1990s with a series of blows.

Venoit pointed to a 1994 report by the BC Job Protection Commissioner and described the shipbuilding industry as a three-legged stool held up by the provincial government, the federal government and the private sector.

“If one of those legs were to ever come out from under the stool, the stool would fall over,” Venoit said. “And unfortunately, right at that time, BC Ferries decided that they were going to stop supporting shipyards in B.C.”

The federal government, too, had nothing in the pipeline for B.C., having just handed a contract to Halifax, leaving the private sector the lone support for B.C.’s shipbuilding industry.

The result, he said, was “an industry that was downsizing and attempting to right-size, and almost capsized.”

Loftus said the decision by the federal government not to subsidize the shipbuilding industry impacted him directly, particularly with the coast guard’s cancelled Polar 8 icebreaker contract.

“When that fell through and got cancelled, they closed down the shipyard. I was No. 1 in the seniority list of the insulation department, I was running a crew of 20, and the next day we were laid off,” Loftus said.

“I was in my early 20s when I started working there, and I thought I’d be there for life.”

Still, BC Building Trades president Al Phillips said the province still has a strong industry — one that could scale up to meet the demand should provincial and federal governments get serious about shipbuilding on the West Coast.

Phillips’ own trade, as a pipefitter, was born in shipyards.

“We have a long history at the shipyards — grandfathers and fathers and mothers and daughters of our members have been working there for… over 100 years,” he said, pointing in particular to the shipyard run by Seaspan in North Vancouver.

Those shipyards have built 13 major vessels in the last decade, Phillips said.

“When it comes to building ferries, we absolutely have the capacity to build. Ferries are not a complex vessel. We’ve built much more complex vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy. A ferry is really just a barge with a White Spot and a toilet on it,” he said.

“It’s a bit more complex than that, obviously, when you add all of the comforts and amenities and safety requirements that you need to have a vessel that transports people and products and vehicles. But it’s not as complex as some of the other vessels.”

While there have been shipyard closures over the decades, Phillips said B.C. has no shortage of waterfront property the federal government “could easily invest” in to rebuild that infrastructure.

And that investment would bring returns to the economy, he noted.

“When you build vessels here, people spend their money on groceries and gas,” Phillips said.

BC Building Trades has been pushing for more action to that end, with both provincial and federal governments — and the public sentiment is on their side.

The trade war waged by the U.S. has only added wind to its sails.

The backlash to BC Ferries’ June announcement that it would be sending a contract to replace its C-class vessels out to China has lasted months. While politicians have been hesitant to take responsibility for intervening, the contract has, at least publicly, drawn the ire from across the political spectrum.

That includes those in the B.C. and federal governments, with Premier David Eby saying he’s “not happy” with the contract.

BC Ferries has said no Canadian companies put in a bid for the work, but two shipyard owners said the procurement, which prioritizes the lowest bidder, will often favour places like China.

“The only reason we’re buying from China is [that] it’s cheap. But what comes with that?” he asked, pointing out the lack of labour laws or human rights records with countries like China.

Phillips said it’s not too late for the government to change course on the ferry building contract, noting most contracts have some clause allowing the parties to cancel out.

He added that politicians should be receptive to the messaging around building ferries in B.C. because they’ve been preaching similar lines themselves.

“They’re telling their own internal procurement officers not to buy any water bottles in the United States, but they can buy an entire ferry from China,” Phillips said.

“It doesn’t match. The politics don’t match.”

Today, Venoit rides the ferries regularly — he was fresh off a ferry when he spoke to Tradetalk — and the ships bring back plenty of memories.

Thinking back nearly half a century, Venoit recalls the camaraderie between the workers. And he remembers the rusty colour that’s all around you, “like a blank canvas,” when the steel’s all primed and in place.

But it also brings up a feeling more akin to mourning.

“I see the last 20 years, the ferry industry, the shipbuilding industry, as collateral damage,” he said.

In that collateral damage, Venoit sees a loss of opportunity — and not just business opportunities, but opportunities for trades workers.

Venoit described an “incredible emotional upset” when he thinks about the industry today and what the province has lost. That includes an “incredible amount of intelligence that went into that whole industry, which created a whole bunch of really good tradespeople.”

“It had such an impact on my life growing up as an 18-yearold kid coming into an industry that I thought was probably going to be the last union industrial bastion in the South Island,” he said.

“And it’s essentially swept from under us, all because of political fodder.”

By Dustin Godfrey

The post The fight to build ferries in B.C. appeared first on BC Building Trades.

YOUTH ACROSS THE PROVINCE are finding new pathways to get involved in the trades, thanks in part to a new hands-on program.

The Youth Trade Sampler program, run as a partnership between the UA Piping Industry College of BC College of the BC Building Trades and the Vancouver School launched their first-ever semester-long program this September.

The program offers approved students the opportunity to earn high school credits while gaining valuable skills in the trades, says Will Schwarz, executive director of Apprenticeship and Training with the UA Piping Industry College of BC “The program is opening students’ eyes to the world of construction for skilled trades,” he adds. “It’s really giving them the opportunity to try each trade specifically and see what they like.”

The program first lays the foundation by working on students’ basic employability skills, including resume building, conflict resolution and tutoring in math and sciences, Schwarz explains. Students then move on to training in trade-specific disciplines.

Through partnerships with SkillPlan, Trowel Trades Training Association, Electrical Joint Training Committee, Heat and Frost Training Center, Finishing Trades Institute of BC and the BC Building Trades students have opportunities to try out a wide variety of skills, including but not limited to insulating, electrical work, ironwork, bricklaying, painting, piping, and sheet metal.

For piping specifically, Schwarz says there are many exciting opportunities for students. “We teach them how to thread pipe… solder and braze, as well as some of the math that’s involved in doing the takeoff’s and calculations… We also get out and do the hands-on practical training [including] getting students into the welding booth.”

Feedback has so far been quite positive, he says. “The students have been extremely happy… the seats [for the program] are very highly prized.”

Seventeen students are currently registered in the program this semester. Schwarz adds that for students who are successful in their Try-a-Trade program, the UA Piping Industry College of BC could financially support students through their first year of apprentice school training.

But launching the Youth Trade Sampler program hasn’t been without its challenges. It is currently almost entirely federally funded through the Union Training and Innovation Program, Schwarz says, adding that there has been a lack of provincial funding in recent years that has shuttered many other similar programs run out of other local schools. “This is one of the only [programs] I’ve heard of offered in this format… many of the high school programs in the past were supported by Skilled Trades BC through the province — now that funding isn’t there anymore.”

Despite these challenges, Schwarz says that getting young people connected with the trades is crucial. “As the Baby Boomers are retiring, we’ve got this wave of members that are leaving [positions that will need to be filled],” he says. “Younger generations are so important for our trade and our unions going forward.”

The BC, composed Building Trades (BCBT) Trade Ambassador program — which is made up of young members of the building trades who volunteer to visit schools across the province to talk with students, is another recent project aimed at getting youth interested in the trades.

Though the two programs are not directly linked, Schwarz says that they both provide opportunities for students to explore future career options in the industry. “The Trade Ambassador Program sheds a light on an area that [students] might not consider and provides pathways for more information… the Trade Sampler program is this big intermediary step [to help students explore those interests].”

Trade ambassadors like Nikki Pasqualini travel to high schools across Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to speak with grade 10 students about the trades, apprenticeships and the Red Seal process, and even play games to teach them more about the industry.

“I have absolutely loved the Trade Ambassador Program. It is something I really look forward to… and I think getting that word out there has been really important,” Pasqualini says.

Pasqualini, now 26 years old, has been working in sheet metal since she was a high school student herself. “I wanted to get a summer job at an ice cream shop in my city. My dad [who worked in sheet metal] had to take time off to take me there. His boss told him ‘If she doesn’t get the job, send her here, I’ll put her to work.”

From there, Pasqualini says things really took off. She started working in sheet metal during summer breaks, began her apprenticeship after graduation, and got her Red Seal at age 21.

Pasqualini says she’s happy to get the word out. “I don’t think they talk about trades enough [in high school],” she adds. “This way we get to give them a rundown of different trades that are available in [the industry] and tell them about their options… being in the trades has taught me a lot… it’s made me a much stronger person in so many ways, especially physically… and the money is definitely worth it.”

Layne Clark, director of workforce development for the BCBT and one of the leads of the Trade Ambassador program, says that the program, now in its third year, is busier than ever. “We’ve trained about 40 young people to go into high schools, last year we spoke to almost 10,000 students… doubled from the year before,” Clark adds. “We haven’t even had to do outreach to high schools, they’re just flying to us to ask for this presentation.”

When students attend the College of the BC Building Trades, Clark adds that they benefit from being directly tied in with the union. “You get employment from the union and trained by the union, so you’re never on your own. The union basically takes care of the entire life cycle of an apprentice journey.”

She says that the Trade Ambassador program, and now the new Youth Trade Sampler Program, are filling pivotal gaps in our system. “A lot of trade programs have been cut from high schools… so we’re looking at all different ways to open that door for people, whether that be the Trade Ambassador Program or whether it’s these Try-a-Trade programs.”

For high school students curious about a career in the trades or who may be interested in applying for the Youth Trades Sampler Program, Schwarz adds, “I would tell them to come in with an open mind… and try all of these programs that are available to see what really works [for them].”

By Maddi Dellplain

The post College of the BCBT connects high school students with careers in the trades appeared first on BC Building Trades.