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Chinese miners dispute back before Federal Court
VANCOUVER/CKNW (AM980)
Liza Yuzda | Email news tips to liza@cknw.com
12/12/2012

Lawyers are back in court today fighting over whether foreign workers can be employed by a northern BC mine under the federal temporary foreign worker program.


17 workers have already arrived from China to work at the Tumbler Ridge project.


60 more are expected to arrive sometime over the next week.


Union lawyers are asking for an injunction to prevent any more Chinese workers from coming over.


Before court began, Jim Sinclair with the BC Federation of Labour, said documents ordered released by the court last week show HD Minings long term plan for using foreign workers is anything but temporary.

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  1. insite posted on 12/12/2012 11:11 AM
    A later broadcast says that the transition of temporary chinese workers will be phased in over a 14-year period and the first Canadian worker will begin working at the mine in 4 years.

    So, now we have a new definition of "TEMPORARY" as : "NOT LESS THAN 4 YEARS AND NOT MORE THAN 14 YEARS!"

    SOUNDS LIKE AN OXY-MORON TO ME. By then, all the coal will have been mined!

    I'm waiting for the next spin.
    1. TonyB_0924 posted on 12/12/2012 11:26 AM
      @insite And to think a temporary foreign workers permit used to be 6 month hence the word temporary
  2. ChrisM_18 posted on 12/12/2012 11:25 AM
    Where is the BC government in this ? If Christy and Co continue to have a "family friendly " policy , how can they stand by and let HD Minings do an end run around our regulations to get their Chinese miners into BC .
    Its perhaps the first time for me - but I fully support Jim Sinclair and the union efforts to expose the BS here and block the Chinese miners
    1. Ken280 posted on 12/12/2012 11:54 AM
      @ChrisM_18 wow! ChrisM are you sick today?you support Jim Sinclair and the union efforts, Holy of all Holies! I am lost for words. A right winger saying something good for a change and now what would you be saying if their were no unions to protest? They are doing the business that our governments should be doing that is protecting Canadians, no matter what but the anti-union busting people would rather see our future dive to the bottom than see workers make decent wages.I do not know if I want to laugh or cry at your hypocrisy, Chris you fight and comment all the time against anyone that is pissed off at these Governments.Now for some reason you see the light and where will this all stop all you right wingers should wake up and use your energy here to fight this crap all the time!
    2. RoseH_1028 posted on 12/12/2012 01:46 PM
      @ChrisM_18 Chris, you can block the Chinese miners but there will be no underground mining. There are none or not enough trained underground miners in Canada to do this. It apparently takes 4 to 5 years to train the lead people.
    show more replies
  3. CosmicS posted on 12/12/2012 11:42 AM
    This is all part of Christy Clark's :Job Plan" and to win over all female voters! I don't think its working....
    1. TeriR posted on 12/12/2012 01:37 PM
      @CosmicS @Ken280:

      Quick questions for you: How many longwall mining operations exist in Canada?

      Answer: None, zero.

      There have never been any longwall mining operations in Canada, this is a first.

      So, where are all the experienced workers going to come from? The union and BCFED's suggest that there are ample persons able to work this job site. Where did they get training?

      This is a highly political play by both the BCFEDS who have openly admitted to being in chats with the NDP about how they want the province run and the unions.

      On the other hand, you have the residents and businesses of Tumbler Ridge that are standing behind the Chinese workers. they don't want to see this job go sideways because of union and political intereference. As one resident stated, for every one Chinese workers, there are 4 - 5 Cnds employed in offshoot businesses.

      The businesses are banning together to fight the union intereference.
    show more replies
  4. MichaelD_10 posted on 12/12/2012 02:38 PM
    Ken your never lost for words, it's just too bad they don't make sense.
    Dumbing politics down to left and right is something I expect from the media. Fiscally I'm right but when it comes to women's issues I'm left. With regard to the Chinese miners if we need them to sell our coal then I'm all for them. Most of the young people I know wouldn't work underground. Canadian are so rich they think the government should look after them, but they won't even pay their own politicians. Who do you think politicians work for? They work for the people that pay for their election campains
  5. Ken280 posted on 12/12/2012 02:56 PM
    Jody Shimkus, Vice President I have yet to hear one of you defenders of Christy Clark, tell the story of this woman working with CC&C and now with the Chinese, just might be in a conflict of interest!
  6. TeriR posted on 12/13/2012 10:42 AM
    Here is a quick fact on how well the NDP managed resoruces during their term:

    The Mining Association of BC described it as a “lost decade” (MABC Report Newsmagazine, 18 Dec 00). In the 1990s, NDP intentionally, and against the urging of the mining industry, implemented policies that decimated exploration, investment and drove jobs and capital elsewhere in Canada and internationally.

    British Columbia under the NDP was considered “one of the most hostile jurisdictions in the world” (The Province, 20 Dec 00) for mining. Mining capital fled to other provinces and countries, despite our experienced workforce and rich history of mineral extraction.

    And when the capital leaves, so do the jobs. Almost 40 per cent of British Columbia’s mining workforce was thrown out of their jobs thanks to NDP policy: 12,587 mining jobs when the NDP took office in 1991 shrank to 7,990 jobs in 2001 (Source PriceWaterhouseCoopers Annual Mining Report, 2000).
    1. insite posted on 12/13/2012 09:51 PM
      @TeriR I wouldn't necessarily refer to this post as facts. Consider the referenced sources. According to my research, BC, under the NDP, created 371,000 jobs in the 1990's decade. Compare that with the 351,000 jobs created in the 2000's decade under the Liberals. Altough 1,000,000 jobs are expected in the next decade according to Christy's Job Plan, 676,000 are replacement jobs due to workers retiring and dying. That leaves only 325,000 NEW jobs.

      My figures for the 1990 and 2000 decades are based on the Can Stats LFS (Labour force Survey) and are consistent with research done by the BC Business Council. Our results are consistent because we did not use a studypaid for by a special interest group.

      Both Jock Finlayson of BCBC and I agreed that the world economy, commodity demand and prices, interest rates, foreign exchange, etc. have more to do with the state of the BC economy than the kind of government in power. Let's not close our eyes. If demand for our resources fall, there will be fewer jobs. Demand explains why fewr forestry jobs are available. Next year, if demand for lumber increases as expected , there will be more jobs in forestry. Nothing to do with the government.

      It is amazing that governments pat themselves on the back when the BC economy is lifted by outside economic forces. If a government is so good, it should be able to recession-proof the BC economy and still balance the budget instead of running 4 deficits in a row. .And now, we lose our credit rating.

      And, wait until we get 3x the current BC price for natural gas by exporting LNG. Then, we will also pay 3x as much to heat our homes.

      But, also consider that by the time, we begin LNG exports, China will be fracking natural gas and exploiting its vast resources as well. There may be a glut of natural gas in the world at some time and the price of LNG may fall-making LNG exports uneconomical.

      I'm for debate based on facts.. The devil is in the details-not in the Headlines. I expect more from these posts.
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