They just didn`t want to pay a decent wage to an experienced Canadian....how sad is that? Probably paying $10.25/hr to the Chinese workers. What a disgusting company!!!

I meant to say I don't think the conservatives told the truth or they've allowed the chinese company to have this much infuence either way there is something not right here.

There are 5 million coal miners in China and 20,000 die each year...HD Mining should invest their money where their preferred employees will be.

The whole story has yet to be told. The qualifications and experience of the rejected Canadian applicants now have to be compared with that of the 16 temporary Chinese workers who were brought in and now returned home.

However, it is doubtful that HD Mining will release the resumes of the now-returned 16 temporary Chinese workers for an independent comparison.

The blame for this fiasco cannot be placed on the Federal Foreign Worker program entirely. The coal mines were announced the premier as part of the BC Jobs Plan.

Firstly, the province has the responsibility to ensure that qualified Canadians are trined and have first dibs at the available jobs in those coal mines.

Secondly, regardless of whether the hired workers are Canadian or foreign, the going hourly rate must be paid. There have been allegations that the foreign workers are being paid substantially less than the going rate.The appropriate BC ministry must take the lead role to investigate these allegations..

If our employment standards do not address the requirement to pay the same wages to Canadians and foreign workers, it is time to do so. The wages of no Canadian, including a union worker, deserve to be undercut by a foreign worker in order to make coal extraction economically viable in this province.

We are told that oil/natural gas exploration, extraction and processing will produce thousands of highly-paid skilled jobs in this province. If coal extraction cannot justify paying going rates, the industry should find higher-grade coal. Otherwise, leave it in the ground as the price is sure to increase such that higher wages will be justified.

Why don't you ask risky Clark because her motto is BC Family's First.

None of this would have been expose had it not been for the Unions! Let's not foget this.
So much for what health and safety standards would have been ignored and lives possibly lost. Scarey actually what our governments are allowing to happen to workers and their rights.
Shame on them!

The Federal government was defending the "right" of HD Mining to do this instead of defending the right of qualified Canadian workers to be employed in a Canadian resource industry. How disgusting is that? In some countries the Chinese company would have a clause allowing them to sue the country if they are not allowed to do this. Usually those countries are impoverished third world countries with tin-pot dictators.