Canada’s Building Trades Unions stand with Canada’s Muslim Community, and our thoughts and prayers go to the family of the victims. Yesterday, a senseless act of hate in London, ON took the lives of innocent Canadians. We need to stand against hate and Islamophobia, and raise awareness in our communities that there is no room for hate in this country.

Canada’s Building Trades Unions mourn the loss of the 215 children found at the former Kamloops Residential School. We stand in solidarity with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation community, the survivors of residential schools, their families, and those children who did not make it home. This truth about our nation’s history is one we need to acknowledge and learn from. If you or someone you know needs help, contact the BC Indian Residential School Survivors Society for counselling support available at 1-800-721-0066, or the National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line available 24/7 at 1-866-925-4419.

Canada’s Building Trades Unions appreciated the opportunity to meet directly with Prime Minister Trudeau to discuss the challenges faced by workers in the construction industry during the pandemic and issues of importance to the over half a million members we represent. Today, we had the opportunity to discuss important measures which appeared in the Federal Budget that will help our members including reforms to Employment Insurance, investments in apprenticeship and workforce development. We were pleased with the opportunity to bring up the Skilled Trades Workforce Mobility Tax Deduction – currently in the House of Commons as Private Members Bill C-275. Making it easier for skilled trades workers to temporarily relocate for work – a necessity in the construction industry – will help to address labour

Canada’s Building Trades Unions appreciates the support of the Federal Government to invest in residential retrofits through the new Canada Greener Homes Grant. This is a positive step forward to create retrofit job opportunities in the residential sector. CBTU sees this as part of a continuum to build a retrofit economy, followed by further investments in retrofitting both the commercial and industrial sector. This will help Canada meet its climate goals and create opportunities for skilled trades workers in the residential sector to practice their craft, gain apprenticeship hours and open opportunities for those looking to get into the skilled trades. Today’s announcement demonstrates the Federal Government’s ongoing commitment to invest in our members and we look forward to continuing to work with government to

Today, President of North America’s Building Trades Unions, Sean McGarvey, and Executive Director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, Sean Strickland, released the following statement after submitting an amicus curiae brief regarding the Line 5 pipeline in United States federal court: “North America’s Building Trades Unions and Canada’s Building Trades Unions are calling for the safe and continued operation of Enbridge’s Line 5 to protect thousands of jobs on both sides of the border. Yesterday, we filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, conveying our belief that federal court is the proper venue for hearing the case between the two parties. Shutting down Line 5 will not only threaten our energy security and drive consumer prices through

Budget 2021 illustrated what many of us know – while we’re closer to the end of the pandemic, than the beginning, we still have a lot of work to do. As predicted, the Budget focused on the pandemic and what Canada needs to do for a post-COVID recovery. Canada’s Building Trades Unions were pleased to see the attention given to skilled trades workers, demonstrating the Government knows investing in our members is a key step on the path towards an economic recovery. The creation of the new Apprenticeship Service through ESDC will encourage more employers to hire and start apprentices – including additional incentives for hiring those from underrepresented groups. Investing in re-training, upskilling and just transition for workers in transforming sectors like energy, will

Today, the Special Committee on the Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States released their interim report reaffirming the importance of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline to both Canada and the US. In March, Executive Director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, Sean Strickland appeared as a witness in front of the Committee to advocate, on behalf of the over 600,000 skilled trades workers that belong to CBTU, for the continued operation of Line 5 until the Great Lakes Tunnel project is complete. Hearing the recommendations of the Committee, we were pleased that the Government of Canada is standing up for good, Canadian jobs. The recommendations demonstrate cross-party support for an issue that will affect the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Canadians, at a time

Today, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced plans to double the federal Gas Tax Fund transfer. If Bill C-25 passes, an additional $2.2 billion will flow to cities and communities, directly, across the country. Canada’s Building Trades Unions welcome today’s announcement which will inject much needed capital into municipal budgets that have been hard hit by the pandemic. This will allow municipalities to focus on building their communities – from recreation facilities to wastewater management – which will help create jobs for Canada’s skilled trades workers as we look towards our economic recovery. Recognizing, as today’s Auditor General report points out, there have been delays in federal infrastructure spending, we have lobbied the federal government to increase the flow of funds direct to municipalities. The

Today, Canada’s Building Trades Unions Executive Director, Sean Strickland, addressed the House of Commons Special Committee on the Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States to discuss the potential cancellation of the easement on Enbridge’s Line 5. “Line 5 needs to continue running, uninterrupted, until the Great Lakes Tunnel project – which will make Line 5 even safer, and boost employment in the region – is complete. If necessary, the Government of Canada should stand ready to invoke the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty to save it. Line 5 is a piece in a much larger puzzle, and we to have look at the whole picture. We need a bilateral, US-Canadian energy policy, one that includes workers,” said Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canada’s Building Trades

Today, Canada’s Building Trades Unions joined Member of Parliament Scott Duvall (Hamilton Mountain) and Member of Parliament Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie), as they announced the tabling of Private Member’s’ Bill C-275 An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act designed to improve workforce mobility for the skilled trades sector. Flexibility and mobility are common requirements of the construction workforce; employment ends when projects are complete, and construction workers often find the next available job is in another region or even another province. Workers often leave their homes and families to take on temporary contracts elsewhere. However, if their employer is not covering the costs of travel or accommodations, the financial burden on an employee may deter them from taking that job and potentially leave them