Construction trades applaud federal budget
By NextHome Staff
March 23, 2017
March 23, 2017
(CNW) — Canada’s Building Trades Unions are pleased with the continued support the government has demonstrated for middle class families in the 2017 budget “Building a Strong Middle Class.”But the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada (PCA) — which welcomed the federal government’s budget commitments in the area of skills training — also cautioned against consistent deficit spending and increased payroll taxes.Programs supported in this budget will facilitate the inclusion of under-represented demographics in the workforce will, in turn, benefit all of Canada, the CBTU said in a statement.“Providing for the training of young people as well as those that are returning to the workforce, providing support for childcare that will allow the parents of young children to build their skills, will bring new faces onto job sites around Canada,” said Bob Blakely, the operating officer for CBTU.The ongoing commitment to infrastructure funding is fundamental to the growth of the economy and middle class jobs.
“This government continues to see the potential in using infrastructure spending to support the middle class, build more sustainable environments, and create a built environment that will last us generations into the future,” Blakely said.“We stand ready to build the Canada of tomorrow, building by building, road by road, bridge by bridge,” said Darrell Laboucan, the vice president of the Ironworkers. “Our workers are Canada, and their success is Canada’s success.”The PCA, although welcoming the commitments in skills training, cautioned against increased payroll taxes.The government’s support for skills training is focused on helping workers retrain and upgrade their skills in order to adapt to new economic realities, the PCA said in a statement. To this end, the budget provides $225 million over four years and a further $75 million per year thereafter to establish a new organization to support skills development in Canada.Further, the government is also reforming labour market transfer agreements with the jurisdictions, with funding of $1.8 billion over six years to expand Labour Market Development Agreements. In order to pay for this, the government is also increasing employment insurance (EI) premiums.“Our members welcome the government’s emphasis on training the workforce of tomorrow,” said Paul de Jong, president of PCA. “We are pleased to see the commitment to under-represented groups in (the) budget and hope that this commitment also includes the construction industry, where women and Indigenous populations have traditionally been under-represented and under-employed.“It is also our hope that the new funding announced for skills training today will be applied broadly so that all in our industry can benefit.”However, PCA also expressed concern over the plan to increase EI premiums to pay for the new skills training programming.“Our members won’t be happy that during an already difficult time they now have to pay higher payroll taxes,” de Jong said.The budget provides no new infrastructure funding, however, PCA noted, the further details on The Canada Infrastructure Bank, which will be responsible for investing $35 billion over 11 years, focusing on large, transformative projects such as regional transit plans, transportation networks, and electricity grid interconnections. The government’s goal is to have an operational Canada Infrastructure Bank in late 2017 to ensure funds can begin to be invested.“PCA welcomes the details that were provided today on The Canada Infrastructure Bank,” said de Jong. “We view the acceleration of infrastructure spending as critical to growing our economy.”Budget 2017-18 is projecting a budget deficit of $28.5 billion and no return to budgetary balance in the near future.“PCA member companies and their families have to balance their revenue with their spending. We urge the government to do the same,” concluded de Jong.The Progressive Contractors Association of Canada is the voice of progressive unionized employers in Canada’s construction industry. PCA member companies employ more than 25,000 skilled construction workers across Canada. PCA’s goal is to ensure that Canada has a fair and open construction industry, cooperative labour relations, and a robust, inclusive and highly capable workforce. PCA believes in open competition in which no sector is given artificial and unfair advantage over another on the basis of union affiliation or lack thereof. Find out more at pcac.ca/.Canada’s Building Trades Unions coordinates activities and provides resources to 15 affiliated trade unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries. In Canada, CBTU represents 500,000 skilled trades workers. Find out more at buildingtrades.ca.
“This government continues to see the potential in using infrastructure spending to support the middle class, build more sustainable environments, and create a built environment that will last us generations into the future,” Blakely said.“We stand ready to build the Canada of tomorrow, building by building, road by road, bridge by bridge,” said Darrell Laboucan, the vice president of the Ironworkers. “Our workers are Canada, and their success is Canada’s success.”The PCA, although welcoming the commitments in skills training, cautioned against increased payroll taxes.The government’s support for skills training is focused on helping workers retrain and upgrade their skills in order to adapt to new economic realities, the PCA said in a statement. To this end, the budget provides $225 million over four years and a further $75 million per year thereafter to establish a new organization to support skills development in Canada.Further, the government is also reforming labour market transfer agreements with the jurisdictions, with funding of $1.8 billion over six years to expand Labour Market Development Agreements. In order to pay for this, the government is also increasing employment insurance (EI) premiums.“Our members welcome the government’s emphasis on training the workforce of tomorrow,” said Paul de Jong, president of PCA. “We are pleased to see the commitment to under-represented groups in (the) budget and hope that this commitment also includes the construction industry, where women and Indigenous populations have traditionally been under-represented and under-employed.“It is also our hope that the new funding announced for skills training today will be applied broadly so that all in our industry can benefit.”However, PCA also expressed concern over the plan to increase EI premiums to pay for the new skills training programming.“Our members won’t be happy that during an already difficult time they now have to pay higher payroll taxes,” de Jong said.The budget provides no new infrastructure funding, however, PCA noted, the further details on The Canada Infrastructure Bank, which will be responsible for investing $35 billion over 11 years, focusing on large, transformative projects such as regional transit plans, transportation networks, and electricity grid interconnections. The government’s goal is to have an operational Canada Infrastructure Bank in late 2017 to ensure funds can begin to be invested.“PCA welcomes the details that were provided today on The Canada Infrastructure Bank,” said de Jong. “We view the acceleration of infrastructure spending as critical to growing our economy.”Budget 2017-18 is projecting a budget deficit of $28.5 billion and no return to budgetary balance in the near future.“PCA member companies and their families have to balance their revenue with their spending. We urge the government to do the same,” concluded de Jong.The Progressive Contractors Association of Canada is the voice of progressive unionized employers in Canada’s construction industry. PCA member companies employ more than 25,000 skilled construction workers across Canada. PCA’s goal is to ensure that Canada has a fair and open construction industry, cooperative labour relations, and a robust, inclusive and highly capable workforce. PCA believes in open competition in which no sector is given artificial and unfair advantage over another on the basis of union affiliation or lack thereof. Find out more at pcac.ca/.Canada’s Building Trades Unions coordinates activities and provides resources to 15 affiliated trade unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries. In Canada, CBTU represents 500,000 skilled trades workers. Find out more at buildingtrades.ca.