Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Brian Mason, the leader of the Alberta NDP party, is criticizing Premier-elect Alison Redford for failing to prevent 200 oilsands workers from losing their jobs to temporary foreign workers.
According to a report in The Vancouver Sun, the workers, unionized insulators at Suncor’s (TSE:SU) Firebag operation, were replaced by temporary foreign workers who are being paid less:
Mason called the practice “unacceptable” and urged Redford to use her political clout and moral authority to intervene.
“The temporary foreign workers program should not be used to steal the jobs of Albertans,” he said. “I’m calling on Premier Alison Redford to intervene to ensure that in this case and in other cases the jobs go to Albertans and Canadians first, and to temporary foreign workers second.”
According to the Alberta government website, employers wanting to hire temporary foreign workers are required to go through a specific process to bring them to Alberta. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program — a federal government program — is designed to fill short-term gaps in the labour force.
