Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

Seafarers Union Expands Court Fight Over Temporary Foreign Workers Program

The Canadian Press, 16 Sep, 2015 01:21 PM
    OTTAWA — The union representing civilian sailors is expanding its legal fight over the temporary foreign workers program, naming two federal cabinet ministers in two additional lawsuits filed in the Federal Court.
     
    A week ago, the Seafarers International Union of Canada asked a judge in Vancouver to review the temporary worker permits granted to foreign sailors on international ships that operated in Canadian waters this summer.
     
    In its initial legal salvo, the union filed 16 applications for judicial reviews of the cases of individual sailors.
     
    The new cases, filed late Tuesday, single out Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney.
     
    The union says it has written to both ministers and has not received any response. It is targeting Immigration Canada because the policy on temporary foreign workers rests with that department.
     
    Canada Border Services Agency, which issues the permits, falls under Public Safety.
     
    The head of the union claims the Harper government continues to misuse its authority in granting temporary foreign work permits to crew members from other countries.
     
    "Qualified Canadian maritime workers have lost more than two thousand jobs," said Seafarers union president Jim Given, in a statement. "They have been replaced by temporary foreign workers earning just $2 an hour."
     
    Employment contracts for crew members on foreign tankers, obtained last week by The Canadian Press, show they are required to work a minimum of 48 hours a week before overtime kicks in, and that the rate varies between $2 and $8 per hour.
     
    By law, foreign-flagged ships can operate between ports in Canadian coastal water as long as they use domestic crews, but the union says the federal government has increasingly given shipping companies a free pass.
     
    Canada's controversial temporary foreign workers program was given a facelift earlier this year. The program mandates labour market assessments that demonstrate no Canadians were available to take the jobs.
     
    To get around the labour assessment, the government grants a waiver claiming, among others things, that there is significant economic benefit to Canada.
     
    The first round of court challenges involved the Cypriot-flagged tanker Sparto, which operated between Canadian ports on the East Coast in August. The latest filings are journeys taken by Greek tanker Amalthea, which transported oil on the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Atlantic Canada in August, and the New England, a chemical tanker that sailed in the Maritimes last week.
     
    The union estimates that roughly 4,000 temporary foreign work permits have been issued by the federal government for domestic shipping despite an unemployment rate of 25 per cent among Canadian maritime workers.
     
    Immigration Canada declined comment when the first court action was filed, and no one was immediately available to talk about the latest development.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau Says Quebecor Shares Put In Trust

    Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau says he is placing his controlling shares of Quebecor Inc. into a trust administered by a well-known financier.

    Parti Quebecois Leader Pierre Karl Peladeau Says Quebecor Shares Put In Trust

    Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickup Trucks To Fix Airbag, Steering Problems

    Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickup Trucks To Fix Airbag, Steering Problems
     Fiat Chrysler is recalling more than 250,000 trucks sold in Canada to deal with problems that may affect driver-side airbag deployment and steering in Ram pickups and Chassis Cabs.

    Fiat Chrysler Recalls Ram Pickup Trucks To Fix Airbag, Steering Problems

    Appeal Court Tosses Out Constitutionality Challenge Over Health Care

    Darcy Allen, who is from Okotoks, Alta., had argued unsuccessfully in Court of Queen's Bench that the Alberta government's monopoly on health care was unconstitutional.

    Appeal Court Tosses Out Constitutionality Challenge Over Health Care

    Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Completed

    Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Completed
    New Brunswick's Justice Department says a jury has been chosen for the trial of Dennis Oland on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his father, high-profile businessman Richard Oland.

    Jury Selection In Dennis Oland's Second-degree Murder Trial Completed

    Lululemon Posts Us$47.7 Million Q2 Profit, Revenue Up 16%, Direct Sales Rise

    The Vancouver-based fashion retailer's net income, reported in U.S. currency, amounted to 34 cents per share.

    Lululemon Posts Us$47.7 Million Q2 Profit, Revenue Up 16%, Direct Sales Rise

    Constitutional Challenge Of Pipeline Hearing Rules Won't Proceed

    Constitutional Challenge Of Pipeline Hearing Rules Won't Proceed
    VANCOUVER — The National Energy Board has the right to limit evidence or exclude participants from the Kinder Morgan pipeline hearing, or any other hearing it conducts.

    Constitutional Challenge Of Pipeline Hearing Rules Won't Proceed