School project’s local hire ratio questioned
A questionable local-to-Outsider hiring ratio was discussed, yet again, Monday afternoon in the legislature.
A questionable local-to-Outsider hiring ratio was discussed, yet again, Monday afternoon in the legislature.
According to NDP MLA Lois Moorcroft, many Outside subcontractors at the F.H. Collins Secondary School build site are using an extensive amount of fly-in/fly-out labour. This is apparently the case for the work done on the school’s exterior, dry walling, structural steel, fire installation, windows and most of the welding.
“In a declining Yukon economy, they are claiming that F.H. Collins has been a large contributor to the local economy with local employees,” Moorcroft said in an interview this morning. “Can he list who these local contractors are?”
During Monday’s question period, Highways and Public Works Minister Scott Kent said as of April, 26 out of the 44 subtrades active on the site are local. Additionally, there are 21 local suppliers who have contributed to the project, including Air North.
But Moorcroft suggested that Kent take a stroll through the F.H. Collins parking lot and explain the suspicious number of B.C. licence plates.
Last November, Liberal Leader Sandy Silver was also critical of the high number of Yukoners losing out on the jobs for the school’s construction.
A spokesperson for the Whitehorse and District Building Trades Council could not be reached to confirm the number of Yukoners working on the site before this afternoon’s press deadline.
Premier Darrell Pasloski said in November 2013 that the project required a $40-million bond, which local companies alone would not qualify for.
The main contract was awarded to Alberta’s Clark Builders, a company originally based in Yellowknife.
“The Yukon is also a signatory on the Agreement on Fair Trade, and this means the Yukon is open for business for all Canadians, which means that our local contractors can bid and be successful on work outside of the Yukon as well where there are often more construction dollars available,” Kent said in response to Moorcroft’s question.
Kent insisted that the project has offered a number of local benefits in spite of the opposition’s claims.
Comments (23)
Up 2 Down 0
Tory on Jun 1, 2015 at 5:57 pm
I don't think anything I stated was wrong.
Did everybody not cry when those bids came in?
Did the school not get redesigned because of this?
Did no local companies bid because they could not build the building profitably?
So yes they did lower the cost, and yes they did hire outside contractors. How is any of that incorrect?
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Tory not true on Jun 1, 2015 at 3:01 pm
The design was to expensive on the first tender and it went over budget. The school was redesigned then the cost came down.
The problem with the second design was it left out some key new technology that would increase the operating costs of the school.
If the liberals and NDP had anything on the ball, this is what they could of gone after the YP for.
They don't have it.
It was not cheaper labor costs.
Some people will say things that they don't have a clue about.
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Tory on Jun 1, 2015 at 1:24 pm
When the first round of bidding went out for this project it was over budget and everybody cried about government spending on the project. Now they have hired outside contractors and lowered the cost. Everybody is still crying. Pick your side you cannot play both. Either we are spending the cash or hiring cheaper outside labour.
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Where did Common sense go on Jun 1, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Do you think any party wants to send employment out of the Yukon? Some of these comments do not make common sense and are not reality as fact.
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Where there is a will on Jun 1, 2015 at 12:48 pm
Totally understand your statement but there is not full time work in the Yukon for these trades. What do you do with them inbetween jobs. It takes four years of full time work to fill these trades positions and there is not the work here for that.
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Where there's a will on May 31, 2015 at 2:35 pm
If requiring certification shuts out local hire, then they need to figure out a way to address that. Increasing the requirements and demanding certifications that aren't available here can obviously be used to design the project to fit a contractor's particular qualifications. In this case the Yukon Party seems to have wanted an outside firm. Maybe they could have at least made it a condition that the outfit operate in a way that got local people on the road to these certifications.
Most legitimate certification processes figure out a way to include experienced people so that they don't suddenly become unemployable, whether that's phasing it in, adjusting the qualification period. Whatever. Look at the recent effort to red seal experienced carpenters.
If local hire is a priority, the government can make it happen. This is real retro stuff, keeping Yukon workers on the sidelines and preventing them from getting the training and experience that would mean next time there's an arbitrary condition like "must have built two schools" they're well on the way. Frankly, it's hard to understand why the Yukon Party thought our work force was so deficient. There's some very fine contracting outfits here who have been through the mill in this boom-and-bust economy. Scott Kent's remark that Yukon workers can also go outside to work deserves special attention at the next election.
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The reason certain positions on school and other projects on May 29, 2015 at 5:53 pm
Read the letter in today paper to get the real facts on why certain positions can't be filled by Yukoners on schools, hospital etc.
We don't have the certified people to file the positions.
There is not enough work in the Yukon to certify the people to work on some of these jobs.
It takes years to certify people for some of the trades on these projects.
The liberals and NDP are so misleading and don't have one ounce of knowledge of constructionin these type of buildings and their statement show it.
I have been involved with lots of this type of construction and to fly someone in is the last thing any contractor wants to do because you have to pay for the air fare, housing, food and drives cost up and profits down.
So liberals and NDP are misleading the people of the Yukon on this and many other subjects.
Up 3 Down 0
fred on May 29, 2015 at 5:42 pm
Tater - well, you win the prize for the most naive comment regarding exactly how contracts are awarded to industry.
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Jim Lahey on May 29, 2015 at 5:20 pm
WestofBelfast
Actually what I've read the Yukon did not sign onto TILMA.
The territorial government has rejected a controversial trade pact, saying it’s redundant and that its potential effects remained unclear even after a thorough review.
Thursday, the Yukon announced it would not sign the Alberta-BC Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement.
Unless this info is wrong. I'm not defending the YP. As with the amount of jobs available to Yukoners right now I wouldn't doubt they signed something good in secret. It's funny around the same time they rejected this trade pact, the amount of temporary foreign workers has exploded. And in turn has hurt actual workers in the Yukon looking for work. Because most of these tfws have 3 or 4 jobs.
http://whitehorsestar.com/News/ministers-hear-trade-pact-health-care-concerns
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Tater on May 29, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Most contractors I know hire based on best value for money paid. So I guess that would mean if you do a very good job for the wages paid, you're hired, if you don't, your not.
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WestofBelfast on May 29, 2015 at 8:53 am
June wrote: "The hire locally policy was eliminated by the Paslowski government a few years ago. "
Actually the policy if "Yukoners first" for YG jobs was eliminated by Pasloski's predecessor in the YP, Dennis Fentie, I think it was in 2009. The decision was made after a meeting he attended with all the country's premiers to "improve labour mobility" across Canada. It certainly did that to the Yukon, and in so doing made it pretty tough for Yukoners to compete for jobs with YG.
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pedroF on May 27, 2015 at 2:46 pm
This entire episode only demonstrates one thing of any certainty , and that is that Napoleon Kent is simply not up to the rigors of the job. It's time to find a minister of substance and competence to try and right the sinking ship. He was entirely ineffective at Education and has made no discernible impact at EMR. How on earth he is even involved in the school construction project is beyond logical explanation.
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... at it again on May 27, 2015 at 2:45 pm
I see that Paz-lost-it has his IT people working overtime to influence the "thumbs-up" thumbs-down" on the comments.
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Patricia on May 27, 2015 at 2:28 pm
There is no work in this town any more. The tenders are being given to outside companies. I know this for a fact because of family members that live here are moving because they haven`t had steady work. They have to feed their families too. The only work in Whitehorse are for the ONE`S that are in the circle and were born and raised here. How sad....this town is so full of corruption. It`s not like a person can drive to another city or town to get work, they are stuck here unless they move out of the territory. Wake up Whitehorse..it does not look good on you!
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north_of_60 on May 27, 2015 at 1:53 pm
All of these major projects are paid for by the taxpayers of Canada. Perhaps that funding comes with 'strings attached' to discourage local contractors. It sure appears that way.
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ProScience Greenie on May 27, 2015 at 12:58 pm
“In a declining Yukon economy...." - the good news is that maybe Moorcroft and crew have finally woken up to the fact that our economy is tanking. It's about time the Opposition starts holding the government's feet to the fire on that rather than tilting at windmills like fracking or whatever that does not help Yukoners keep the wolf from the doorstep. And shame on the YP for lacking foresight and all the outside hires within YTG.
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Do not understand the facts on May 27, 2015 at 10:26 am
NDP and Liberals do not understand the facts on school construction
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YTer on May 27, 2015 at 9:37 am
As this was essentially a design build, the Alberta architects stipulated the terms. The terms were that the succesful team had to have built at least 2 similar schools. Pretty much eliminated every contractor here. YG didn't have to go this route.
Ask around who the successful team on the new hospital addition is. More outside companies paying lower wages to outside workers.
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June Jackson on May 26, 2015 at 9:21 pm
Its not just this contract where outsiders are hired. It is the norm for YTG. I met an admin assistant working in Justice that was hired from BC. No one can tell me there are not qualified admin assistants available in the Yukon. She is currently in the process of bringing her parents up (seniors).
The hire locally policy was eliminated by the Paslowski government a few years ago.
We are in an economic depression at the moment in the Yukon. We, all of us, desperately need those government contracts and government jobs. Our trades people need jobs and we need those people spending money in our stores and supporting the community so that those of us in private industry can stay employed.
Our local contractors can bid and be successful on work outside the Yukon is the dumbest thing Kent has said..and he's said a lot of dumb things. But they could up and just leave the Yukon..like so many others are doing..That would be a sorry day indeed.
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Contractor on May 26, 2015 at 7:44 pm
I am a contractor on site, and I see plenty of local labour, but nothing near what should be, IMHO. The sub trades are using labour based from elsewhere in order to evade the fair wage schedule. If you don't have Yukon workers, you don't have to pay your people as much. Easy.
Say what you want about labour, but the fair wage schedule is a reasonable attempt at a happy compromise between market-based wages and mandatory unionization. People should be able to make a decent living, and living here isn't cheap. Every dollar that is spent on labour from outside is a dollar of which we only see a fraction return to the territory.
The government meddled in and botched the entire project, and now we face more companies attempting to establish themselves locally, winning contracts because their labour costs are less.
Maybe the Yukon, long shall it live on the dole, is feeling the reality that the rest of Canada doesn't hand over its money at no added cost. Increased competition is the cost of hard times, and the haves are having a harder time of it.
Everybody's gotta eat.
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sickntired on May 26, 2015 at 6:04 pm
There Pasloski goes again running his mouth with numbers. The Yukon Party is so unreliable and dishonest; it's a damn shame and embarrassment. A party full of dishonesty can only get you so far. I wonder how they and their supporters sleep at night when Yukon is falling to pieces; meanwhile the Yukon Party members build up their bank accounts. An honest leader always takes care of the community, the members before worrying about their own..a method that is none existent with Yukon party!
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Jim Lahey on May 26, 2015 at 3:53 pm
More proof that this party works for outside interests. To hell with Yukoners working. Sad.
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Lost in the Yukon on May 26, 2015 at 3:34 pm
Kent said ... “The Yukon is also a signatory on the Agreement on Fair Trade, and this means the Yukon is open for business for all Canadians, which means that our local contractors can bid and be successful on work outside of the Yukon as well where there are often more construction dollars available,”
Pazlost-it said ... "... the project required a $40-million bond, which local companies alone would not qualify for."
If someone has the patience and time, can they please explain to either one of these two elected officials how they have, in essence, supported Ms. Moorcroft's concerns.