Coal

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One resident of an unnamed B.C. community claimed to personally know 40 unemployed miners who would be happy to work at a proposed coal mine in the province’s northeast, which was instead slated to temporarily employ Chinese workers. Another lamented the mine’s hiring plan as just the latest example of Canadian resources leaving this country.

And yet another bluntly asked: “Are you trying to lose the next election?” As debate swirled about Chinese owned HD Mining’s plan to use temporary foreign workers at its proposed underground coal mine – prompting several government investigations and a lawsuit by a pair of unions – the province was flooded with angry letters from the public.

Four months of those letters, obtained through freedom of information laws, reveal deep anger about the province’s public support for the project and little sympathy for politicians and company officials who insisted there was not a single Canadian qualified to work at the mine.

The dozens of emails and typewritten letters on the subject were sent to the government between October and January. All oppose the importing of Chinese workers, with many writers telling the government they simply do not believe the assertion there was no way to train and hire workers from the province.

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http://www.ctvnews.ca/

VANCOUVER — One resident of an unnamed British Columbia community claimed to personally know 40 unemployed miners who would be more than happy to work at a proposed coal mine in the province’s northeast that was instead slated to employ temporary Chinese workers.

Another lamented the mine’s hiring plan as just the latest example of Canadian resources leaving this country.
And yet another bluntly asked: “Are you trying to lose the next election?”

As a public debate swirled about Chinese-owned HD Mining’s plan to use temporary foreign workers at its proposed underground coal mine — prompting multiple government investigations and a lawsuit by a pair of unions — the province was flooded with angry letters from the public.

Four months of those letters, obtained through freedom of information laws, reveal deep anger about the province’s public support for the project and little sympathy for politicians and company officials who insisted there was not a single Canadian qualified to work at the mine. The dozens of emails and typewritten letters sent to the government on the subject between October and January stretch on for more than 70 pages.

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The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. Editor John Cumming MSc (Geol) is one of the country’s most well respected mining journalists. jcumming@northernminer.com

Another chapter closed in the HD Mining International saga, with HD celebrating a win in the federal courts against two B.C. unions who had tried to thwart the junior developer’s efforts to import Chinese workers to take a bulk sample at its Murray River underground coal mine project, located southeast of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern B.C.

Once operating, the $300-million Murray River project would produce 6 million tonnes of metallurgical coal per year over 30 years, creating about 600 direct and 700 indirect jobs. HD Mining has already spent $50 million on the project.

The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 115, and the Construction and Specialized Workers’ Union, Local 1611, had banded together to challenge the federal decision that authorized the temporary use of 201 foreign workers, but the challenge was dismissed on May 21 by the Federal Court of Canada. While the applicants do not represent any workers of HD, they were granted public interest standing and permitted to launch their challenge because they represent mining workers in B.C.

In his decision, Justice Russel Zinn noted that it was the first time a positive decision made under the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) had ever been challenged, and that it “made for a hard-fought application.”

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http://thetyee.ca/

Key evidence was struck from the record in federal court, say unions. Earlier this week, a federal court justice dismissed an attempt by two British Columbia unions to have temporary foreign worker permits for 201 miners revoked.

The Construction and Specialized Workers Union and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115 launched their case after it came to light the company, HD Mining, had advertised mining positions listing Mandarin as a job requirement.

The unions contended the language requirement was meant to exclude Canadians so the company could bring workers from China and legally pay them 15 per cent less than market wages at its Murray River project near Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

After a months-long court battle Judge Russel Zinn ruled Tuesday HD Mining filed its applications properly according to the rules that were in place at the time.

But the unions said they lost because Zinn struck from the record key evidence that would have helped their case and, in their view, showed the company misrepresented its mining plans in the form of a notice of work application.

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http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

OTTAWA — The government was justified in issuing a positive labour market opinion that allowed a British Columbia mining company to hire 201 temporary foreign workers from China, the Federal Court ruled Tuesday.

The decision comes after two unions challenged the government and the companies involved, arguing Canadians are available to do the jobs required and that it was not necessary to look outside the country for foreign labour.

The incident touched off a massive debate over Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, with the government promising, and eventually delivering on, a number of changes to protect Canadian jobs.

While the Construction and Specialized Workers’ Union and the International Union of Operating Engineers ultimately lost their court case, their lawyer, Lorne Waldman, said it’s far from a total defeat.

“I’m disappointed that the courts opted to uphold the decision, but having said that, I think the importance of the case goes far beyond this decision,” he said. “I think this case was an extremely important one and was successful because it ultimately exposed some of major shortcomings in the labour market opinion process and forced the government to make changes.”

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Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Legal wrangling bogged down what was to be the first day of a Federal Court judicial review of temporary foreign worker permits issued to a Northern B.C. coal mine.

On Tuesday, lawyers for one of the companies involved in the project, Canadian Dehua International Mines Group, asked the court to disregard some of the affidavits submitted by the unions among the thousands of pages of documents filed in the case.

“These written submissions are full of extraordinarily inflammatory language, accusing HD Mining of being a liar, of misrepresenting, of blowing hot and cold and all sort of other spurious allegations which we would submit are not found in evidence,” said Laura Best, lawyer for Dehua, referring to the second company involved, HD Mining International.

Among the “behemoth” of information filed by the unions in their pursuit of a judicial review, are affidavits based on hearsay and false allegations, Ms. Best said. The unions fired back with written arguments labelling the application by the companies to dismiss the affidavits as an abuse of process.

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