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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.”
The Chinese miners were being brought to Canada to work on a project at the Murray River underground coal mine on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, about 12.5 kilometres southeast of Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
Among the more contentious issues was the fact the company, HD Mining, required workers to speak Chinese.
In a statement Tuesday, the company called the decision a “complete vindication” but suggested it “has come at a great cost and has raised significant questions in the international investment community.”
Company chairman Penggui Yan said the ruling ultimately rejected the unions’ arguments that the company didn’t make “sufficient efforts” to recruit Canadians, that it “placed undue requirements for low skilled positions” and that the company planned to pay “inappropriately low wages.
“During these months of litigation, the unions made many allegations – both in court and the media – which we frankly found appalling,” Yan said.
“We knew this litigation was driven by a political agenda and we knew we needed to wait for a Canadian court to reject these claims. It has taken a long time, but today is that day.”
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