The Tyee

The Tyee is your independent daily online magazine reaching every corner of BC and beyond.

May 232013
 

Unions challenged HD mining over Chinese workers hired for coal project.

from The Tyee

"The federal court has dismissed a union challenge of temporary foreign worker permits that were granted to HD Mining.

"Last year the coal mining company received permits to hire 201 Chinese workers for its Murray River coal project near Tumbler Ridge, BC

"Two local unions challenged that decision, bringing the labour market opinions — required by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to show the company made sufficient efforts to hire Canadians before hiring temporary foreign workers — into question.

"Despite losing the case, both unions remain hopeful. …"

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May 212013
 

Retail Council of Canada seeks US allies to oppose call for binding agreement.

from The Tyee

"With the butcher's bill for the garment industry's most lethal accident now standing at 1,127 workers killed in the factory collapse at the Rana Plaza factories outside Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 24, only one Canadian firm has endorsed a legally binding worker safety agreement crafted by unions and worker rights NGOs.

"Loblaws, the Canadian retailer behind the Joe Fresh brand, which had garments being produced at the Rana factories when an illegally expanded building collapsed on April 24, signed on to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh last week, joining two other North American firms and over 30 major European garment retailers. …"

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May 202013
 

To decide, look at 13 lost New Democrat ridings where the Greens factored in.

by Tom Barrett

That's because, if you take the Green party out of Tuesday's election and assume that every vote cast for the Greens would have gone instead to the NDP, you're looking at a hefty NDP majority government.

Pending absentee ballots and possible recounts, Tuesday's results were: 50 seats for the BC Liberals, 33 NDP, one Green and one independent.

The NDP lost in 13 ridings where the combined NDP and Green vote was greater than the BC Liberal vote. Switch all those seats to the NDP and you get 46 NDP, 37 Liberals, no Greens and one independent.

However, on a riding by riding basis, the assumption underlying this fantasy Greenless world is a bit iffy….

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May 162013
 
TPP protest.

Public scrutiny of TPP topics discouraged.

from The Tyee

Michael Geist of The Tyee notes that any details of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership Agreement are coming out of Europe, where the public is regularly updated on the trade talks.  In Canada, however, only business representatives who must sign a confidentiality agreement are granted access to "certain sensitive information of the Department concerning or related to ther TPP negotiations."
 
May 162013
 

Premier-elect dismisses significance of NDP's success in coastal ridings.

from The Tyee

"Emboldened on her first day as Premier-elect, Christy Clark deftly navigated around questions about oil tanker and pipeline safety at her first post-election press conference this afternoon.

"Clark told reporters in her downtown Vancouver office that the BC Liberals' 50-seat surprise victory last night — shutting out the NDP by 17 seats — demonstrates that voters have given her government a "clear mandate" in its fourth term, particularly on economic and resource development.

"'Now that we have a clear mandate from the people of British Columbia, we are going to get down to the business of governing immediately," Clark told reporters. "People were concerned about the economy, and the people of British Columbia made their voice heard.'

"Surveying an election result map, however, reveals a nearly unbroken orange belt descended upon the coast like a line of driftwood washed ashore, in a province otherwise mostly Liberal.Could this stark chart of the NDP's coastal backing — with only two exceptions on eastern Vancouver Island — say anything about the Official Opposition's anti-tanker stance and fears of an oil spill disaster if the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines go ahead? …"

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May 072013
 

Past decade marked by idle welfare rates and spiking homelessness.

from The Tyee

"The expression of outrage at British Columbia's dismal record on poverty has become an annual affair in the province.

"Each year Statistics Canada releases figures showing B.C. is either the worst in the country or close to it on poverty in general, and on child poverty in particular. The opposition MLAs rightly point out the performance is shameful and the government responds by saying things are getting better and the statistics are out of date.

"The most recent numbers, as quoted in the advocacy group First Call's report from November 2012, show B.C. with a poverty rate of 15.5 per cent using StatsCan's low income tax cut offs. That's bad enough to be the worst in Canada. …"

May 022013
 

Thousands of security breaches have affected virtually every department.

from The Tyee

"As Canadians focused last week on the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and the RCMP arrests of two men accused of plotting to attack Via Rail, the largest sustained series of privacy breaches in Canadian history was uncovered but attracted only limited attention.

"Canadians have faced high-profile data breaches in the past — Winners/HomeSense and the CIBC were both at the centre of serious breaches several years ago — but last week, the federal government revealed that it may represent the biggest risk to the privacy of millions of Canadians as some government departments have suffered breaches virtually every 48 hours.

"The revelations came as a result of questions from NDP MP Charlie Angus, who sought information on data, information or privacy breaches in all government departments from 2002 to 2012. The resulting documentation is stunning in its breadth. …"

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May 012013
 

FOI documents reveal need for investigation into skill levels, say union chiefs.

from The Tyee

"Two federal ministers yesterday jointly announced changes in the controversial Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including a "temporary suspension" of the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion program criticized by labour leaders.

"But one high profile labour leader described the announced changes as 'simply public relations.'

"Gil McGowan, head of the Alberta Federation of Labour told CBC news after the Ottawa announcements that 'the Harper government has blinked, but it hasn't backed down.

"McGowan and his federation hold a thick file of Accelerated Labour Market Opinions they gained by filing Freedom of Information requests to the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. They say it demonstrates deep flaws in the process that allows companies to hire foreign workers ahead of Canadians who might expect to be paid more or have more flexibility to resist poor working conditions. …"

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Apr 292013
 

Dr Perry Kendall dismisses fears of contamination from Fukushima plant.

from The Tyee

"Would you eat fish from Japan? Nearly two years after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan killed more than 15,000 people and damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, some people still believe dangerously contaminated fish could reach Canadians' dinner tables.

"The debate should be well over in the view of the person entrusted with overseeing public health in British Columbia: public health officer Dr. Perry Kendall. Time and again Kendall has tried to explain that there is, to quote the headline on one of his press releases, 'Nothing to fear from radiation in B.C.'

"Yet The Tyee has learned that Kendall became so concerned about calming the public fears that he considered unfounded that he urged the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to carry out a special round of testing as a 'vital communications initiative.' …"

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Apr 262013
 

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip likens party's approach to First Nations to strategy revealed in ethnic memo.

from The Tyee

"Since January, the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation has announced the signing of 18 non-treaty agreements, surpassing their BC Jobs Plan goal of 10 non-treaty agreements by Jan. 2015.

"They also announced votes in favour for Kitsumkalum and Kitselas agreements in principle, the second step of a six-step treaty process.

"But instead of celebrating the achievement, Grand Chief Stewart Philip, chair of the Okanagan Nations Alliance (ONA), likens the uptick in agreement signing to the ethnic memo scandal earlier this year.

"'The Province did a tour throughout the province [this spring] and were handing out agreements like gum sticks for that very reason, attempting to enhance their relationship and positions with First Nations people, hoping somehow that would translate into votes,' he told The Tyee."

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