The construction industry partners challenging B.C.’s Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) will be in court July 16 and 17 to appeal the B.C. Supreme Court ruling that stalled the judicial review last February.
The B.C. Court of Appeal will be asked to overturn Supreme Court Justice Christopher Giaschi’s decision striking portions of the petition for judicial review and order the entire petition returned to the B.C. Supreme Court to be adjudicated on its merits.
“The government’s Community Benefits Agreement is an unfair and discriminatory policy that shuts out 85 per cent of the construction workforce from working on certain public infrastructure projects,” said Fiona Famulak, VRCA president. “The CBA is a bad public policy that needs to be halted.
“This is even more true today as we navigate COVID-19. We are reminded regularly by government and public health officials that we are all in this together, that we all have a role to play to stem the spread of the virus and contribute to the province’s economic recovery. Every construction worker in B.C. therefore deserves the opportunity to work on publicly funded projects, not just those who are members of the select trade unions who are signatories to the CBA.”
Four construction associations (the British Columbia Construction Association, the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada) and two progressive unions (Canada West Construction Union and CLAC), have joined the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and several construction companies, professionals and workers in launching the legal action aimed at halting restrictive labour policies in B.C.’s construction industry.