An Indigenous contractor on Vancouver Island is calling for the NDP’s pro-union infrastructure building program to be scrapped, amid ongoing confusion over the rights of Cowichan Tribes members to work on a hospital project.
“I will not be stepped on any more, and I will keep coming back here until we have paperwork that states where we stand,” Jon Coleman, owner of Jon-co Contacting told reporters at the B.C. legislature Monday.
“Right now there’s no paper in front of us.”
Earlier this month, Indigenous-owned construction companies complained they were being shut out construction work on the new Cowichan District Hospital, because they are not unionized, meaning they didn’t qualify for the project under B.C.’s Community Benefits Agreements (CBA).
B.C. introduced the CBA model in 2018, which requires all workers on government infrastructure projects to join an approved union. The government says the model prioritizes local, women and Indigenous workers and promotes apprenticeships.
But Coleman said it’s doing just the opposite, and wants the CBA program abolished.
“The lip service needs to stop, the respect needs to start,” he said.
“I feel frustrated, this has gone beyond me. Now I feel that I have been put in a position to speak up on behalf of all of British Columbia. This is not right as taxpayers as a whole.
After pressure from Coleman and others, the province said last week it will allow Cowichan Tribes crews to work on the hospital, but Coleman says he’s yet to see any movement.
‘I’m not aware of any changes to date,” he said.
What’s more, much of work has already been contracted.
Asked about Coleman’s case Monday, Health Minister Adrian Dix insisted Cowichan workers were being exempted from the CBA model.
“It’s been happening as long ago as Thursday, there were discussions about potential contracts and those discussions are ongoing. It’s between the contactors, subcontractors and the KDC (Khowutzun Development Company),” Dix said.
“The KDC knows that, and everyone involved including the union has been clear about that.”
The issue landed front and centre during question period at the legislature, Monday, with the BC Liberals reputedly hammering the NDP.
“The Cowichan Hospital project is now three years behind schedule,” Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone said.
“Will the premier end the discriminatory community ripoff agreements that are preventing Indigenous contractors like Jon Coleman from participating in projects within their traditional territory?
Premier David Eby responded by defending CBAs, saying they’re working and training people beyond just established contractors.
“It is important to know that 20 per cent of the workers on the site are First Nations workers. And what’s happening right now is that these unions have been out in community training Cowichan workers so that they’re able to work skilled trades jobs on the site.”
Coleman, for his part, wasn’t swayed by the argument, and said the government continues to patronize Indigenous workers.
“This government needs to respect the power and respect of CT governance and what we have, what we have to offer,” he said.
“Not dictate on how, when, this is the slice of bread you’re going to be (getting) at the table today. We’re not taking pieces. Tokenism needs to go out the door.”