A coalition of British Columbia’s largest construction associations is resuming its legal challenge of the NDP government’s community benefits agreement (CBA) policy in the B.C. Court of Appeal.
The coalition is asking the court to reverse a lower court decision that referred part of their case on the government’s labour rules infringing on the charter rights of workers to the Labour Relations Board (LRB) and to return the entire case to B.C. Supreme Court.
According to the coalition, delays and cost overruns on the first projects built using B.C.’s CBA are costing taxpayers an extra $384 million.
The coalition’s case has been, and will continue to be, about Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena ’s decision – her statutory discretion – to impose an unfair and discriminatory policy on the construction industry. It is not challenging the collective agreement embedded in the CBA or any other issue within the jurisdiction of the LRB.
“Right now, government and industry should be working together to rebuild the economy,” said Chris Gardner, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association. “That’s a lot harder to do when public infrastructure dollars are not going anywhere near as far as they should.”
The coalition argues that the NDP government’s CBA policy, violates the rights of 85 percent of B.C.’s construction workforce.
“If the NDP government continues to impose its CBA on public infrastructure projects, construction costs will spiral upwards and, ultimately, leave government with four options: to build fewer projects; reduce the scope of projects; increase taxes to pay for the projects; or incur debt to build them,” said Fiona Famulak, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association. “At the end of the day, B.C.’s taxpayers will bear the brunt.”
“As we face the future of COVID-19 no one knows for certain what will happen. All we can do is control what is within our ability to control, and this spending on the CBA is entirely optional, it doesn’t add value” says Chris Atchison, BC Construction Association president. “Such wasteful spending at a time when the Minister of Finance is repeatedly stating the need to “spend every cent wisely” is a blatant contradiction between words and actions. British Columbians deserve better.”
The B.C. Court of Appeal heard the coalition’s arguments last week.
