Canada’s Building Trades Unions Executive Director, Sean Strickland, has released the following statement regarding the ongoing protests and blockades:
“Canada’s Building Trades Unions have always supported the freedom to peacefully protest and demonstrate however, the ongoing demonstrations we are seeing across Canada have gone too far, for too long.
From Ottawa to Windsor to Coutts – the protests are negatively affecting local residents, workers and our economy.
The protests in Ottawa have caused construction projects on Parliament Hill and in the downtown core to shut down because of lack of access to the sites, concern for worker safety and disruption in supply chain. This has caused hundreds of workers in the Building Trades unable to go to work, unable to earn a paycheque.
The blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit is strongly affecting the automotive industry; plant shutdowns are imminent affecting thousands of auto workers and building trades contractors and members performing maintenance.
In Coutts, Alberta, the blockade is disrupting the agricultural and food supply chain causing job loss and hurting Canadian communities.
Canada’s Building Trades Unions stands firmly in denouncing the protests and call on the organizers to end the protest. With over 80 per cent of Canadians fully vaccinated, the mandates are winding down regardless. Let’s get back to work.”
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Media Contact
Kate Walsh kwalsh@buildingtrades.ca 613.298.0652
About CBTU
Canada’s Building Trades Unions are an alliance of 14 international unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries that collectively represent over 600,000 skilled trades workers in Canada. Each year, our unions and our signatory contractor partners invest over $300 million in private sector money to fund and operate over 195 apprenticeship training and education facilities across Canada that produce the safest, most highly trained and productive skilled craft workers found anywhere in the world. Canada’s Building Trades Unions represent members who work in more than 60 different trades and occupations, and generate six per cent of Canada’s GDP. For more information, go to www.buildingtrades.ca
