Earlier this fall, thousands of Manitoban workers came together to say no to Brian Pallister’s proposed Bill 28, because it represented a real threat to our livelihoods and on-the-job safety.

When the government failed to advance the bill to its second reading, we thought they had listened to our concerns.

We thought they that realized attempting to ban project labour agreements goes against public interests and serves only fly-by-night contractors. After all, these agreements are the best way to guarantee that Manitoban projects create jobs for Manitobans. Since the 1960s, governments all stripes have used these agreements to give all workers on public infrastructure projects the same fair wages, same safety standards and training opportunities.

Instead, the Pallister government has decided to press ahead with this risky legislation by re-introducing it under a different name. Bill 4 is Bill 28. Both bills take us backwards to a time when out-of-province workers could be brought in to build sub-par infrastructure. We can’t afford to go back to that.

Earlier this month, I attended the PC Convention in Brandon and was pleasantly surprised to not hear Premier Pallister address Bill 28 in his remarks. PC members were not focused on this solution in search of a problem. They, like all Manitobans, want local projects to benefit Manitoba people.

We thought Premier Pallister had listened. But we were wrong. Make no mistake: this new legislation is just as destructive as the old.

We need your help to continue pressing the Pallister government to realize this fact. It’s not too late to change course. We encourage you to tell a friend or colleague by forwarding them this note or linking them to letsbuildmb.ca.

Yours in solidarity,

Sudhir Sandhu,

Chief Executive Officer, Manitoba Building Trades