OTTAWA, Dec. 21, 2015 /CNW/ – On behalf of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, representing over 500,000 middle class Canadians, Bob Blakely, Canadian Operating Officer said: “During the debate on these onerous, narrowly targeted amendments the Liberal and New Democratic parties stood up for Canadian unionized workers. Now that the Liberals have formed government one of their first acts was to restore fairness in respect of the confidentiality of union financial information and allowing unions to be treated like every other tax entity in Canada. We are grateful to them for living up to their promises and for treating us with fairness and with respect.”

Bill C 377, a Private Member’s Bill, only had support from some of the Conservative caucus but found wide support with the MERIT Contractors and their interlinking partners LabourWatch and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. These are organizations that do not have unionized workers. The purposes behind this legislation was to compel unions and any organization that had a relationship with unions such as health, welfare, pension, training, apprenticeship plans set up by a collective agreement to disclose any and all financial information that they had on a public government funded website. The goal of the legislation was to give antiunion organizations an intelligence bonanza and weaken Canadian unions in the process. No other similar organization, including employers’ organizations such as the supporters of this Bill, would have had to surrender their business confidentiality to the benefit of their competitors.

Lionel Railton, Canadian Director of the International Union of Operating Engineers stated “As Canadians, we file our taxes and make disclosures to the Canada Revenue Agencies, we all have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Unions should be able to expect that degree of privacy. As well, we have business interests and we seek to achieve common goals through communal action – – no one expects other similar organizations to give up their privacy!”

Finally, the Bill C 377 amendments were subject to court challenge, some of which have already been filed, and others which awaited the coming into force date of January 1, 2016. Blakely said about this aspect “it seems pretty clear that the amendments were not about the Income Tax Act, but rather about the regulation of the trade unions which is a constitutional power reserved to the provinces and 7 of the provinces actively opposed the Bill. The amendments curtail communal action and the right of free speech in breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It would’ve only been a matter of time until Bill C 377 was struck down. The new Government knew that and acted positively to avoid needless litigation. We are grateful for their careful and forceful attention to this matter.”

In conclusion, Blakely stated “we greatly appreciate a government that actually follows through on their election promises.”

Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) is the national voice of over half a million Canadian construction workers—members of 14 international unions who work in more than 60 different trades and occupations, and generate 14 percent of this country’s GDP. For more information about CBTU please visit buildingtrades.ca 

The Federal Conservatives have re-introduced anti-union Bill C-377 to the Senate. The Building Trades has many concerns with this piece of legislation and its potential impact on labour relations in Nova Scotia.

This legislation unfairly singles out trades unions and imposes unprecedented reporting requirements. The Bill’s constitutional validity has been questioned by many, and the Building Trades see Bill C-377 as completely discriminatory and unjust.

We have put in a written request to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs and have asked to appear before them to speak about Bill C-377. Here is our written submission to the committee and a summary of why we believe this Bill should be defeated.

HALIFAX, NS – September 3, 2014 – Members of the North End Halifax community gathered at Murray Warrington Park on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the start of construction on the new Hope Blooms Greenhouse donated by Build Right Nova Scotia.  Build Right NS—a partnership between unionized contractors and tradespeople—and youth-run social enterprise Hope Blooms were joined by local politicians and community supporters for the official groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the greenhouse.

“After months of prep work and anticipation, we are excited to move into the construction phase of the project,” said Build Right Nova Scotia Director Jon Mullin.  “We are lucky to be involved in such a great initiative.  Hope Blooms plays an important role in our community by teaching young people skills that they will carry with them into their future careers – and that is invaluable.”

Build Right Nova Scotia announced earlier this year that they would construct a state-of-the-art greenhouse for Hope Blooms – free of charge.  The new facility will allow Hope Blooms to continue their salad dressing business year-round and grow food for the community.  The greenhouse will be built next to the current Hope Blooms Gardens located on the corner of Brunswick and Gerrish Street.  Construction is anticipated to begin on September 8.

Build Right commissioned architectural firm Fowler Bauld & Mitchell to collaborate with Hope Blooms on the design of the 12-metre-long, 1000-square-foot building.  The design includes unique features that will allow Hope Blooms to take advantage of alternative resources to maintain their gardens.  They plan to use energy generated by compost from the garden and organic materials donated by local businesses to run the greenhouse off the grid and use rainwater catch-alls for water supply.

“Having our new greenhouse is going to help us grow more food for our community and make salad dressings year round,” explained Tiffany Calvin, Hope Blooms’ 13-year-old spokesperson. “It will help more kids be able to go to college by growing our scholarship fund.”

In 2013, the community garden and salad dressing business run by inner city youth received a $40,000 donation from CBC’s Dragons’ Den to build a greenhouse.  Build Right Nova Scotia is covering the entire cost of the project, allowing Hope Blooms to put the Dragon’s money into their education fund.

Build Right Nova Scotia is a partnership of unionized contractors and tradespeople whose goal is to promoting the benefits of union-built industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings in Nova Scotia.  Build Right NS promotes the contributions that many of their highly trained workers and employers make to the community.  The 350 employers and 11,000 unionized professional tradespeople in Nova Scotia, including 2,700 apprentices, will continue to improve the wellbeing of Nova Scotians.

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For more information contact:

Trent Soholt, Executive Director
Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council
Project Manager, Build Right Nova Scotia
902-832-4761
Jessie Jollymore, Founder
Hope Blooms
902-225-9729

HALIFAX, NS – February 13, 2014 – Build Right Nova Scotia, a newly formed partnership between unionized contractors and the building trades, is pleased to announce an exciting project with a special community partner. The group of unionized contractors and tradespeople will be constructing a top-of-the-line greenhouse for youth-run social enterprise Hope Blooms, of Dragons’ Den fame. Build Right Nova Scotia will contribute all of the supplies and labour for the
facility and have been working with the Hope Blooms team over the last number of months to incorporate their ideas into the project. Construction will begin sometime in the spring, after location and design details are finalized.

“It’s all about making their vision a reality,” says Jon Mullin, Vice President of Aecon Buildings Atlantic and Chairman of the Nova Scotia Construction Labour Relations Association. He is also lead contractor on the project. “As soon as I heard the story of Hope Blooms, I knew this would be a great project for Build Right Nova Scotia. It is a way to invest in the community while encouraging our children to learn and grow. The youth of Hope Blooms are the future leaders of our province and it is important to us that they are involved with every step, from design concept to adding the final touches.”

Hope Blooms is a North End community garden and salad dressing business run by inner city youth with help from mentors. It began in 2008 as a garden project fewer than 12 children involved, and has grown exponentially. The program participants plant seeds, tend crops, and turn their produce into organic dressing which is sold locally. In 2013 they appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den asking for an investment to expand their business and walked away with $40,000 towards a new greenhouse. “Since we will be covering all costs of the greenhouse, it will allow for the Dragon’s money to be invested into other aspects of the program and the community,” adds Mr. Mullin.

“This will allow us to grow Hope Blooms and help our community more”, says Tiffany Calvin, 12-year-old PR spokesperson for Hope Blooms. “We can put money into our scholarship funds to get more education, a career and a better life. All of us are so excited and so thankful.”

“It will help grow our community and let us grow our herbs year round. I’ll get the chance to work side by side with experts in a career I would like to go into. It’s awesome. I have learned from gardening that we are better together,” says Kolade Boboye, 14-year-old greenhouse supervisor.

“To witness the sheer joy that our youth experienced in learning that experts in the construction trades wanted to build them a greenhouse; that people they had never met want to contribute to growing their social enterprise, brought me to tears,” adds Jessie Jollymore, founder of Hope Blooms. “The offer to have this project be a path of mentorship to our youth is providing inspiration to us all that it is possible to plant a seed and harvest a dream. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Build Right Nova Scotia is a recently launched partnership of unionized contractors and the building trades who have joined forces with the goal of promoting the benefits of union-built industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings in Nova Scotia. They want to promote the contributions that many of these highly trained workers and employers make to the community. The 350 employers and 11,000 unionized professional tradespeople in Nova Scotia, including 2,700 apprentices, will continue to join forces to improve the wellbeing of Nova Scotians.

For more information contact:

Trent Soholt, Executive Director
Nova Scotia Construction Sector Council
902-832-4761
email

Jessie Jollymore, Founder
Hope Blooms
902-225-9729
email

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