Sask. Indigenous construction company claims it was barred from hiring employees from First Nations communities
A First Nations controlled construction company in Saskatchewan says it’s having trouble with its union after learning it can not hire employees directly from First Nations.
KDM Contractors’ employees recently unionized and say that they were barred from hiring directly from First Nations communities after that.
“Our preferred route is to continue to get labour from the First Nations, not from the union hall,” Reginald Bellerose from KDM Contractors said.
KDM employs about 80 people who work primarily on potash projects. Half are First Nations, people.
“We are actually in legal action against the unions right now to prevent them from bringing a collective bargaining agreement to our company. Our agreement is between us and the First Nations. That’s where we want to keep it,” Bellerose said.
The Saskatchewan Building Trades Council represents construction trades unions. It said a group of KDM workers made the first approach to unionize.
“And they saw that they were being treated unfairly and so that’s why they reached out and upon certification, they immediately got a raise, pension and benefits,” Dion Malakoff from Saskatchewan Building Trades Council said.
The Building Trades say KDM’S objective of hiring from First Nations first can be accommodated.
“And they are worked into the project labour agreement along with local hire provisions around the job site along with 100 percent name hire on the individuals that they would want,” Malakoff said.
The unions said they would like to discuss the company’s First Nations hiring objectives, but that talks have never taken place. Instead, all matters are currently before the Labour Relations Board.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.