An Indigenous contractor wants the provincial government to repeal the agreement that governs the construction of a $1.4 billion hospital on Vancouver Island.
Jon Coleman, the owner of Jon-co Contracting, issued the appeal Monday afternoon in the provincial legislature during a news conference after listening to Question Period, where opposition parties attacked the NDP government for excluding Indigenous workers from working on a hospital in Cowichan Valley, near Duncan.
Coleman said the Community Benefits Agreement administered by the BC Infrastructure Benefits prevents him and other Indigenous contractors under the umbrella of Khowutzun Development Corporation from working on the project because companies and workers are not members of unions accepted by BCIB.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 not saying that the hospital can香蕉视频直播檛 be built in Cowichan,香蕉视频直播� Coleman said. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 not saying it shouldn香蕉视频直播檛 be built. What I am saying is that the CBA needs to be abolished. It doesn香蕉视频直播檛 help our taxpayers and it doesn香蕉视频直播檛 help Cowichan as a whole. It is disrespectful.香蕉视频直播�
Health minister Adrian Dix Monday repeated earlier statements that KDC is now eligible to bid for work on the Cowichan hospital site without having to unionize. That promise did not satisfy Coleman, who questioned why the CBA administrator gets to decide what First Nations get to do in their traditional territory.
香蕉视频直播淭he government needs to recognize and respect the Cowichan Tribe香蕉视频直播檚 governance and what we have to offer,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淭okenism needs to get out of the door. I香蕉视频直播檓 not going to represent token Indians. It香蕉视频直播檚 wrong.香蕉视频直播�
Coleman香蕉视频直播檚 appeal was the latest line of attack on the government香蕉视频直播檚 handling of the project, which critics say is three years behind schedule and $850 million over budget.
B.C. Liberal House Leader Todd Stone called community benefit agreements 香蕉视频直播榬ip-off香蕉视频直播� agreements that discriminate against 85 percent of B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 construction workers.
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香蕉视频直播淐owichan Tribes members are being denied the ability to work unimpeded on projects located within their traditional territories, land that they donated,香蕉视频直播� Greg Kyllo, B.C. Liberal MLA for Shuswap, added.
Ellis Ross, B.C. Liberal MLA for Skeena, struck a comparable note.
香蕉视频直播淭he elders of the Cowichan Tribes gifted land to the province to build the hospital in Cowichan,香蕉视频直播� Ellis said. 香蕉视频直播淭hen the Premier told the Cowichan Tribes they can香蕉视频直播檛 work unless they pay the union agents who support them politically. This is a colonial story from 100 years ago.香蕉视频直播�
BC Greens leader Sonia Furstenau, who is the MLA for the area, also criticized the government last week.
Dix repeatedly rose to defend his government.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 sure everyone香蕉视频直播nderstands what that means, what it meant last Wednesday, and what it means now, which is that they are allowed to bid on the project, and, of course, work on the project without a change to their workforce,香蕉视频直播� he said.
He said the industry average for Indigenous participation on such projects is six percent.
香蕉视频直播淥n the Cowichan project, it香蕉视频直播檚 well over 20 percent,香蕉视频直播� he said. He also pointed out that 香蕉视频直播�(everyone) working on the Cowichan hospital lives within 100 kilometres of the hospital.香蕉视频直播�
Coleman questioned Dix香蕉视频直播檚 numbers and pointed out that almost the workforce on the project was Indigenous prior to the CBA as his company had helped to clear the site of trees, only to be excluded later.
Coleman said his company香蕉视频直播檚 exclusion from the project has taken a financial and mental toll on him. But he vowed to push his case.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 not fair, it香蕉视频直播檚 not right and I will not be stepped on anymore and I will keep coming back here until we have paper works that states where we stand.香蕉视频直播�
wolfgang.depner@blackpress.ca
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