Canadian Congress Begins New Term
January - February 2003
The Canadian Congress met January 25-26, 2003 in Ottawa,
Ontario. President Flynn started the meeting with an overview
of Canadian membership, bargaining, and construction trends,
followed by a status report by Congress Co-Chair Alfred Vautour
on the Millennium Morning Project.
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2003-2004 Delegates to the IU Canadian
Congress. From left, front row: BAC Executive Vice President
Ken Lambert; Rob Tuzzi, 1 BC; BAC Canadian Affairs Director
Joe Bognar; BAC Special Deputy Albert Vincent; Canadian
Co-Chair Alfred Vautour, APTTC; BAC President John J.
Flynn; BAC Secretary-Treasurer James Boland; Rick Eade,
6 ON; Dan Plunkett, 7 CN; and Frank Krauthaker, 1 MB.
From left, second row: Ray Deleskie, 2 NS; Ivan Doucet,
8 NB; Clarence Gallant, 1 PE; Frank Perri, 4 AB; Peter
Homan, 2 AB; Clarence Medernach, 1 SK; Mike Gagliano,
6 ON; and Maurice Mongeon, 4 PQ. (Not pictured is John
Leonard, 1 NF.)
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“When the final numbers are in” President Flynn
told attendees, “the Canadian economy is expected to
have grown at a rate of 3.3 percent or better. This is faster
than the rate of growth currently estimated for the U.S.
economy. And the construction industry was one of the big
contributors to the country’s economic strength and
employment growth.”
During the year, construction employment increased by 7.4
percent, and the total value of building permits grew to
a record level. According to CanaData, “Based on the
strength of the Canadian economy, the overall outlook for
Canadian construction looks solid for 2003, barring any significant
downward changes in the U.S. or world economies.”
This means “there will be opportunities for our Locals
in Canada to strengthen their membership levels and their
bargaining position this year,” said Flynn. “And
this Canadian Congress offers us a good opportunity to identify
ways to take advantage of these opportunities.”
The most newsworthy segment of the meeting was a discussion
of the new special dues procedures enacted to strengthen
Canadian organizing activities (see page 7). Delegates expressed
appreciation to the Executive Board for the decision, which
they believe will greatly further their ability to attract
and retain members, as well as fend off other unions and
organizations.
Sandra Skivsky, an economic analyst involved with Phase
II of the Canadian Masonry Human Resources Committee (CMHRC)
Study — an important adjunct to the Millennium Morning
Project — updated delegates on the meetings and follow-up
actions of the eleven labor-management task forces that are
guiding the work of the Study, including masonry promotion,
certification, mobility, and outreach and recruitment of
women and aboriginal groups, to name a few. Members can track
the Study’s progress by logging onto www.cmhrc.ca/.
Delegates reviewed, with President Flynn and Secretary-Treasurer
Boland, the 2003 work plan for Canadian programs — an
annual obligation of the Congress under the IU Constitution.
International Pension Fund Executive Director David Stupar
and attorney Don Eady reported on the genesis of preliminary
settlement talks between the trustees of the former and current
officers’ pension plans, and the IPF Canada and the
BACU plans. Co-Chair Vautour commented that an equitable
settlement “would be preferable to protracted litigation.”
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| Tony Wholfarth (right),
Commissioner for Workers to the Canada Employment Insurance
(EI) Commission, talks with Local 6 ON Business Manager
Mike Gagliano. |
Guest speaker Anthony Wholfarth, Commissioner for Workers
to the Canada Employment Insurance (EI) Commission, told
delegates about the Canadian Building Trades’ successful
lobbying to make EI more incentive-driven, and better able
to respond to the needs of construction workers. Wholfarth
also provided valuable advice on how Local officers can prepare
members who must navigate their way through the system, particularly
during the appeals process.
Fourteen delegates were in attendance at the meeting, in
addition to President Flynn, Secretary-Treasurer Boland,
and Executive Vice President Lambert.
Of the fourteen, six were new delegates to the Congress,
beginning a two-year term that runs from 2003 through 2004.
In accordance with the IU Constitution, each province is
entitled to at least one delegate. Additional delegates from
other Locals in a province are based on the province’s
overall membership. Provinces with 650 or fewer members,
but with multiple Locals, are represented on the Congress
by a single Local, in numeric order, on a two-year rotating
basis.
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