By David Boles, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, St. Albert Gazette
The federal initiative to invest in the skilled trades is being received warmly by Alberta post-secondary institutions and labour advocacy groups.
In the spring economic update last week, the federal Liberal government announced a $6 billion investment over a five-year period in the skilled trades.
That’s something Dennis Beaudoin is glad to hear.
“It’s no secret that our trade population is aging and we need to replace it. And so anything that we can do to help get our youth involved in trades and have them pointed in that direction is a welcome initiative,” said Beaudoin, Dean of the School of Trades and Skills at Olds College.
The program from Ottawa will see a $5,000 bonus granted to trade students upon completion of their Red Seal training, as well as a $10,000 hiring incentive for small Canadian enterprises.
“I always say to my students that come into my school, ‘if you play your cards right and you really take a look at all the grants that are available, whether they’re completion grants, red seal completion grants or whatever, you can actually make money by coming to school,'” said Beaudoin.
The funding is also welcome to the Independent Contractors and Builders Association (ICBA), which says the investment from Ottawa represents a serious investment in the trades.
However, the organization has concerns about how the money will be used.
“Our concern has been both with the Trudeau government and with this Carney government that the funding they’re giving is going to a minority of the industries,” said Mike Martens, president of the ICBA’s Alberta chapter. “We think that is an injustice.”
Martens says traditional historic and building trades only make up about 12 per cent of Alberta’s construction and labour force, with the vast majority being represented by the open shop sector.
There are several major projects underway in Alberta, including a three-way effort by all levels of government to convert the Yellowhead Trail through Edmonton into three free-flowing lanes of traffic in each direction.
Construction is also underway to redevelop the Red Deer Regional Hospital, with the first phase of the project involving a new patient tower and 200 more inpatient beds.
Martens believes those projects are safe. It’s the ones in the future, both here and across the country, he’s worried about if the wealth being presented by the federal government isn’t allocated appropriately.
“What we’re talking about is the $166 billion in proposed projects for the future. And this could include an oil pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast. It could include, well, the Dow project, which is already approved and is about to get ready to restart in Edmonton,” said Martens.
