Laval, QC, June 6, 2018 – Teamsters Canada is supporting the federal government in its swift action to ensure the construction of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX). The pipeline is critically important to the Canadian economy and Teamster members.
“We salute the Trudeau Government for standing up for Canadian workers and the national interest,” said François Laporte, President of Teamsters Canada. “Skilled, highly trained labour from the Teamsters Union stands ready to safely see this project through.”
After working on the original Trans Mountain Pipeline and countless others without incident, union members established a track record for building safe pipelines. Teamsters now hope to work with the federal government, as well as any future owners, to ensure that TMX is safely built by the best possible hands.
“Our message to the federal government is that pipelines built by unionized Canadian pipeline workers will be safer than those built using unqualified or temporary foreign labour,” explained François Laporte.
In Canada, a majority of all pipeline projects are currently being built by union members. Meanwhile, in the province of Québec, the law says that all major construction projects (including pipelines) must be built by union members.
TMX will allow Canada to sell oil abroad at fairer prices. It involves building a new pipeline along the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline running from Edmonton to Burnaby, and expanding the capacity of the terminal in Burnaby. This expansion will increase daily capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels, while improving market access to the US Pacific Coast and Northeast Asia.
Teamsters represent close to 125,000 workers in Canada in all industries. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
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Media requests:
Christopher Monette
Director of Public Affairs
Teamsters Canada
Cell: 514-226-6002
[email protected]