Op-Eds
Start Your Career in the Trades
October 9, 2025 I AM OFTEN ASKED HOW TO start an apprenticeship. It happens all the time. From the cab driver taking me to the airport to the service representative helping me process a return. When people find out I work in construction, they frequently follow up...
Trades are Here to Stay – President’s Message
September 5, 2025 YOU CAN’T GO FAR these days without hearing about artificial intelligence. We’re hearing about it pretty much every day now. The technology comes with plenty of small, day-to-day benefits. It can write you an e-mail. It can lay out a monthly family...
The people behind the projects driving our economy
June 16, 2025 IN THE FACE OF CANADA’S CHANGING relationship with the United States and the impact of tariffs, there has been a lot of talk about measures our country must take to protect our sovereignty, ensure our energy security, diversify trade and build our...
Facing Trump’s tariffs: Solidarity required – President’s Message
June 6, 2025 FOR A LONG TIME, TRADE BETWEEN CANADA and the U.S. has felt like part of the background — something most of us didn’t need to think twice about. It was steady, mostly predictable and even when we had disputes along the way, the overall trend had been...
The Meaning of Solidarity – the Executive Director’s Message
May 12, 2025 J.S. WOODSWORTH WROTE A FAMOUS grace that said: “What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all. To this end may we take our share in the world’s work and the world’s struggles.” It’s so simple, and yet, so powerful. It is a call to action. A perpetual...
Facing Trump’s tariffs: Solidarity required – President’s Message
April 7, 2025 SWEEPING U.S. TARIFFS AGAINST CANADA have people across the country seriously concerned. The 25 per cent tariffs on most goods and 10 per cent on oil and gas have potential to impact our economy and and threaten important industries. These actions...
Navigating Modified Duties – the Workers’ Advocate’s Message
February 21, 2025 IF YOU GET INJURED on the job, your employer will likely offer you modified duties, presenting you with the choice of accepting or refusing. Injured workers sometimes run into trouble in this situation, particularly when they are too injured to...
Guiding Kids Toward Trades – President’s message
November 22, 2024 SOCIETY TENDS TO STEER children toward university, emphasizing careers in fields like business, technology or healthcare. But why is there so little encouragement for careers in the trades? Is it because trades are seen as “lesser” or incapable of...
President’s Message – A return to energy balance in Vancouver
October 18, 2024 VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL recently approved a directive to reinstate natural gas as an option for heating and hot water in new home construction. This reverses its January 2022 policy that mandated only low-emission electric units for space and hot water...
This election is personal – Executive Director’s Message
September 26, 2024 FOR ME, POLITICS IS PERSONAL. It’s not something that happens over in Victoria or Ottawa. It’s something that affects my family, my friends and my community. It’s been that way since I was 15. At that time, a right wing government was slashing jobs...
