Budget 2021, COVID-19 Supports, Elections and Cancellations
2021 is shaping up to be a busy year in Ottawa, with the Federal Government undergoing pre-budget consultations ahead of the expected Budget release in March. CBTU has outlined our Budget priorities here and the Canadian Executive Board will be busy over the coming weeks, meeting with Cabinet Ministers to ensure our priorities are heard and considered.
HEALTH AND SAFETY DURING THE PANDEMIC
COVID-19, the slow roll out of vaccines and daily case counts continue to dominate the news cycle. Early on, the construction industry was deemed essential. This put the pressure on our local unions to work with employers and the government to address health and safety. Thankfully, the Building Trades continues to keep our members safe with very low case counts spread through the industry as outlined in our CBTU database here.
This week, with rapid testing being rolled out across the country, we understand the concern felt by members about having to miss work due to COVID-19. In response, the CBTU has outlined the various government supports that employees may access should they miss work due to COVID-19 illness or even COVID-19 layoffs due to construction site closures. We urge you to share this information and these infographics, with your members.
PIPELINES
The other item that has been dominating the news lately is Enbridge's Line 5. CBTU participated in Enbridge's recent letter campaign, urging the Canadian government to engage with their American counterparts to ensure Line 5 is not shut down by the State of Michigan. Line 5 is not only important to providing roughly half the oil in Ontario and Quebec, but the estimated number of spinoff jobs in these two provinces is over 20,000. CBTU is working closely with provincial and state building trades councils to coordinate our efforts on Line 5 and will continue to keep you updated.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
NABTU’s Tradeswomen’s Committee and Apprenticeship and Training Committee created a new initiative - the Tradeswomen Heroes Award - to honour the dedicated tradeswomen within NABTU’s 14 affiliate unions. Local Union leaders can learn more about how to nominate a tradeswomen, here.
GRANTS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR APPRENTICES
Those starting out in the trade not only are learning their craft, but many are managing household budgets while trying to complete their training. Understanding the financial challenges that have only heightened with the pandemic, the CBTU has compiled a report listing the grants and financial supports available for apprentices on our website here. The Grants and Financial Support Available for Apprentices report includes both Federal and Provincial programs and credits.
We encourage you to share this with your local unions, training centres and various committees. These provisions will help keep apprentices in training programs and aid them during a tough post-COVID recovery.
Stay safe,
Sean
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