VANCOUVER - Two trades unions that obtained the resumes of hundreds of rejected Canadian applicants for a controversial mining project in northern B.C. say the documents show there were numerous qualified candidates.
The unions had taken HD Mining to court over the company's plan to employ 201 temporary foreign workers from China at the Murray River project near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., because the labour groups say Canadians should have had the first rights to such jobs.
The company has repeatedly said there were no qualified Canadians available or interested in doing the work, leading it to obtain the permits from the federal government.
But the company handed over the resumes of rejected candidates last month to satisfy the federal court, and now the unions say multiple applicants had exemplary experience, including one individual with 30-plus years in underground mining experience.
Other sample applicants had 20 years of experience, including three as an underground operations supervisor, and six years, including three in an underground coal mine.
The unions say the findings justify their court application for a judicial review of Ottawa's decision to issue permits to the workers, but that case has yet to be heard.
