by Jeff Goodall
In their story “Chinese miner launches human rights complaint over B.C. foreign workers dispute” today, the Vancouver Sun tells us that a recently-arrived Chinese “temporary worker” hired by HD Mining International Limited has filed a human rights complaint against the United Steelworkers over the latter’s campaign to stop the importation of such temporaries to work for HD in its Tumbler Ridge coal-mining operation.
And, HD Mining is threatening to “…pursue claims for civil damages…” against the federal government for public statements made by Ministers of The Crown about the company.
Interestingly, according to its website, HD is owned by “two majority partners, Huiyong Holdings (BC) Ltd. (55%) and Canadian Dehua Lvliang International Mines Corp. (40%).” *
In addition to the Steelworkers involvement, two other B.C. unions are requesting a court injunction banning the importation of further foreign workers while there are Canadians capable of doing the job.
What we are seeing here may be the first attempt by a Chinese-owned business to get its own way by threatening claims for damages whenever Canada or Canadian unions and businesses try to protect themselves against the exploitation they can now expect to be subjected to as a result of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “sweetheart deal” with Chinese communism known as “FIPA”.
There is little likelihood that the “temporary” worker filing the human rights claim is not acting under company instructions. And as HD Mining listed Mandarin as a language requirement when it applied for temporary foreign worker permits, it is entirely possible that the complainant is illiterate in English.
In my opinion, it is highly significant that, according to the Vancouver Sun, “HD Mining distributed (to the media -JG) Huizhi Li’s letter to the Canadian Human Rights Commission along with a letter putting the government on notice that the company may pursue claims for civil damages after federal ministers made public statements about the company.”
Obviously this is a well-organized publicity stunt which, among other things, will appeal to the many landed immigrants and citizens of Chinese descent living in British Columbia, among whom there will be “cultural” and ”community” organizations set-up by agents of the People’s Republic of China which will loudly and gleefully jump on the “screw Canadian workers” bandwagon.
Canadian unions worked long and hard for human rights legislation and its enforcement, so perhaps its usage to fight against their interests will provide them with a much-needed wake-up call and bring them back into the real world.
Beyond that, Stephen Harper will have a lot to answer for as we begin to feel the consequences of his inexplicable and appalling betrayal of Canada and its workers to Chinese Communist interests.
Jeff Goodall.
* See “Chinese interests will import Chinese miners for their Canadian projects” here.
See the Vancouver Sun story here.
See the HD Mining “About” page here.
See also a CTV backgrounder on the issue here.