Transport committee  I challenged that law. The excuse I was given had to do with historical events in 1972, when there had been violence on construction sites. It's as though, today, in 2013, Quebec's workers hadn't changed but had stayed the same as in 1972. I was also told that without that law, there would be violence again.

Transport committee  I'm suggesting that the unions will increase the price. It has nothing to do with the quality of the work.

Transport committee  When you have unionized workers, overtime enters the equation, usually after eight hours of work, and that raises costs. A non-unionized worker will be more flexible in that regard. In addition, unionized workers are separated by class. The carpenter has to do his job, the labourer has to do his job, the painter has to do his job, and so forth.

Transport committee  There are union contractors who go under and there are non-union contractors who go under. What matters is the quality of the work. I always go back to the same example. Say you have ten workers: five of them are unionized and five aren't. At the end of the day, you'll have five good workers, regardless.

Transport committee  There's one: Quebec.

Transport committee  Quebec's Act Respecting Labour Relations, Vocational Training and Workforce Management in the Construction Industry makes it a requirement for all workers. There's no chance.

Transport committee  I believe so, because companies from other provinces and other places aren't allowed to bid. With all the workers being unionized, it will inevitably be more expensive.

Transport committee  Precisely. Imagine if we had rules preventing black people or women from working somewhere. There would be a clause to stop that. All we are asking for is a clause to prevent discrimination against non-unionized workers. It's not complicated. That automatically brings down the cost.

Transport committee  My carpenters, my workers, are unionized carpenters. Theirs are not unionized. Every one of my men, it costs him almost $2 an hour to have the right to work. Their worker is paying for that. The advantage with the Merit contractor is that the worker doesn't pay any dues at all.

Transport committee  This is what I'm saying. They have this clause. Large companies, and I'm using PCL as an example, are signatories with many unions. So, if my company is signed up with the carpenters union—so I'm not anti-union—but my labourers are not, and PCL is signed up with the labour union, that means I can't bid on a job that PCL is running.

Transport committee  Yes, because many jobs that I bid on are general contractors that are completely non-union and I have their jobs and they are contractors that are a signatory with the carpenters union, which I'm okay with, but this is fairness. It's just when it comes to our federal government I feel it is not acting properly towards my situation.

Transport committee  In a system like Quebec's, where all the contractors and all the workers are required to band together, collusion is inevitable. People are forced to get together and have discussions as a family. When you're in a family, you talk and you divvy up the pot. That's what isn't acceptable.

Transport committee  There's never a definitive answer. I've always thought that when a decision is made, it works for a limited period of time only, because dishonest people will always find a way around it. Opening up the bidding would help and give the industry some relief. Introducing some oversight instead of adding review committees—we spend more time on reviews and studies than on oversight—would benefit Canadians more.

Transport committee  Yes.

Transport committee  I've never worked in Quebec, like many people in the Gatineau area.