CLAC Supports Open and Fair Public Procurement in BC

LANGLEY, BC—CLAC has written to Prince George–Mackenzie MLA and Labour Critic Kiel Giddens to express strong support for the Public Sector Construction Projects Procurement Act. This proposed legislation would make public project bidding in British Columbia open, fair, and focused on safety, skill, and performance—not union affiliation. CLAC believes this bill is a major step toward respecting worker choice, expanding opportunities for apprentices, and ensuring better value for taxpayers.

Here is CLAC’s full open letter.

Dear MLA Giddens,

On behalf of CLAC’s members across British Columbia, thank you for advancing the Public Sector Construction Projects Procurement Act. Many CLAC members are apprentices and journeypersons in civil, industrial, commercial, healthcare, and institutional construction. They are proud of the projects they build and the communities they strengthen. They are asking for a simple, worker-first standard in public procurement: keep it open, fair, and judge prospective bidders on safety, skills, and the ability to deliver projects on time and on budget.

Capital budget projects have gone $17.3 billion dollars over budget due in part to the provincial government’s restricted tendering process, which only allows 19 NDP-favoured construction unions to work on public projects. These unions represent fewer than 15 percent of construction workers in BC. The average cost overrun per project is approximately 25 percent.

Making public procurement labour-neutral and merit-based respects workers’ freedom of association while ensuring every qualified contractor can compete. That means more opportunities for working British Columbians, stronger apprenticeship pathways, and better value for taxpayers.

CLAC supports the bill for the following reasons:

1. It respects worker choice and basic fairness. BC’s construction workforce is diverse. Workers choose different unions for different reasons. Public projects should not exclude skilled British Columbians based on union affiliation. This bill protects worker choice by ensuring bids are evaluated on a strong safety record, recognized credentials, proven experience, fair compensation, and reliable delivery.
2. Open access means more opportunity, training, and safer careers. When access is open, more BC workers can build the hospitals, schools, roads, and bridges their families rely on close to home and on fair terms. That expands apprenticeship hours, speeds Red Seal completion, and brings more women, Indigenous workers, newcomers, and local contractors into public work. It also reduces two-tier tensions on mixed sites by holding every employer to the same outcome-based safety and training standards, regardless of union affiliation.
3. It provides better value and delivery for the public we all serve. Every dollar saved through fair competition is a dollar that can fund the next classroom, clinic, or infrastructure project and support family-sustaining jobs to build them. In recent years, British Columbia’s capital program has faced significant cost overruns and delays. Narrowing the eligible workforce makes those pressures worse; widening competition taps more local capacity and innovation. This bill allows everyone to participate in building public projects by working together to create safe sites, qualified crews, and strong apprenticeship plans, all while improving productivity. That’s good for taxpayers and for workers whose livelihoods depend on steady, well-managed projects.

CLAC members value the bill’s even-handed, practical design. It is pro-worker and pro-results. It recognizes the contributions of all unionized and nonunionized tradespeople and ensures government can’t pick winners or losers based on union affiliation.

Public infrastructure belongs to all British Columbians. The opportunity to build it should be open to every qualified worker and contractor.  For these reasons, CLAC’s 60,000 members strongly support the Public Sector Construction Projects Procurement Act and encourage all members of the BC Legislative Assembly to advance it for debate and passage.

Thank you for your leadership and for standing up for worker choice, strong careers, and better value for the public.

Sincerely,

Ryan Bruce,

CLAC Government Relations Director

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