Friday, September 19, 2025

Letter to the Manitoba Government Regarding the Province’s New Manitoba Jobs Agreement

CLAC members build Manitoba every day. They deserve a seat at the table

To the Hon. Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba and the Hon. Mintu Sandhu, Minister of Public Service Delivery

Dear Premier Kinew and Minister Sandhu,

On behalf of the CLAC, I write to acknowledge the Manitoba government's recent announcement of the Manitoba Jobs Agreement as part of Budget 2025. This initiative to ensure public infrastructure projects are built by Manitobans, strengthening our skilled trades workforce, and safeguarding good jobs amid trade uncertainty, seems to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to the interests of family-supporting employment and infrastructure excellence.

However, we were quite disheartened that CLAC was neither consulted nor advised during the development of this framework, especially given our longstanding and active presence in building Manitoba's public infrastructure projects. Since May 2025, we have made several efforts to respectfully seek an audience with your government. Regrettably, these requests have not yet received a response.

Our members build many schools in the province and have been making major contributions to Phase I of the City of Winnipeg's North End Water Pollution Control Centre.

CLAC is an all-Canadian union representing over 60,000 workers in construction, healthcare, education, retail, and manufacturing. CLAC brings a unique, wall-to-wall model of worker representation, robust workplace collaboration, and inclusive training programs that foster access for underrepresented identity groups and that support apprentices.

At present, CLAC serves more than 1,700 members who reside and work in Manitoba. Our union consistently delivers top-tier wages, benefits, and pensions for workers on publicly funded projects. CLAC also provides innovative workforce development and community benefit expertise—insight we are keen to contribute to ensure that the Manitoba Jobs Agreement is inclusive, equitable, and delivers maximum social and economic impact across the province.

In light of this, we respectfully request

inclusion of CLAC as a stakeholder in all future consultations and policy development processes related to the Manitoba Jobs Agreement.

a copy of the Manitoba Jobs Agreement framework or policy document so that we can better understand its parameters, application, and stakeholder engagement mechanisms.

consideration of CLAC's perspective in shaping access to publicly funded projects on the principle that employment opportunities should not be unjustly restricted based on union affiliation.

We believe that ensuring open access and fair treatment for all unions not only aligns with the government's goals of creating a strong construction workforce but also reflects sound public policy that respects the democratic rights of workers. CLAC stands ready to collaborate constructively, bringing experience, dedication, and a commitment to building a skilled, diverse, and resilient workforce in Manitoba.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response and to the opportunity for meaningful collaboration.

Sincerely,

Geoff Dueck Thiessen

Regional Director, Winnipeg Member Centre

Letter to the Manitoba Government Regarding the Province’s New Manitoba Jobs Agreement

You might be interested in