VICTORIA – New Democrat leader Adrian Dix and jobs critic Jenny Kwan welcomed the passage of a joint resolution of the provincial legislature in support of laid-off Aveos aircraft maintenance workers. They also urged that more work needs to be done to protect these high-skill, well-paid B.C. jobs.
“The government deserves recognition for accepting our invitation to work cooperatively on this resolution, which sends a clear message that B.C. deserves equal treatment with other provinces affected by Aveos lay-offs,” said Dix. “But we need to go further by urging Prime Minister Harper to intervene to protect jobs at Aveos here in B.C.
“These positions are critical to B.C.’s aerospace sector and history shows that once they are lost, it will be almost impossible to restore them.”
The legislature unanimously passed a resolution today calling for Aveos workers in Vancouver to be accorded the same protections that workers in Mississauga, Winnipeg and Montreal receive under the Air Canada Public Participation Act. Further, it called for Greater Vancouver to be included in the list of protected communities if the federal government amends the Act.
“Our caucus wants to explore further non-partisan, cooperative measures that can be taken to protect these jobs,” said Kwan. “We would like to meet jointly with our Liberal and independent counterparts, as well as Aveos workers, to move forward with an unified front to press B.C.’s case.”
Dix pointed out that because B.C. is currently not protected by the Air Canada Public Participation Act, B.C. legislators will have to work harder than their counterparts in other provinces.
“Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec have an advantage over B.C., which means we have to work twice as hard to protect these jobs,” said Dix. “That is why moving swiftly with an effective, non-partisan approach that advances B.C.’s interests is essential. I intend to continue advocatingfor expanded, cooperative efforts. This issue is too important for partisanship.”
Aveos Fleet Performance Inc., a privately held company based in Grand Caymans and Luxembourg, was spun off from Air Canada. It filed for bankruptcy protection on March 19, 2012, choosing to liquidate its assets rather than attempt to restructure. Aveos employed 356 skilled, heavy maintenance workers at its Richmond facility, and a total of approximately 2,700 people in it various operations across Canada, all of whom have been laid off.