As far as the TFW it's not just pouring coffee at Timmies. Alberta's oil sands has many of them while the companies working have 1000s of resumes from qualified and experienced Canadians who would do anything to get an opportunity to work up there.
Foreign worker 'mess' making oilsands site unsafe, ironworkers claim
Canadian tradesmen from a huge oilsands construction project are waving a red flag about safety hazards and near misses, which they blame on the use of foreign workers who aren't qualified and can't speak English.
"When you bring in a bunch of workers who are unqualified to do this job it's only a matter of time before you kill someone," said Les Jennings, who was an ironworker supervisor at the Husky Sunrise plant until a few weeks ago, when he quit in frustration.
"People are angry and upset," said journeyman ironworker Johnny Demosten, who is still working at the site. He said many of the foreign workers don't know crane hand signals and other safety precautions.
"If they are journeymen, they are supposed to know the signals. It's pretty dangerous."
There are 344 foreigners — skilled tradespeople and others — currently working on site for the Italian-based company Saipem, under contract to build the multi-billion dollar plant 60 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.
The project is over budget and behind its original schedule.
Hazards cited by inspector
"The errors on that site are repetitive and consistent. Mistakes made over and over," said Ryan Slade, a journeyman electrician contracted by Husky last year, as an on-site quality control inspector.
"You used to feel like you were part of something. Now, you feel you are part of the mess."
Nearly 300 replaced by TFWs at oilsands site