Mandarin required in worker permits for B.C. mine project

A mining company under scrutiny over its plan to bring 201 Chinese miners to a proposed project in northern B.C. listed Mandarin as a language requirement when it applied for temporary foreign worker permits, newly released documents reveal.

The Federal Court released a package of documents Friday linked to HD Mining's proposed Murray River underground coal mine, which has been overshadowed by controversy over the use of temporary foreign workers.

Among those documents is one of HD Mining's applications to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada for a labour market opinionan assessment conducted by the federal department that assesses the need to hire foreign workers instead of Canadians.

In a field labelled "language requirements," the company wrote: "The Chinese workers will speak Chinese in a team environment and will receive English-language training, as per the attached [temporary foreign worker] transition plan."

The documents were released as part of a court challenge launched by two unions, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Construction and Specialized Workers Union, which are seeking to have the temporary foreign worker permits revoked.

Program review announced

The controversy over the mine has also prompted the federal human resources minister to announcea review of the entire temporary foreign worker program, while the B.C. government, while a strong defender of the mine, has launched its own investigation into allegations recruiters in China charged fees.

Several unions have already accused the company of failing to attempt to hire or train Canadians before resorting to foreign workers, pointing to several job ads that specifically referred to Mandarin. Opponents have argued the mention of Mandarin in those job ads which the company has insisted was a mistake proves HD Mining was never interested in hiring Canadians in the first place.

The unions are now arguing the Mandarin language requirement in the temporary foreign worker permit applications suggests HD Mining intends to use the Chinese miners permanently.

"If these are jobs that Canadians aren't able to do presently, then they're supposed to transition those jobs to Canadians" union lawyer Charles Gordon told reporters outside court in Vancouver on Friday.

"How do you do that if the people who have those jobs can't speak to the Canadians because they only speak Mandarin?"

HD Mining issued a statement Friday that said the company included Mandarin on the temporary foreign worker application simply to indicate the language spoken by the foreign workers it had already recruited.

"When we were unable to recruit any qualified Canadians, we applied for and received permission from [Human Resources and Skills Development Canada] to hire temporary foreign workers," the statement said.

Canadian worker training deal

Last month,HD Mining announced a deal with Northern Lights Collegeto design a curriculum for training new miners. The agreement lays out a 10-year timeline to transition to Canadian workers, the company said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Court ordered the federal government Friday to hand over more documents to the unions, including every labour market opinion application submitted for the mine and all supporting documents.

The unions will return to court next week to ask for an injunction to prevent more Chinese miners from arriving until the court decides whether the temporary foreign worker permits are valid. So far, 17 Chinese miners have arrived at the mine, with 60 more due later this month.

The company is also asking the Federal Court of Appeal to throw out the case entirely. HD Mining is appealing a decision that granted the unions standing to challenge the foreign worker permits.

HD Mining is a partnership between China-based Huiyong Holding Group, which owns a 55 per cent stake, and Canadian Dehua International Mines Group Inc.