CBC.CA News - Full Story :
Last Updated: Jun 1 2006 06:50 PM PDT

B.C.'s construction unions say dozens of foreign workers at the Canada Line rapid transit tunnel are the victims of exploitation, receiving less than the minimum wage.

Wayne Peppard says the foreign workers are being paid less than $5 an hour. (CBC)

The B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council says more than 50 workers from Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia are working long hours with no overtime — which works out to a wage of less than $5 an hour.

• LINK: Letter from the council to B.C. Labour Minister Mike de Jong (.pdf)

"We feel that it's important enough that we put everybody on notice that this is absolutely unacceptable. This is scandalous," said the council's executive director, Wayne Peppard.

"We were shocked and appalled to learn that these atrocious wages are being paid to foreign workers here on this RAV line. This is an exploitation of the temporary foreign-worker program."

The Canada Line tunnel boring will start from this excavation on the south side of False Creek. (CBC)

The council says it's also upset that Canadian union workers are not being used on the tunnel portion of the rapid transit line from downtown Vancouver to Richmond and the airport.

• LINK: Canada Line
Canada Line spokesman Steve Crombie says no B.C. companies bid on the tunnelling contract. It then went to international bidding, and Seli Tecnologie — an Italian company — won the contract.

Crombie said Seli's employees are "experts in tunnel-boring work, and they have done these projects all over the world.

"And I think what's happening is the building trades are making accusations or suggestions because they're upset because they aren't doing the work."

Crombie also said the workers from Central and South America are being paid "competitive wages" — and specifically denied that the workers are being paid less than $5 an hour.

" I don't know how much they are being paid, but I can tell you it's certainly more than minimum," he said.

• LINK: Background on the Canada Line tunnel
The Seli workers will be operating a specialized tunnel-boring machine 24 hours a day for the next two years to complete the five-kilometre tunnel under downtown Vancouver and False Creek by 2008.

The Canada Line is scheduled to open in 2009.

VANCOUVER -- Yaletown merchants said Wednesday they were duped after consultations about where the neighbourhood's Canada Line station entrance should be built took them right back to where they started.

"We feel duped," said Stephanie Clarke, executive director of the Yaletown Business Improvement Association.

The city and Ravco, the company overseeing the rapid transit project, have decided on a modified version of their plan to put the station entrance in Bill Curtis Plaza, a small, paved community park at the intersection of Davie and Mainland Streets.

Ravco communications director Alan Dever said three other locations -- on the sidewalk on Pacific Boulevard on either side of Davie and on the median in the middle of Pacific -- were considered but would cost more, raised safety and accessibility concerns and could threaten the line's construction schedule.

"The city has reiterated their view that their preferred option is Bill Curtis Plaza," Dever added. Senior city planner Larry Beasley, who said in December the city was open to changing the entrance plan, could not be reached Wednesday.

The merchants and some Yaletown condo owners had complained the plaza location would further congest the busy Davie-Mainland intersection, attract crime after dark, and interfere with emergency services and garbage disposal on Mainland.

But the neighbourhood was told there were no viable options for the station entrance "for geotechnical reasons," Clarke said.

It turned out the three Pacific Boulevard locations were all viable. "So we were misled there."

However, Dever said the Pacific locations would cost $10 million and $11 million more for the sidewalk options and an extra $13 million for the median.

The median plan "would have very significant safety considerations because it is in the middle of Pacific Boulevard," he said. "And it would likely delay the opening of the station and possibly the Canada Line. So there are some significant down-sides for that option."

Ravco still wants to put the entrance in the plaza, but plans to reduce its "footprint" by about two-thirds and set it back so it no longer requires a further narrowing of Mainland.

"They're going to go with the cheapest option, not what's best for the neighbourhood," Clarke said, adding the community prefers the median option. "It has the least impact on the community, it's visible, there's not going to be a lot of loitering or drug or criminal activity because it's right in the middle of a street."

She said the extra $13 million is "a drop in the bucket" compared to the Canada Line's total cost of $1.9 billion, "so we're going to fight for the money."

"This is going to be here for 100 years, it's the most densely populated station on the line, and the neighbourhood wants it. But it just won't work where it is and it has boiled down to money. So we're making a huge stink."

Merchants and residents plan to rally at an open house Monday at the Roundhouse Community Centre at Pacific and Davie, from 7 to 9 p.m., when city and Ravco officials plan to explain their decision.

Dever disagreed that there is a community consensus for the median option.

"There was no real consensus about location," he said. "I think there are residents in the area that support the Bill Curtis Plaza location. I have talked to residents who have e-mailed us and told us that's where it should be."

*The public needs more open houses and workshops.

Our Environmental Assessment Team has participated in the open house meetings on January 25, 26, and 31. We have studied thoroughly RAV Environmental Assessment Certificate Application and Supplement.

Thorough environmental impact assessment (EIA) needed for original Reference Project vs. Selected Project

There are major changes of construction method and alignment, unheard by the public and even Board Directors of Translink, which include: *Waterfront at Cordova to south side of Georgia St. Vancouver: Underground-bored tunnel changed to Underground-cut-and-cover tunnel

*2nd Ave. to 37th Ave. Vancouver:
Underground-bored tunnel changed to Underground-cut-and-cover tunnel

*37th Ave. to 63rd Ave. Vancouver:
For a partially grade-separated system, at -grade; for a fully grade-separated system, at-grade, elevated or in-trench changed to Underground-cut-and-cover tunnel

*Richmond Bridgeport to Capstan Way:
Elevated or at-grade changed to Elevated

*Richmond Capstan Way to Richmond Centre:
Elevated or at-grade changed to Elevated

Unbearable truck loads and spoil disposal

The general public demand detailed information and precise figures, such as the dimensions and depth of both cut-and-cover construction and boring construction methods along RAV line, for more accurate environmental assessments. For example, the estimated 100 to 150 truck loads/day for spoil disposal need to be based on concrete figures to be convincing. Independent experts have estimated the number of truck loads required removing spoil and subsequent re-cover may double. RAVCO needs to provide estimates to allow the public for comparison between alternative construction plans (boring versus cut-and-cover methods) on the volume of spoil, the truck loads required to dispose it, and other associated economic, social and environmental impacts (e.g. traffic, noise, air pollution, dust and road destruction).

Economic impacts

Business for stores and merchants along RAV line construction will definitely suffer due to the loss of existing roadside parking, detour of substantial traffic volume to avoid the anticipated delay and traffic congestion. As well, residents at large will suffer from increased consumption of fuel due to traffic congestion, detour, and the opportunity costs for all travelers due to increased travel time. Traffic congestion and associated problems will deter tourists, film industry, and many other visitors as well business opportunities.

Social impacts

Transit commuters with disabilities will suffer from needing more transfers to reach their destinations, incurring more time waste and additional inconvenience. The increased cut-and-cover construction will bring traffic congestion, slow down traffic, not only along the construction alignment but also in alternative routes, due to traffic diversion and detour (to Burrard, Granville, Oak, and Main streets). This will increase the travel time for emergency response vehicles, such as ambulance, fire engines, and police, slowing down their response time and compromise their capability to serve.

Due to the increased extent of cut-and-cover construction, south-bound Cambie will be expanded from the original 3 lanes to 4 lanes to accommodate two-way traffic while the original north-bound lanes are being dug up. Pedestrians, transit commuters, and cyclists will experience inconvenience and increased risks associated with crossing streets, especially seniors and those with disabilities. Moreover, detouring vehicles entering residential areas will definitely increase the risk of traffic accidents. Increasing the extent of cut-and-cover construction on the RAV line is socially unjust, as RAVCO will receive economic benefits at the expense of the residents in terms of inconvenience, lost business, and delayed emergency services.

Environmental impacts

The problems of traffic congestion will not be localized because the formation of traffic bottlenecks due to increased cut-and-cover construction method. Not just localized traffic congestion, the anticipated impacts will extend beyond, both spatially and temporally, the construction phase along the alignment.

Increased fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions due to traffic congestion, idling, and detour undermines Cool Vancouver Initiative. Construction-related traffic, noise, air pollution, and dust impacts due to increased cut-and-cover construction will negatively impact the quality of life and health.

More open house sessions available, after thorough environmental impact assessment With increased lengths of RAV line constructed by the cut-and-cover method, the east-west traffic in Vancouver will also be affected. The impacts therefore extend beyond the vicinity of RAV line construction area. The impacts therefore extend beyond the vicinity of RAV line construction area. The population in City of Vancouver accounts for more than 25% of all residents in GVRD. More open house sessions for public consultations are needed to inform Vancouver residents as a whole.

Substantive information needed
Thousands of pages of documents regarding environment impacts of RAV construction are neither easily accessible nor understandable by the general public. RAVCO needs to provide, during open house sessions, easy-to-understand information that is meaningful and relevant to the concerns of general public in order to educate and convince citizens. For example, information should be provided in graphs, figures, illustrations and three-dimensional diagrams or models for ordinary citizens to understand. As well, RAVCO needs to provide concrete traffic management plans and mitigation measures to convince the general public that issues related to traffic are sufficiently addressed.

As well, RAVCO needs to provide information regarding the capacity, area occupied, and facilities of each of the 16 stations to allow public to understand and assess the impacts of environment for each station.

RAV line environmental assessment documents place too much emphasis on the projected benefits after the completion of construction. Instead, it needs to address the additional impacts due to modified construction plan (more cut-and-cover method than initially planned) during the construction stage.

In conclusion,
*Cut-and-cover tunnel construction (Selected Project) should not be
used, because it will cause tremendous economic, social and environmental impacts. *Selected Project needs thorough environmental impact assessment (EIA).

*The public needs more open houses and workshops.