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All is not well for workers in Fort McMurray or the oilsands, argued a group of labour and union leaders in a meeting with visiting senators. Many of the labour representatives said they fear current economic trends will leave their workplaces understaffed and filled with transient workers, while families will move on from Fort McMurray.

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Fears towards automation, problems hiring and keeping staff, the high cost of living and low property values were the main complaints raised at an hour-long meeting at the Gregoire office of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 955.

“This is a place that is just booming with people looking for opportunity and it seems like that opportunity is slipping away,” said Ty Brandt of IUOE Local 955 at the meeting. “It’s not even slow anymore, it’s eroding. The opportunities just aren’t there like they were.”

Thirteen senators and their staff attended. Representatives from the Unifor, CUPE, AUPE, the Wood Buffalo and District Labour Council, the Alberta Federation of Labour, United Nurses of Alberta, and unions representing ironworkers and plumbers were among the many different labour groups at the meeting.

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Many representatives said that, despite a push for young people to enter the trades, many companies are prioritizing tradespeople with experience. Others argued tradespeople are not being trained fast enough and that many colleges have limited spaces.

One worker said he regrets staying in Fort McMurray after losing his home in the 2016 Horse River Wildfire. The property value of the rebuilt home is a fraction of what it once was, and the impacts of the wildfire, low oil prices, the pandemic and the April 2020 flood has left many other people burnt out.

Another worker feared industrial sites in the region would become a skeleton crew of temporary foreign workers, commuters and automated equipment.

“When things change in the oilsands, than it changes for families,” said Tonya Baker, vice president of CUPE Local 2545, which represents public school teachers. “We have families that say ‘we’re gone in a week, we have to go, can’t afford to stay here.’ We see the trickle effect when our kids are being pulled out of school.”

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Alberta Sen. Scott Tannas said in a Wednesday interview he was struck by “the gap between management and particularly leadership and labour” after his tour of Suncor’s Base Plant facility and the meeting with labour groups. Tannas is the CEO of a non-unionized company and found the dynamic strange.

“When I asked the ‘have you guys ever met with a CEO from one of these operators’ and the answer was ‘No,’ I was genuinely surprised,” said Tannas. “I would have thought that there would have been some kind of a regular communication sharing a vision, sharing problems and collectively finding solutions.”

Tannas shared concerns about young tradespeople struggling to find work experience. He planned to discuss the concerns mentioned during meetings with oilsands CEOs and leaders.

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He also said a national energy policy with a shared vision of Canada’s energy future would address many of the concerns he heard during the meeting. He also s

“That’s something that needs to happen, and it takes leadership at a government level both provincially and federally,” said Tannas. “It’s probably more likely we’ll get to get to that articulated energy policy or direction over the next two, three years.”

He also praised the ingenuity he saw during his oilsands tour and felt his colleagues developed a new appreciation for the oilsands.

“It was a big dose of reality for a lot of folks,” he said. “Not that they’re unrealistic people, but to see it is to understand it.”

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