To the editor:
I recently read a report by Greg Kyllo, the Liberal MLA for Shuswap.
Kyllo questions why the Salmon Arm West highway improvement is not proceeding even though it has been approved by both the provincial and federal governments, with shared funding.
He suggests the reason is the excessive cost overruns of other provincial highway projects the contracts for which have been restricted by the NDP’s discriminatory Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) hiring practices.
The CBA discriminates against 85 per cent of B.C. workers.
In my opinion, this practice is not only very unfair to taxpayers, but also to the worker who is employed by a non-union company not approved under the requirements of the CBA.
As a taxpayer I urge you, Premier John Horgan, to open bidding for all highway projects to competent contractors, whether they are unionized or not.
That is the fair way to allow competition to determine the successful contractor and give all workers a chance at the associated jobs.
For me personally, the most important result of doing so would be to reduce my taxes.
Bob Reid
Vernon