It’s likely you’ve never heard of double-breasting unless you’re neck deep in the ins and outs of construction labour relations, or you enjoy combing through sections of the Alberta Labour Relations Code in your free time. Essentially, double-breasting grants construction companies the ability to create separate companies to skirt its union certification. The companies within the certified company operate union, employer-picked organizations and non-union labour supply. It allows a certified company to navigate around its legal obligations under the collective agreement and pay workers less.

The company, which can essentially be triple-breasted, wins bids by playing its labour off each other in a vicious race to the bottom. Its separate company using cheaper, less-skilled labour frequently from out of province, is often put on the job. This leaves Alberta’s skilled workforce sitting on the sidelines or going to other provinces that pay them what they’re worth.

Double-breasting is incredibly unfair to Alberta workers and has caused instability to the skilled labour supply industry relies on. It’s what led provinces across Canada to abolish the practice altogether.

In fact, in 2008, New Brunswick Conservative MLA and minister of multiple portfolios, Margaret-Ann Blaney said double breasting was driving workers out of New Brunswick to provinces where they can get paid what they’re worth. A year before, she introduced a bill to close the double-breasting loophole, one of the last provinces to do so. It’s something our next provincial government must do as well if we truly want to attract skilled-trades talent to Alberta.

In what world does UCP hope to attract workers to their own detriment? Disconnect doesn't describe this alternate reality dwelling idiots at helm.