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FROM CONSTRUCTION ELECTRICIAN TO MP

An interview with NDP MP Daniel Blaikie
By: Matt Wayland, Executive Assistant to the International Vice President & Canadian Director of Government Relations, IBEW Canada
Matt Wayland: Matt Wayland:
You have an interesting career path – working as a member of the The NDP can, at times, be seen as a party that does not favour
IBEW, as a construction electrician before starting down the path major infrastructure projects. Coming from the construction world
of politics. What lessons did you learn from construction that you – you know that these are the projects that allow our members to
can apply in your role as an MP? do what they do best. What can we expect from the NDP should
they form government in October, in regards to building projects?
Daniel Blaikie:
Working in the trades helps you develop a pretty good BS detector. Daniel Blaikie:
It’s hard to have a safe, productive worksite if there’s too much BS The NDP is a big supporter of major infrastructure investment. It is
and not enough straight-shooters to cut through it. true that we want to invest in projects that are in line with our goal
of reducing Canada’s carbon foot print, but there is a lot of work
Politics is like that too, but there are even more places for people
for tradespeople in the investments we are talking about.
to hide. They don’t have to find a dark corner. They can hide behind
flowery rhetoric or offer to meet with you again weeks or months We want to build roads, bridges, transmissions lines, broadband
down the road, instead of dealing with the issue now. connectivity, and more. We’ve announced a major residential and
commercial retrofit program as well, to make buildings more energy
But if you’re paying close attention, you can cut through the BS in
efficient, make energy bills more affordable . . . and employ a lot
the same way you would on a jobsite. Ask the question: is the work
of trades people in the process.
actually getting done? If, for all the talk, the work isn’t done, then
what they have to say shouldn’t matter too much. Public investment in infrastructure will go further under the NDP,
because we put workers at the heart of what we do. We believe in
If Canada was like job, say a community centre, I would describe
Community Benefit Agreements. We don’t endorse trade deals that
the politics of it like this:
make it easier for international contractors to import temporary
- The Liberals got Canadians to commit to the project and front the workforces for work that Canadian tradespeople are willing and able
money. The money’s getting spent somehow, but the work isn’t to do. We support fair collective bargaining and the enforcement of
getting done. labour laws to make work safe and fair.
- The Conservatives spent their time trying to convince Canadians Matt Wayland:
the whole thing should be torn down. The current government of Canada has invested significantly in
skills training. What is the NDP’s plan to address the need to
- The NDP has been trying to communicate with everyone on the
develop the workforce to address the growing skills shortage?
job so we can get it done safely and efficiently for everybody to
enjoy when it’s done. Daniel Blaikie:
We want to build on the investments in training that have already
been made. Some of that is simply making more investment in
training through proven partners, like the union training centres
across the countr

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