Work in progress

If the Island’s construction industry is serious about dealing with its labour shortage issue, then it needs to take a hard look at why it paid workers the lowest wages in the country last month.

This week, the labour shortage came up at a provincial standing committee meeting. To date, according to the Construction Association of P.E.I., there are about 300 unfilled construction jobs on the Island. A BuildForce Canada report indicates that with retirements between now and 2028, we could lose 1,500 workers. It is estimated that only 1,200 younger workers will be on hand to replace them.

So, a strategy is to get more young people, newcomers, indigenous residents and women into the trades. To help with this, last year the construction association received $55,000 from the province to launch the Island Builder program – a recruitment initiative that involved radio advertisements, a promotional video and a website.

When asked by the committee about the success rate of Holland College’s training programs, Sam Sanderson, the construction association’s general manager, indicated that he couldn’t answer due to a lack of familiarity.

Really? Island tax dollars go to Holland College to train trades people for this very purpose – to supply the industry so we don’t have labour shortages. The college and the construction association appear disconnected and need to do a better job working together.

But the construction association is also mindful that wages are an issue. Sanderson said preliminary findings show entry-level labourers are making an average of $15-$18 per hour and red seal carpenters are in the $20-$33 per hour range.

Here’s another statistic for the Island’s construction industry. In July, construction workers on P.E.I. were paid the lowest hourly average wage and lowest median wage among the Canadian provinces, including our neighbours in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, according to Statistics Canada.

That’s right. We were dead last with an average wage of $20.22 per hour and a median wage of $18.88. By comparison, Alberta paid construction workers $33.56 (average) and $32 (median).

Why is there such a discrepancy between construction wages here compared to elsewhere? After all, we live in a hot economy, and homes are still being built and sold, even with a labour shortage. And, the price of those homes keeps climbing.

A tactic that needs to be scrapped is trying to sell the ‘Island way of life’ in place of opening up wallets and paying workers on par with competing provinces.

It’s no different than any other business. If you want the best talent, you have to pay.

It’s turned into a long tradition of Maritime trades people going to Fort McMurray (or, rather, Fort ‘McMoney’), Saskatchewan or Ontario for higher wages, lower costs by living in camps, and then coming back with pockets full of money in the off-season.

As nostalgic as an Islander may be about home, at the end of the day, no one wants to leave money on the table.