BC Supreme Court Hears CBA Legal Challenge

The Supreme Court of British Columbia heard arguments from February 3 to 7, 2020 from a coalition of British Columbia's largest construction associations (the "Coalition") who are challenging the provincial government's labour framework for the building of public infrastructure projects.

In July 2018, the provincial government broadcast the widely controversial decision that public infrastructure projects, such as the Pattullo Bridge replacement, would be built using unionized labour supplied under the Community Benefits Agreement ("CBA") negotiated vis-à-vis the BC Building Trades Unions ("BTU"). As a result of this decision, in order to legally work on any CBA project, a non-BTU worker will have to change unions and pay dues to the BTU while working under the CBA.