Idiocy in the name of security

[velvetpage]

What's more, it's an American military contract that is being given to a Canadian company - and the Canadian company won't get the contract if they don't apply the discriminatory rule to their workforce. So, because Americans don't trust people born in certain countries, a Canadian company is forced to lay them off and face legal action in order to get the contract.

Note: none of these workers is actually suspected of being a terrorist. Most have Canadian citizenship, and have been working there for decades without a problem.

Um, WTF????

Montreal workers forced off contract

Comments

[siobhan63.livejournal.com]

That's not the only thing - that policy has forced the government to spend way more on defence purchases (http://canadian-politics.com/vues/?p=273)...

[paka.livejournal.com]

That's just fucked, why should Canadians be penalized because Americans are jerks?

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

These workers have come from all over the world seeking a better life in Canada. They've found it, and they're contributing citizens, working, paying taxes, voting, and doing all the things that citizens do. Now they're being penalized because another country has decided they aren't trustworthy because of where they were born.

If I were them, I'd be more than mildly annoyed. I'd be suing everybody in sight.

[tormentedartist.livejournal.com]

I swear I have nothing to do with this shit. I voted against Darth Vader...

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

Please don't insult Darth Vader. :)

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

I Am Confoozled.

I thought that security clearances were supposed to handle this sort of stuff.

Oh, wait, this is the second term of President Doesn't Think. Investigation takes too much time, let's just chase people away.

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

This sounds like a bureaucracy problem to me. The list of countries looks suspiciously like part of the list of scheduled countries that soldiers (in Canada too) need to justify having visited. If you've lived, travelled, or originated there, it's very hard to get a good security clearance. My guess is someone writing up the contract decided to put something in there about only having people with a certain security prerequisite involved in the project, and it got misapplied to the Canadian factory workers.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

That's what my dad said when I mentioned it to him, too, only he said it wasn't a misapplication - it was something every country did with its military contracts, because there was simply no way to know if the people in question were feeding information to those back home.

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

I agree that every country does it; by "misapplication" I meant that I wouldn't think it needed to be applied all the way down to this level. Assembly-level workers would be unlikely to acquire access to sensitive information.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

Honestly I think military contracts should be given to American companies only, because our tax dollars should go to benefit our citizens as much as possible.

Sort of like how I try to buy only union, and only American, and then fair trade, and countries that have higher standards of living. Yes, it's a pain in the ass but it's important to me.

To not support unions is not supporting myself. Same with the government handing out contracts. Support your own people, first and foremost.

But what do I know, I'm American and must be a jerk, according to one of your lovely commenters. :)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Apparently the contract in question is part of an exchange that involves a Canadian purchase of American military goods, so it's designed to grant jobs in both countries. Also, the company in question is most likely unionized, or operates according to union standards, because almost all manufacturing in Canada does. And third, Canada actually has a higher standard of living than the U.S. :)

I think the person who said that was an American. :)

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

Well I'm all for CAnadian tax dollars supporting Canadian industries, too.

The whole unionized/high standard of living thing is a personal thing and I don't expect the government to do it. I do expect them to give priority to American companies, though.

Interestingly, John Deere moved their forestry operations down here to Dubuque from Canada, to a unionized shop, and actually moved many jobs from another state, that was non unionized, to Dubuque's unionized shop. I am not sure if the forestry operations were unionized or not. I am VERY surprised they moved it here, though.

Oh yeah I know that a lot of government contracted work here, at least on the Federal level, has to use wages similar to unions. However they don't necessarily have to use companies that have union -like benefits so it is possible for a non union firm to bid and win, because their costs could be lowered. Davis Bacon Prevailing Wages Act or something like that. I'm familiar with it because it's how we will pick and choose where Dan works in the future -- the website shows the prevailing wages in each area.

By the way did you know his International includes Canada? As far as his union is concerned, he can work in Canada, no problem. Of course the Canadian government may say otherwise, but he could work on a letter (as they call it) and his credentials and all that are equally valid there, and I guess they share some benefits. (A pension and death benefit I believe. The rest of the benefits are with the Local.)

Anyways, I would prefer that tax dollars stayed in the country to take care of our own first, but as far as money going someplace where workers will be treated fairly, Canada is ok with me. And it's not me being nationalistic but rather I do feel that as a nation we need to ensure that people are working and getting health care and housing and food and all that, and then we will be in a better position to help others.

Much like if a mother wears herself out, she can't take care of her kids as well as if she is in perfect health, you know?

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Well, that's just it. Rather than have Canadians get things only from their own country or Americans get things only from theirs, this contract crosses the border in both directions, so the net effect is the same as if each country were spending the money at home, with the difference that they're getting the projects they want from the companies they prefer.

I don't know whether Bell is unionized, but the vast majority of manufacturing in Canada is. Those that aren't manage to stay that way because they offer benefits and salaries that make unionization unnecessary. Toyota is a perfect example. They're not part of the Auto Workers' Union, and their employees don't ask to be part of it, because their management looks at what CAW is asking for, and gives it to their employees before they're forced into it by a contract. The unions are necessary to keep the other companies honest, but not everyone has to be unionized in order for it to work. If the unions are setting the industry standard, as they do in Canada, that's good enough.