Heat and Frost Insulators News and Events

CBTU Commends Federal Government’s Commitment to Workers Health and Safety
- Banning Asbestos important step forward to protecting Canadians and reducing workplace death and disease -


January 3, 2019– Canada’s Building Trades Unions are pleased with the Federal Government’s steps to close out 2018 with a ban on the use of asbestos and products containing asbestos. Canada now joins 55 other countries that have banned the use of asbestos.

“The Federal Government’s announcement to ban asbestos reflects their commitment to the health and safety of the Canadian workforce, and shows they have delivered on another one of their commitments since coming to office,” said Robert Blakely, Canadian Operating Office, Canada’s Building Trades Unions. “The CBTU has been lobbying on this issue for years, because workplace exposure to asbestos is one of the leading causes of workplace-related death within our affiliated unions. We now need governments at municipal, provincial and territorial levels to work with the Federal Government to develop a comprehensive strategy to account for and remove – safely – this substance from our existing buildings to lessen the impact on future generations of workers going forward.”

Mesothelioma, the cancer related to asbestos exposure, can take 20 to 40 years to develop and begin causing symptoms. The mortality rate is devastating, about 60 per cent of those affected die within a year of diagnosis, and the five-year survival rate is less than seven per cent.

Blakely went on to say, “While this announcement will reduce the chances for asbestos exposure in the next generation, we still have a lot of work to do around the legacy of asbestos which includes a public registry of buildings with asbestos, regulations around asbestos exposure, safe removal and disposal of asbestos from current buildings and compensation for victims.”

Les SMCC appuient les engagements du gouvernement fédéral au profit de la santé et de la sécurité des travailleuses et des travailleurs
- L’interdiction de l’amiante est une étape importante vers la protection des Canadiens et la réduction des maladies et des décès au travail -

La Conférence législative canadienne promeut la diversité, l’inclusion et le respect. Cette année, les quatre jours de la Conférence législative pour les syndicats du bâtiment du Canada était axée sur la syndicalisation ainsi que les questions liées au travail, en faisant la promotion du thème ‘’Diversité, Inclusion et Respect.’’ 

Tout au long de la conférence, tenue à Gatineau (Québec) du 7 au 10 mai, les conférenciers et les panélistes ont souligné l’importance d’avoir un syndicat diversifié et inclusif, où les membres se respectent les uns les autres sur le chantier et dans la vie quotidienne. 

En plus des discussions thématiques, la conférence a également fourni une possibilité pour les dirigeants canadiens de la FVSHA de rencontrer des membres du Parlement pour discuter des questions importantes
pour Leur Conférence locale, canadienne et l’Union internationale.

HFIAW Local 95 in Ontario wanted to make sure the contractor for a major renovation project at Carleton University’s Life Science building knew their members are the most-skilled and highly-trained mechanical insulation workforce around.

The project involves renovating a specialized laboratory that supports experimental work in the biological, biochemical and behavioral sciences.

As we prepare for the upcoming 2017 Master Apprenticeship Competition and JATC Conference, Local 95, the host local, released event details. 

For the first time, the MAC and JATC Conference will be held in Canada, not in the U.S. The MAC will begin on Sunday, June 25 in Toronto and the JATC Conference will begin on Wednesday, June 28. Both events will conclude on Friday, June 30. 

The HFIAW Master Apprentice Competition (MAC) seems to grow in popularity and excitement every year. The annual competition where 10 apprentices compete as Conference representatives to be crowned the “Best of the Best” included an emotional finish this year in Toledo, Ohio.  

Held in conjunction with the 41^st annual Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee Conference, the top HFIAW apprentice competitors arrived having already won at the Local and Conference levels.  

“Our training is what sets our profession apart, it is what makes us the best,” HFIAW General President Bud McCourt said during the MAC.

An Important Message from General President James P. McCourt and General Secretary-Treasurer Gregory T. Revard:

Insulators International officers and staff are monitoring the situation in northern Alberta. We want to assure our Brothers and Sisters in the region that we are deeply concerned about everyone’s safety, but more important: We are prepared to help.

We know that some of our members and their families are among the more than 80,000 people forced to flee from the spreading inferno around Fort McMurray. Homes have been destroyed, and in some cases entire neighborhoods have been decimated.