Backs calls on Cardinal to release 2600 page FOIP on Lakeside inspections

Edmonton – Alberta Liberal Labour critic Dan Backs is calling on Human Resource and Employment Minister Mike Cardinal to release a FOIP request made by the Liberal Opposition seeking the details of Lakeside Packers’ Occupational Health and Safety Safety Inspections and Employment Standards records for the past four years.

The request, made last summer, was responded to with a price tag of over $2500 for the 2600 pages of documents.

“It doesn’t take over 2600 pages to say there are no labour safety problems at Lakeside Packers,” said Backs. “If the Minister is serious about getting to the heart of what is happening in the Lakeside Packers dispute, he needs to release and review this information.”

While Backs is pleased to see a tentative deal reached between Lakeside and the union, he still has concerns over Lakeside’s safety record and the working conditions faced by its workers. Backs doesn’t believe a planned visit from Minister Cardinal will show the real picture of what is happening daily behind Lakeside’s doors.

“The Minister can’t be serious if he thinks a planned visit to the packing plant will show the real working conditions Lakeside’s workers endure everyday,” said Backs. “If he wants to get serious about what is going on there, he should plan an unannounced visit or just look through the 2600 pages of these records.”

Backs wants to work with Minister Cardinal, Lakeside, and the union to ensure that workers are treated with dignity and respect at their jobs. “We need to put partisanship aside and work with all parties involved to clean up this mess. There is too much at stake for Alberta’s re-awakening beef industry.”

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For more information: 
Dan Backs, HRE Critic
(780) 994-0000

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