On May 18th, 2011, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council of Ontario (IBEW-CCO) denounced Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak's statement that he would dismantle the Canadian province's feed-in tariff if his party is elected.

The IBEW states that such a move could destroy thousands of jobs, estimating that the feed-in tariff and Green Energy Act have resulted in "several million" person-hours of construction work.

"At a time when many traditional manufacturing and related jobs were disappearing, these green energy jobs emerged to help put our skilled trades people and apprentices to work," stated IBEW Local 773 (Windsor) Business Manager Sol Furer.

"With record unemployment in southwestern Ontario, these jobs will result in skilled workers remaining in the construction industry and allow us to attract youth to the skilled trades through our apprenticeship system."

Policies create jobs for electricians, power line workers

The IBEW states that the policies have created thousands of jobs for electricians, power line technicians and other trades. The union represents over 15,000 electrical workers in the province.

The Institute for Local Self Reliance (Washington D.C., U.S.) estimated in a January 2011 report that Ontario's feed-in tariff could create up to 43,000 jobs, including manufacturing jobs which have been created in the province due to the policy's local content requirement.

The report counted 20 new manufacturing plants that were scheduled to open in the province in 2011 and 2012, however since that time a number of other manufacturers have announced that they will produce components for PV plants in the province.

2011-05-21| Courtesy: IBEW-CCO | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

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