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Closed tendering drives up costs

June 10, 2013

I again want to commend The Record for its fine work on reporting on the impact that closed tendering will have on construction costs and democratic vitality in the Region of Waterloo. But one small, but very important correction, needs to be made to Paige Desmond's article. The article says that Cardus' study "estimates unions drive up construction costs between two and 40 per cent." What our study states is that closed tendering drives up construction costs between two and 40 per cent. While this might seem a small correction, it is an important one. Why? Because there are a variety of unions that perform construction work. It is unfair to them to suggest that all of them will increase costs, especially since many unions will, in fact, be prevented from bidding if the carpenters' application succeeds. This is not a union versus non-union matter. The problem is that the carpenters are using provincial labour law to artificially eliminate competition. If they succeed, they will not win construction contracts because they provide the best value, but because they are using the hammer of provincial law to keep other qualified companies out. It is important to note that this labour law runs counter to other provincial laws, which forbid municipalities from allowing monopolies. A successful application by the carpenters will allow them to sidestep the competitive bidding process, which forces companies to provide greatest value for taxpayers' dollars and which provides the greatest opportunity for all taxpayers to work on projects paid for by their tax dollars.