"Disgrace," "sham," and "appalling" were some of the words used by Burnaby councillors to describe the Royal Bank of Canada's use of temporary foreign workers to replace 45 jobs for Canadian workers.
The bank and its president and CEO Gordon Nixon came under fire after it was revealed by CBC that foreign workers were replacing Canadian jobs. The bank recently issued an apology and initially said the workers were hired to manage a transition and only one temporary foreign worker was employed, according to a CBC report.
Coun. Dan Johnston put forward the motion to write a letter expressing council's displeasure at exploiting foreign workers and taking away jobs from local citizens. Council passed the motion unanimously.
The controversial immigration program created by the federal government was also heavily criticized at Monday night's meeting.
Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said foreign workers can be paid 15 per cent less and said he was appalled banks are resorting to that.
"Anything like this should be condemned," he said.
Dhaliwal suggested council also write to the government about the program, which he called a "sham."
He said temporary foreign workers undercut jobs from not just Canadians, but also immigrants who want to stay here in the long term.
It's not a good way to grow a community, Dhaliwal added.
Mayor Derek Corrigan said this relates to the many phone calls he receives daily from those who cannot find employment.
He said refugees and immigrants who come to Canada, and First Nations members spend years on social assistance while jobs they could get are given away to temporary foreign workers.
Coun. Nick Volkow called the whole thing a "disgrace."
He said this problem has affected the union community and unions brought the issue to the forefront.
Volkow said the public should consider where they put their money, and that every major bank uses the federal program, but RBC was "the first one to get caught."
He blasted the federal government's controversial program and said the "government program is designed to do exactly what it's doing."
Although council was not saying the temporary foreign workers were at fault, Coun. Paul McDonell said the workers are the ones being exploited by the system.
McDonell noted the issue should be brought to the provincial level and up to the federal level because "enough is enough."
