The B.C. Supreme Court has taken a pass on hearing a legal challenge of the the NDP government’s deal with unions for building publicly-funded infrastructure.

The B.C. government introduced its first Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), which prioritizes local, Indigenous, women and apprentice workers for provincial projects, last July.

It requires workers on the publicly-funded Pattullo Bridge replacement to become members of affiliated trade unions.

Opponents claim CBAs violate workers’ constitutional rights. But on Monday, a judge ruled that the dispute does not belong in court, and instead should be arbitrated by the province’s Labour Relations Board.

Progressive Contractors Association of Canada President Paul de Jong says the provincial government’s framework forces workers to join specific trade unions, violating their right to free association. He said the rules impact about 85 per cent of the workforce.

“We will be seeking appeal in the next weeks to ask the judge to reconsider,” said de Jong.

“In the meantime, workers across British Columbia are now held in future doubt as to what their prospects are going to be when they work on these CBA projects.”

Andrew Mercier, executive director of the BC Building Trades Council, said the judge was reiterating a decision the courts had already made clear last summer.

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