The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America have ended their bid to see the City of Sault Ste. Marie continue to be designated a construction employer.

Their decision to not appeal a court decision to the Ontario Court of Appeal finally ends a 32-year process, said Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.

“This shows there is value here to stay with something,” he told council while commenting on the report.

After successive court challenges, some unsuccessful, and legislation amendments, followed by more court challenges, the applicants have decided not to seek leave to appear to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

“We finally shed our construction labour designation,” Shoemaker said. “We have seen great financial benefit to the municipality in terms of additional bids on projects like the Twin Pad and the West End Sewage Treatment Plant and we should continue to see more competitive bids.”

The final ruling came on the Dec. 12, 2022 application and held that the board was correct in concluding that there was no infringement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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