it seems as i grow older and get more familiar with living in edmonton and working in alberta, some things just never change.i came here , to edmonton, about 30 yrs ago.i was young an enthusiastic .i had a trades ticket from ontario.i thought i could work.it seemed any trades ticket from another province is no good in alberta.i had to actually switch trades, lie a bit. plus one could challenge the journeyman  tests at that time. the grandfather clause.i was ticked off that the beaurocrats just all want a piece of every person that comes here to work here. due pay it seems. so, i bought my way through. word of mouth is the best, talk to the ones that came before to negotiate your way. so, now i sit here after 30 years and figure i can speak out. i am a man among many. 

i was working in a union structural steel shop doing welding and fabrication in 2006.i noticed alot of guys coming and going pretty quick. i talked with my buddies in other shops around the city and it was the same.it brought back memories of when i first came to edmonton.it seems, as then, it still works now. part of the alberta advantage is that when a person moves to alberta and applies for a job, i met guys that were journeyman welders or fitters, they would get hired, some were older and had many years experience, then the first day, the"boss" says gee, you don't have an alberta journeyman ticket.  we can hire you, pay you 2nd year rate , till you get your tickets. then you find out that the government wants you to do half your apprenticeship over again.the alberta advantage comes into play here. all the shops get the 2nd yr "foreigners" to do work, for cheaper wage, then company still bills out for top journeyman rate. they only need one alberta journeyman in the shop. this was a cwb shop too.this is only one way the alberta advantage sucks the cash out of anyone they can. anyone moving here is subject to this alberta advantage and as a tradesman moves through the system,more and more alberta beaurocrats want a piece of the action.

i see this same concept of character in many social and industrial areas. it has become almost commonplace for people looking for decent paying work to suffer this kind of malicious forethought.its kind of an un-talked about way of life for those  in the government and  industrial corporations .i think they make more money off the paperwork than an honest effort. i hear on the news that theres a big demand for skilled workers here in alberta. i wonder who it is putting those stats up?  the government ?  who do you believe...the liar the cheat or the thief? i personally quit believing in our government beaurocrats.