Doug Eveneshen, president/CEO of Community Savings Credit Unionin Surrey, British Columbia, said he is concerned about the use oftemporary foreign workers and the outsourcing of Canadian jobs.

“I am alarmed at the trend of reducing costs by outsourcing tooffshore locations when there are Canadian jobs at stake,”Eveneshen said. “We have criteria in place that guarantees vendorswill only use local labor when working on behalf of CommunitySavings.”

The $454 million credit union serves more than 11,000 membersand has six branches in Vancouver and Victoria in the Canadianprovince.

Several Canadian publications have reported on a Royal Bank of Canada employee who was allegedly fired when hementioned an outsourcing firm that the bank is working with wasbringing in workers from India to replace a group of high-techCanadian workers.

RBC said Friday it is expecting to create 400 to 500 jobs inCanada over the next 18 months.

An outcry of criticism has prompted the Canadian government toreview its temporary foreign worker program, media outlets havereported.

“For nearly 70 years, we've strived to support our families andthe communities where work and live by actively seeking out localproducts and services for company use,” Eveneshen said.

Community Savings said it was the first financial institution inBritish Columbia to sign the Living Wage Agreement, supporting itby paying all employees a fair wage that exceeds the provincialminimum. The credit union said it is also the only fully unionizedcredit union in the province.

“As a co-operative, our members benefit when we support andreinvest in our communities,” Eveneshen said. “We are accountableto our members, not shareholders; this is how Community SavingsCredit Union puts people before profit.”