NDP MP Jinny Sims has stated that airport worker replacement is unconscionable, and is demanding that the federal government start an investigation into the contracting firm that will be used by the airport for custodial services once the outsourcing is complete. Sims, who is the employment and social development critic for the party, wrote a letter saying that affected workers will be vlnerable after the layoffs because many are women who are solely responsible for families and also new to Canada. Sims sent the letter to Employment Minister Pierre Poilievre, and it was sent out the day following the worker protests at the airport. Bill’s General Cleaning, Imported Goods and Consulting Ltd. Received the contract to provide services for a 5 year period. The company has a history of utilizing foreign temporary workers.

The airport worker replacement has caused a lot of controversy. The letter sent by NDP MP Jinny Sims stated “Minister, I will remind you at this time that the average cost of living in Fort McMurray, according to the Province of Alberta, is $65,000. It is unconscionable to be paying workers a salary that is less than half the cost of living in the area. It is exploitation, and as a result, vulnerable, fairly-waged Canadian workers have been displaced.” The contracting firm came to the attention of the Alberta Federation of Labour when they posted a position for light duty cleaners in the area that had a wage of $14.50 per hour. The airport staff being laid off were making $28 an hour.