VANCOUVER -- A Federal Court judge has granted two unions access to documents filed with the federal government to obtain temporary foreign worker permits for a mine in northern British Columbia.

HD Mining's proposed Murray River underground coal mine near Tumbler Ridge has been under scrutiny over plans to use 201 Chinese workers.

The unions have asked the Federal Court to throw out the company's temporary foreign worker permits, but so far the case has focused on document disclosure.

In particular, the unions want to see the labour market opinions issued by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, which set out the need to bring in foreign workers rather than using Canadians.

The Federal Court judge is releasing 10 labour market opinions related to the mine that were previously disclosed in-camera, and has ordered Ottawa to produce all labour market opinion applications submitted by HD Mining and any supporting documents.

It's not yet clear whether the court will hear the judicial review application or when that might happen, but next week the unions will ask for an injunction to stop more foreign workers from arriving until the case is finished.

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