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OTTAWA — The Seafarers International Union of Canada is preparing to take the federal government to court over the use of foreign sailors — some of whom are allegedly being paid as little as $2 per hour — on internationally-flagged ships in Canadians waters.

The labour group, which represents unlicensed sailors in all of the country’s coastal waters, has been firing warning shots for month over the growing refusal of shipping agents to hire Canadian crews — something to which the federal government has allegedly has turned a blind eye.

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The Canadian Press has learned the union intends to ask the Federal Court in Vancouver on Tuesday for a judicial review of the practice of issuing the foreign sailors temporary work permits.

The union points to the 60,000 ton, Greek-owned tanker Almathea, which was just in the Port of Montreal and licensed to be transporting crude oil in Canadian waters until Sept. 13.