Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers and our economy. With 2.4 million jobs tied directly or indirectly to trade with the U.S., these tariffs put industries, families, and entire communities at risk. But Canada’s unions know how to respond, and have solutions. 

Canada must take decisive action to protect workers and push back against these harmful policies. The United States must feel immediate pain for their actions aimed at harming the Canadian economy and its workers. 

The Canadian Labour Congress is calling for a comprehensive response that includes: 

• Matching tariffs dollar-for-dollar to ensure the U.S. administration feels the consequences of its actions. 

• Cutting off U.S. access to critical Canadian resources—including electricity, lumber, critical minerals, oil, and gas—until the tariffs are lifted.  
• Immediate support for impacted workers through financial assistance, job protection measures, and transition programs. `  

• A long-term strategy to reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S. trade, expanding our economic partnerships and diversifying markets to protect workers from future foreign policy disruptions. 

The federal government has taken a first step by considering income supports for affected workers—an approach that helped stabilize our economy during the pandemic. But much more is needed to meet the scale of this threat. A suite of measures to preserve jobs and manufacturing capacity, protections for distressed borrowers, and robust income supports are needed to ensure that workers and our communities can weather this storm. 

For generations, Canada and the U.S. have built a relationship based on mutual respect, economic partnership, and cross-border solidarity. If this is how Trump treats his closest ally, no country is safe from his reckless economic policies. 

Recent polling shows that Canadians overwhelmingly support strong action: 

• 77% want the federal government to impose tariffs in retaliation. 

• 75% support restricting U.S. access to Canadian resources. 

• 90% believe Trump’s tariffs will damage Canada-U.S. relations. 

Workers expect leaders to stand up for them. This is a pivotal moment for Canada to come together with a bold plan to protect jobs, strengthen industries, and create new opportunities for workers. The labour movement will always mobilize, organize, and push for solutions that secure livelihoods, support communities, and drive sustainable economic growth. 

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Members of the education, health and social services personnel, 78% of whom are women, are sending a clear warning to the government to table offers, resume negotiations and offer them the fair deal they all deserve.

“The Front commun’s demands are not excessive, since these workers have single-handedly held down the education, health and social services, high education, and government agencies during the pandemic,” says Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

Negotiations between the Front commun and François Legault’s government began over a year ago, and workers have been without a contract since last March. The Quebec government needs to understand that their current working conditions are not only unsustainable, but also likely to prompt them to leave their jobs, further weakening the health and education and social services networks. 

“For the CLC-affiliated Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), a member of the Front commun, the Quebec government must come to its senses. While this same government has awarded itself wage increases of 30% over a single year for its ministers and deputies, the latest offer of 10.3% over 5 years is an insult to those who are the heart of Quebec’s public service systems. Workers are demanding not only to be respected, but also to be treated fairly, with decent wages and acceptable working conditions,” says FTQ President Magali Picard.

At the same time, and for the first time in two decades, 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists belonging to the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) went on strike. Over 90% of FIQ members are women with experience in caregiving. Healthcare professionals are facing terrible working conditions and are calling on the current government to propose viable solutions. “The general strike we are witnessing today in Quebec is due to the fact that workers are defending themselves, fighting back and demanding better. Workers risk everything on strike, but they have no other means of pressure than to withdraw their services. Their message to Premier François Legault couldn’t be clearer: the status quo is no longer an option,” says Bea Bruske, President of the CLC.

To arrange an interview, please contact:

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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MONTREAL – Thousands of workers from across Canada gathered to adopt an ambitious plan to improve the lives of working people. The 30th Constitutional Convention of the Canadian Labour Congress called for changes to labour laws to make it easier for workers to unionize.

“What we heard is clear: we need to make it easier to organize new job sites, to help bring fairness for workers across the country”, said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Workers need better protections, fairer wages, and safer workplaces, and unions are the best and fastest path to achieving all of those.”

Thousands of delegates discussed the urgent need to ban scab labour and strengthen labour laws, protect public health care, and tackle the climate crisis. They also passed resolutions combatting homophobia and transphobia, in support of reconciliation with First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and to tackle systemic racism.

“We need urgent action to address the worker shortage currently affecting Canada’s care system, said Bruske. “And our governments must address high interest rates and the crushing cost of food, fuel, rents, and key services that Canadians rely on.”

Delegates re-elected CLC President Bea Bruske, Secretary-Treasurer Lily Chang, and Executive Vice-Presidents Siobhán Vipond and Larry Rousseau for another term. “We are honoured to continue serving Canada’s workers and to build on the work of the past two years,” said Bruske.

“A major theme of this year’s event focused on how unions can lift everyone up. The resolutions passed by delegates prove that unions are a powerful force for good in our communities – by making life more affordable, increasing access to unions, and fighting to build healthy, inclusive societies, we can improve the lives of everyone.”

The event, which closed today, was attended by thousands of delegates from unions across Canada.

To arrange an interview, please contact: 
CLC Media Relations 
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“We are calling on the government: don’t break your promise to Canadians. We can’t count on big pharmaceutical corporations to stand up for Canadians, that’s the job of our governments,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare made clear that strengthening the Patented Medicines Regulations is absolutely essential to lowering drug prices and moving towards national pharmacare.

“Too many medicines are unaffordable and the new PMPRB framework could have saved Canadians approximately $13.2 billion over 10 years. This is a step backwards for affordable drugs,” said Bruske. “The failure of Budget 2022 to make substantial progress on pharmacare and today’s capitulation to big pharma, means workers and their families have reason to be concerned about the government’s commitment to making medicine affordable and accessible.”

Canada’s unions will be pushing the government to move forward with urgent investments to begin implementing a national pharmacare program, starting with a national essential medicines formulary and expanding to a full national, universal, single-payer pharmacare system.

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A police report has been filed with the Winnipeg Police Service.

I am outraged that this happened, especially on a day dedicated to learning, reflection, and resolve to take action to address the devastating and long-lasting impacts of colonization. Today is a day to work towards reconciliation by remembering and honouring those lost to the residential school system, the survivors, their families, and their communities.

What happened to Gloria Lepine, who has worked for years to raise the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women and has been a tireless advocate for Indigenous workers, is just one example of the persistent and systemic violence, discrimination and racism faced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit people throughout Canada, every single day.

Justice and reconciliation are both our individual and our collective responsibility. That includes not looking away and always speaking up in moments like these, which sadly are far too common. We are all responsible for building the kind of society that we want to live in.  And we must all stand up to racism at every turn.

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“Every workplace death is preventable. We will continue to fight to make sure that all workers can get home to their loved ones safely at the end of their workday,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC.

When this kind of tragedy happens, there are many questions that must be answered. A thorough investigation must be conducted, ensuring that key evidence is preserved. The RCMP must first rule out any potential criminality under the Westray sections of the Criminal Code of Canada. The Workers Compensation Board must also conduct a thorough parallel investigation with respect to provincial health and safety obligations. We also urge the investigators to reach out to the International Union of Operating Engineers, as a source of expertise to help inform the investigation.

When a worker is killed as a result of their job, we need to ensure that no stone is unturned in the investigations, to prevent future deaths and injuries, and if there is evidence of employer negligence, to hold those who are responsible accountable.

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“Many life-saving medicines are unaffordable. This new framework will better protect Canadians from skyrocketing drug prices by lowering the cost of brand name medicines,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “This is a good step towards a universal public pharmacare program in Canada.”

Canada currently compares prices with the US and Switzerland—two countries with some of the world’s highest drug prices—when setting its maximum prices for patented drugs. These new regulations no longer require consideration of US and Swiss pricing, instead allowing the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) to set maximum prices for patented drugs based on other countries with economies and health-care systems similar to Canada.

The updated framework also provides better reporting on drug prices including list prices and discounts offered to third parties like insurance companies. The PMPRB will also have the authority to determine whether drug prices correspond to value to patients and to the healthcare system.

The existing framework used by the PMPRB has not adequately protected Canadians from excessively high prices for patented medicines over the last 30 years. Since 1987, prescription drug costs in Canada have increased at an average annual rate of 7.3%, or over 3 times the inflation rate.

“Canadians have been paying some of the highest prices for patented medicines in the world because the old regulations allowed big pharmaceutical companies to set their prices based on market evaluations, and not on what individuals could actually afford,” said Yussuff.

“Big pharmaceutical companies have continued to renege on their promises to invest 10% of sales in research and development each year, and to introduce new drugs that had substantial or breakthrough therapeutic benefit to Canadians,” said Yussuff.

In 2017, the investment of big pharmaceutical companies was the lowest it has ever been in 30 years—a paltry 4.6%—and nine-in-ten new-patented medicines offered slight or no improvement in therapeutic benefit over existing therapies.

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The ban was imposed after Chinese customs inspectors detected a prohibited feed additive in a batch of pork shipments labelled as Canadian. The Canada Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the certificates were fraudulent and an investigation is currently underway.

“The Canadian meat industry is one of Canada’s core economic sectors, employing hundreds of thousands of workers across the country. The ban will affect not only those workers directly employed in the industry, but will be felt all along the value chain by workers in supporting industries,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

In the first four months of 2019, beef and veal exports to China accounted for 6.1 per cent of Canada’s total, an increase of 344 per cent year over year. Pork exports to China accounted for 22.7 per cent of the total, an increase of 80 per cent. China was the fifth-largest destination for Canadian beef and veal and the third-largest destination for Canadian pork.

“We urge the federal government and the CFIA to work closely with the Chinese government to address their concerns around the meat export supervision system and to bring the matter to a swift resolution,” said Yussuff.

Canada’s unions are also calling on the government to introduce a robust and sustainable mechanism to protect workers in industries affected by global trade volatility. The ban on Canada’s meat exports comes on the heels of stricter inspections at Chinese ports and selective bans on farm exporters, which have seen canola, pea and soybean exports to China plummet.

“In this context of increasingly unpredictable trade tensions, workers need to feel confident that their livelihoods are protected. Moving forward, the government must work with the labour movement to establish a concrete plan for safeguarding jobs and incomes in Canada’s export industries,” Yussuff added.

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Introducing a new Pay Equity Act will bring in long-awaited legislation requiring federally-regulated employers to create proactive pay equity plans that will begin to address Canada’s gender wage gap. The government also announced the establishment of a Pay Equity Commissioner to independently oversee implementation and hold employers accountable.

“Canada’s unions have been fighting for proactive pay equity legislation for over a decade and we’re glad to see the government take meaningful action to close Canada’s shameful gender pay gap,” said CLC President, Hassan Yussuff.

For all federally-regulated employers with ten or more workers, the new legislation will adapt existing compliance frameworks to include pay equity, and set out specific timelines for implementation and compulsory maintenance reviews.

Changes to Part III of the Canada Labour Code were also included in the omnibus bill, and are being heralded by Canada’s unions as an important modernization of federal labour standards in Canada. These changes will restrict exploitation by prohibiting employers from misclassifying workers and paying them less, simply because they work for a temp agency or on a part-time, casual or term basis.

Canada’s unions were also pleased with new measures that will prevent employers from using contract flipping as a means of undermining the wages, benefits, and job security of workers.

“The Canada Labour Code used to be upheld as the gold standard across the Country but federal labour standards were significantly eroded over a decade by the Harper government,” said Yussuff. “Providing additional vacation time and leave provisions, as well as new scheduling notice protections, are important steps that will lift employment standards for Canadian workers,” said Yussuff.

After an intensive campaign by Canada’s unions, survivors of domestic violence working in the federal sector will now receive five days of paid leave. This will help to set a national standard as many provinces move to allow people experiencing violence at home to seek the support and services they need to help keep themselves and their children safe.

“Canada’s unions will continue to push to elevate labour standards for everyone working in Canada,” said Yussuff. “Along with this week’s announcements, immediate action to establish a $15 federal minimum wage would raise the bar across the country.”

The post Canada’s unions call federal budget bill a boon for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“This is a critical step on the long road to banning asbestos, and will, without a doubt, save lives for generations to come,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff.

The new regulations, under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA), prohibit the import, sale and use of asbestos, the manufacture, import, sale and use of products containing asbestos, as well as the export of asbestos and asbestos-containing products, with a limited number of exceptions. Combined, this is a historic step to protect the health of Canadian workers and the public, and to address Canada’s history as an exporter of this deadly substance. With these regulations, Canada now joins 55 countries that have banned the use of asbestos.

Yussuff said that it will be crucial for protection from exposure to extend to everyone living in Canada, including those living in First Nations housing filled with asbestos-ridden vermiculite insulation.

“Because these diseases have a long latency period, the danger is not over, but this is the beginning of the end. Now we need the provinces and territories to show the same leadership that the federal government has shown and move quickly to take stock of where asbestos is, harmonize regulation around disposal and remediation, and ensure a comprehensive response,” he said.

“We can all breathe easier. The introduction of these regulations in a timely manner is the result of years of advocacy and hard work by people dedicated to safer, healthier workplaces. Today, I celebrate and thank the government for giving the next generation of Canadians a better future, free from the pain and suffering caused by asbestos,” said Yussuff.

A robust enforcement strategy to ensure compliance with these new regulations will be important to a successful implementation and to addressing the legacy of asbestos-contaminated workplaces.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the federal government on the broader whole-of-government strategy to protect Canadians from the harms of asbestos,” added Yussuff.

The post Canada’s unions applaud asbestos ban regulations appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

• prioritizing the elimination of child labour and forced labour in Canada’s international assistance;
• improving access to quality education for children and adults;
• supporting law enforcement and judicial systems;
• including discussion of child labour and forced labour in all free trade negotiations;
• building capacity of Canadian businesses to monitor their supply chains;
• advancing initiatives to motivate business to eliminate child and forced labour in their supply chains; and
• examining Canada’s import regime and procurement policies as levers to eliminate the use of child labour.

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“I’m grateful and I’m humbled to receive an honorary degree from this important institution,” said Yussuff in his Convocation address to graduates from Ryerson’s Ted Rogers School of Management and the Yeates School of Graduate Studies.

Shortly after immigrating from Guyana, Hassan became a union member in 1976. He was elected union chairperson in his workplace at the age of 19. He climbed through the ranks of the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) before becoming the organization’s first Human Rights Director. He went on to serve 15 years as Executive Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress before being elected in 2014 as the first person of colour to lead Canada’s labour movement. His lifelong commitment to human rights has defined his work as a labour activist.

Yussuff reminded graduates that great leaders work to transform the society we all live in, rather than just operating within it.

“You are the new generation of Canadian leaders. I encourage you to prioritize diversity and inclusion, and to engage in public affairs,” he said.

He referred to the recent examples of the #MeToo movement, Idle No More and Black Lives Matter to highlight the impact of working together in the pursuit of progressive change.

“Progress happens when we work for it together,” said Yussuff. “Believe me when I say never give up because that’s how you will change the world. Thank you for letting me be part of your special day.”

Congratulations, Hassan!

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The Canadian Labour Congress is conducting campaigns calling on the federal government to address key issues affecting working people; calling for a change of the rules to create decent work and dignity for all Canadians.

“Improving the lives of all workers is always a top priority for Canada’s unions. The current climate of precarity and cut backs in Canada makes it more important than ever to advocate for good jobs to ensure stability and dignity for every Canadian worker,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “We believe that decent work must include access to affordable child care, bankruptcy protection for workers’ pensions and proactive pay equity legislation, just to name a few.”

On this Day for Decent Work, Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to prioritize access to decent work in Canada by taking the following steps:

• Restore the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, indexing it to wage growth, and bring back full employment as a primary policy target;
• End wage discrimination and adopt strong, proactive pay equity legislation incorporating the recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force. Women’s wages shouldn’t come at a discount, but the gender pay gap in Canada hasn’t improved in decades. In fact, for many women it’s getting worse. Making pay equity the law would ensure different jobs are compared for their value in the workplace and evaluated based on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions, leaving no room for gender discrimination;
• Reform bankruptcy laws to include protection for workers’ pensions and benefits.  Workers trade higher wages today in exchange for a pension in retirement – it’s wrong to force them to the back of the line when an employer goes bankrupt;
• Make workplaces safe by strengthening federal legislation on sexual harassment and violence. Sexual harassment and violence remains a very serious barrier to women’s equality, especially in the workplace. Sexual harassment and violence can have serious consequences on women’s physical, emotional and mental health, and on their work performance. It can compromise their ability to advance in the workplace and even lead to job loss;
• Fix the child care crisis and commit to long-term funding for high-quality, public, universal, affordable child care. Access to quality, affordable child care is about economic justice for women. Child care makes it possible for women to get a decent job, support their families, build a career, and further their education or skills training; and
• Phase-out coal power through progressive policy that keeps people and communities at the center. The Just Transition Task Force for Canadian Coal-Power Workers and Communities will develop recommendations aimed at influencing Canada’s plans to phase-out coal power. These will include helping workers find comparable employment through retraining programs and resources to help affected communities transition their local economy.

Decent work means equal opportunities for everyone to get work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development, and social integration.

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“Workers across the country will be happy to learn that NAFTA’s Chapter 11 has finally been eliminated from this trade agreement,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “Decades of unfairness have cost Canada over $300 million in penalties and fees and made it clear that the investor-state dispute settlement clause was working against our national interest.”

Canada’s unions are also pleased to see the side agreements on labour moved into the main agreement, now subject to a state-to-state dispute resolution process. “The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender,” said Yussuff.

Protections for the Canadian auto industry, including exemptions from tariffs and labour value requirements, were welcomed. The agreement also maintains exemptions for cultural industries and expands these to include digital industries.

Intellectual property provisions will be strengthened under this new agreement, extending pharmaceutical drug patent protection to 10 years. “Drug costs will rise as a result of this deal. Now more than ever, Canada needs a universal, single-payer prescription drug program to cancel out the impact of mounting costs on Canadian families,” said Yussuff.

Access to Canadian dairy was a focus through the negotiations. Under the new USMCA, US dairy producers will have access to 3.59% of Canada’s domestic milk market. “The federal government must take necessary measures and provide compensation to workers who will be negatively impacted by these concessions. Canada’s unions are concerned and seeking more details on provisions around egg and poultry exports and imports,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff expressed disappointment that the elimination of US tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products was not part of the new agreement. “The illegal steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the US earlier this year should have been lifted with this agreement, and I urge the Canadian government to redouble its efforts to eliminate these tariffs,” he said.

Read the 13 facts you need to know about USMCA here.

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On the first anniversary of CETA’s implementation, trade unions on both sides of the Atlantic are warning that the trade deal is not a ‘model’ agreement and say it is time for an immediate review.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) are calling on European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Canadian Trade Minister Jim Carr to address the European Commission’s refusal to reinforce the enforceability of CETA’s labour rights provisions. This situation persists despite requests from trade unions and from the Canadian Government. The two senior officials are set to meet in Montreal on September 26 and 27.

“CETA was presented as a new model trade deal,” said Liina Carr, ETUC Confederal Secretary. “But the European Commission is refusing to address the legitimate concerns of working people. Labour rights are still not as enforceable as are investors’ rights. Furthermore, we are still waiting for EU trade policy to promote decent jobs, protect and enhance labour rights, and protect public services. The EU needs to deliver the change it promised.”

“Without effective and enforceable rules for labour and environmental provisions in trade agreements, there is no progressive trade,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “The EU government must honour its international labour obligations and enforce respect of the CETA provisions with binding and enforceable penalties for violations against workers.”

Amidst massive public protests at the time, CETA was adopted with a ‘Joint Interpretative Instrument’ intended to reassure citizens about its impacts on environmental and labour standards. This agreement included a promise to start an early review of the trade agreement – which still hasn’t taken place to date.

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Our coalition believes that National Pharmacare should be a seamless extension of the existing universal health care system in Canada, which covers medically necessary physician and hospital services, and therefore operate in harmony with the principles of the Canada Health Act.

National Pharmacare should be governed by the following principles:

Universality

Coverage for all residents of Canada on equal terms and conditions.

Public, Single-Payer Administration

A publicly administered and delivered program that is integrated with the Medicare systems in which it operates, directly accountable to the public it serves, and leverages single-payer procurement to maximize purchasing power for the entire Canadian population.

Accessibility

Access to covered medications without financial barriers or other impediments.

Comprehensiveness

Coverage for as many medications as judged safe and effective by scientific evidence and based on the best value for money.

Ensure the public servant experts who select medications for coverage are appropriately insulated from political pressures and marketing campaigns.

Portable Coverage

Continuous and consistent coverage for residents who move within Canada.

In addition to the five principles above, our coalition believes that the federal government must offer leadership in order to achieve National Pharmacare. This must include substantial funding commitments, sufficient to induce provincial and territorial governments to opt-in to the national program.

Add your voice now www.aplanforeveryone.ca

Consensus principles signatories

National organizations

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
Canada Without Poverty
Canadian Association of Community Health Centres
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Canadian Association of Retired Persons
Canadian Association of Retired Teachers
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Canadian Doctors for Medicare
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions
Canadian Health Coalition
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Nurses Association
Canadian Nursing Students’ Association
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Canadian Women’s Foundation
Citizens for Public Justice
College of Family Physicians of Canada
Community Food Centres Canada
Congress of Union Retirees of Canada
Council of Canadians
InterPares
LeadNow
National Farmers Union
National Pensioners Federation
National Union of Public and General Employees
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
SEIU Healthcare
Seniors’ Voice
United Food & Commercial Workers
Unifor
United Steelworkers of Canada
Women’s Shelters Canada / Hébergement femmes Canada

Provincial & territorial organizations

Alberta Association of Community Health Centres
Alberta Federation of Labour
Alberta Federation of Union Retirees
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
Alternatives North
Alliance for Healthier Communities – Ontario
British Columbia Association of Community Health Centres
British Columbia College of Family Physicians
British Columbia Federation of Retired Union Members
British Columbia Nurses’ Union
Centrale des syndicats du Québec
Coalition solidarité santé
Friends of Medicare
Health Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador
Manitoba Association of Community Health
Manitoba Federation of Labour
Manitoba Health Coalition
Manitoba Nurses Union
Médecins québécois pour le régime public
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice Inc. / Front commun pour la justice social du Nouveau Brunswick Inc.
New Brunswick Health Coalition
New Brunswick Nurses Union
Northern Territories Federation of Labour
Nova Scotia Association of Community Health Centres
Nova Scotia Federation of Labour
Nova Scotia Health Coalition
Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union
Ontario Federation of Labour
Ontario Nurses’ Association
PEI Federation of Labour
PEI Health Coalition
PEI Nurses’ Union
Planned Parenthood – Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Health Centre
Public Health Association of British Columbia
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario
Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland and Labrador
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses
Sexual Health Nova Scotia
Union des consommateurs
United Nurses of Alberta
Yukon Federation of Labour

This list was last updated on October 18, 2018.

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CETA has been provisionally applied since September 2017. Both the EU and Canada agreed to an early review “with a view to the effective enforceability of CETA provisions on trade and labour and trade and the environment” as stated in the Joint Interpretative Instrument (JII) at point 10.[1] However, no progress has been made in this regard.

In July 2017, the European Commission launched a consultation on the implementation and enforcement of Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters in EU Free Trade Agreements. The ETUC replied to the consultation in October 2017. The Commission eventually issued a paper outlining 15 action points to revamp the TSD chapter. However, the ETUC deeply regrets that the Commission has brushed away the possibility of introducing a sanction mechanism in the case of persistent breaches of labour rights within EU trade agreements, as has been consistently proposed by the ETUC and other stakeholders.

We note that Canada has been committed to a sanctions-based approach regarding labour rights in its free trade agreements. The EU’s inaction in reviewing CETA is already undermining effective enforceability of labour rights by Canada in third countries with which the EU and Canada have free trade agreements. The EU should finally start to engage seriously to ensure that commitments made by both parties in the TSD chapter to respect core ILO standards and promote the Decent Work agenda become effectively enforceable.

The EU cannot continue to delay reviewing the TSD chapter. Commitments were made by the EU and Canada in the JII to pursue fairer and more progressive trade and investment agreements. The ETUC and CLC call on the EU to join Canada and honour the commitment taken in the JII and start the review of the trade and sustainable development provisions as soon as possible.

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Labour Day offers Canadians an important opportunity to reflect on the legacy of unions, to take stock of our progress and to commit ourselves to working together for a fairer future. Canada’s unions work to raise the standards for every worker, from higher wages and pensions, to better safety standards. This year, unions are working to improve the health of everyone in Canada by campaigning for universal pharmacare.

Since launching a national campaign on pharmacare last year, the Canadian Labour Congress has seen significant progress, including the creation of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare by the federal government last spring.

“We’ve gained incredible momentum on pharmacare,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “We’ve been working closely with health coalitions, nurses unions, business groups, and a variety of medical professionals to start this overdue conversation in cities and towns right across the country. What we’ve heard time and again from Canadians is that pharmacare is the unfinished business of health care and it’s about time we get this done.”

Yussuff said that proposals by the insurance industry and Big Pharma won’t save Canadians, businesses or government money, but they will help increase those companies’ already high profits.

“More than 100,000 people across Canada have taken action to support universal pharmacare, and those numbers are growing daily,” said Yussuff. “We’ve said all along that patchwork coverage that varies from one province to another isn’t working for people in Canada, and a fill-in-the-gaps approach to pharmacare just isn’t good enough.”

The Advisory Council has launched both online and public consultations on pharmacare, and Canadians should take the opportunity to send their feedback to the government. Studies have consistently shown a majority of Canadians are struggling to afford to pay for their prescription medications, or worry about being able to afford it in the future.

“We’ve made great strides towards universal pharmacare in Canada. The government is listening, so now is our chance to get it right,” said Yussuff. “The right way forward – the only way that pharmacare will really work in Canada – is with a single-payer, universal program that covers everyone with a health card and delivers savings through bulk-buying.”

National pharmacare is both sound economic and social policy, that will have a positive impact on our communities,” Yussuff added.

For more information on the campaign visit aplanforeveryone.ca.

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“We support the federal government’s counter-tariffs as a retaliation to the American bullying tactics. Trump’s tariffs will be damaging to workers on both sides of the border. Unions welcome the Canadian government’s rapid response in defense of Canadian workers as an important first step in protecting workers and communities who will be adversely affected by this misguided attack on Canadian industry,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

In particular, the CLC welcomes the following steps announced today:

• Measures that aim to reduce lay-offs by extending the maximum period for Work-Sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks;
• Expanded access to retraining and skills development programs to help workers transition to new jobs;
• Federal loans and loan guarantees from the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada to help companies in the short and medium term; and
• Investments to diversify export markets overseas and promote the diversification of the steel and aluminum products sectors in Canada.

“The steel and aluminum industries are vital suppliers to the Canadian manufacturing, energy, automotive and construction sectors. Today’s announcement is a good first step to counter the impact of unreasonable U.S. trade demands on workers in Canada. We look forward to working closely with the government to implement further supports for workers as needed,” said Yussuff.

Such additional supports could include an extension of Employment Insurance benefits, wage insurance or “targeted earnings supplements” for workers who find new jobs that pay less, and enhanced mobility assistance, to help workers who have to move or extend their commute to work.

Yussuff also expressed his continued support of immediate action on anti-dumping measures, and advised that the federal government work closely with their provincial and territorial counterparts to develop more robust and targeted training options.

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Earlier in June, the Commission was only granted a six-month extension in response to its request to add an additional two years to their mandate.

“We must avoid making the same mistakes of the past and learn from our history,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “This means we must centre the voices of Indigenous communities in order to fully confront the ‘destructive legacies of colonization’, as described by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”

The Commissioners called for an extension in response to the needs expressed by Indigenous communities, survivors and family members of those who are missing or have been murdered.

“If the process, the method, the solutions and the advocacy is not steered by those who are impacted, we are reinforcing the very colonial tactics that brought us here today with respect to our relationship with Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples,” said Yussuff.

The extension balances the need to urgently address violence against Indigenous women and girls with the necessity of ensuring thorough and comprehensive recommendations in the final report. The two-year extension would allow for increased community participation, as well as specific consideration of LGBTQ and two-spirit people.

For Canada’s unions, recognizing National Indigenous Peoples Day is about recognizing the needs of Indigenous people and standing in solidarity with their social, economic, and political needs. The government has a responsibility to ensure that the public inquiry adequately meets the objectives set out in the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

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“I am excited to welcome the six appointees to Canada’s newly minted pharmacare advisory council. They have an important job ahead of them and Canada’s unions are ready and willing to work with Dr. Eric Hoskins and the Council to make sure that we get pharmacare right for everyone,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Advisory Council Chair Eric Hoskins unveiled the team the government has assembled to develop a plan to implement a national pharmacare program earlier today. Details of the Advisory Council’s plans for public consultations have yet to be revealed, however the government has launched online consultations.

“Pharmacare is the unfinished business of medicare and Canadians have been waiting since 1966 for publicly administered universal prescription drug coverage,” said Yussuff. “As I travelled the country, I heard from Canadians who are struggling with insufficient coverage, increasing co-payments, restrictions and limitations that make every day a struggle. We hope this Council will give voice to those people and inspire confidence that the health of their families will no longer be a financial burden.”

In fall 2017, the CLC launched “Pharmacare: A Plan for Everyone”, a national campaign that included a cross-country tour to highlight the failures of Canada’s inefficient patchwork system of prescription drug coverage. Studies show that 3.5 million people are unable to afford to fill their prescriptions. Many are splitting their pills or skipping days to stretch the prescriptions they do fill.

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“The Canadian government has a moral duty and an international obligation to ensure that we provide a safe haven for all people fleeing imminent danger, disaster and war. The U.S. has failed the safety test for migrants and we cannot send displaced families who meet the refugee criteria back into another climate of fear and persecution,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

A year after issuing a controversial Executive Order barring Syrian refugees and discriminating against travellers from predominantly Muslim countries, American authorities have been instructed to rigorously enforce migrant detention and the separation of children from parents caught crossing into the U.S. The Trump administration announced further plans to deny survivors of domestic violence the ability to claim asylum, even when authorities in their homeland will do nothing to protect them.

“The history of Japanese internment and Canada’s residential school system offer lessons that we cannot afford to ignore. In modern immigration policy, there should be no place for practices that treat thousands of desperate refugees like criminals, tear children from their parents and deport women back to abusive situations. Canada must be unwavering in its commitment to championing human rights and international law,” said Yussuff.

Canada has expressly refused to discriminate in its immigration policy based on faith or ethnicity. That’s why Canada’s unions are calling on the Trudeau government to further distinguish itself by taking immediate steps to publicly challenge America’s new immigration policies and to encourage Canadians to continue to open their hearts and homes to the world’s most vulnerable people.

These steps include:

• Re-examining Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States to ensure that all migrants entering Canada through the U.S. have their claims for refugee protection fairly and properly processed;
• Helping those stranded now, on an emergency basis, by offering asylum to all those who – despite having passed a two-year rigorous screening process – are being denied entry to the U.S.; and
• Launching an intensive public awareness campaign to educate Canadians about Canada’s rigorous border security and the dire and vulnerable circumstances facing refugees in the lands from which they flee.

The Canadian Labour Congress represents 3.3 million unionized workers and has been actively campaigning to raise public awareness around the plight of refugees and to encourage Canadian municipalities to declare themselves “sanctuary cities” for international refugees.

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“It’s an honour to be here, and I am humbled to stand on this stage, at this great institution, and receive an honorary degree,” said Yussuff in his Convocation address to Brock’s Faculty of Social Sciences graduates.

He went on to challenge the young leaders in the room to get engaged in Canada’s democracy, and to fight for change.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport. Progress doesn’t happen if we leave things to other people. Figure out what you’re really passionate about and find an issue that speaks to your core beliefs, that inspires you and that motivates you,” said Yussuff.

Shortly after immigrating from Guyana, Hassan became a union member in 1976. He was elected union chairperson in his workplace at the age of 19. He climbed through the ranks of the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) before becoming the organization’s first Human Rights Director. He went on to serve 15 years as Executive Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress before being elected in 2014 as the first person of colour to lead Canada’s labour movement. His lifelong commitment to human rights has defined his career.

Yussuff encouraged graduates to fight for the change they want to see by working collectively with others who share their values. He also reminded them that there will inevitably be setbacks, but that great leaders never quit.

“Nothing worth fighting for ever comes easily. Those in power are not going to serve up the solutions you want on a silver platter. But true leaders know that it’s important to push on and never to give up. Progress is always possible,” said Yussuff.

Congratulations, Hassan!

Photo: Brock University

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The LGBTQ2SI community can often face more barriers than their straight and cisgender peers in accessing adequate health care. Yet, access to health care – including medication – is a fundamental human right.

“Universal pharmacare is about health equity. Everyone in Canada with a health card – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation – should have access to the medications they need,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Roughly one third of working people in Canada don’t have employer-funded prescription drug coverage. Many members of LGBTQ2SI communities face discrimination in the job market, which can restrict their access to meaningful employment with access to comprehensive drug benefits. Even those who do have workplace health benefits can find co-pays or deductibles prohibitive, preventing them from taking necessary medications as prescribed.

“Too many people in Canada must choose between paying for their prescription medications or buying groceries. For the LGBTQ2SI community, the barriers are even greater,” said Yussuff.

HIV prevention treatment, gender-affirming hormones, medication to treat anxiety or depression, and treatments in support of reproductive and sexual health and fertility – just to name a few – can be prohibitively expensive. Lack of access to some of these medications can have disastrous consequences.

“Universal pharmacare would improve the lives of so many by ensuring equal access to prescription medications for everyone. Here at home, Canada is making great strides in ensuring equality for LGBTQ2SI communities, but there is still a lot to be done,” added Yussuff.

The federal government has committed to addressing systemic discrimination experienced by LGBTQ2SI people. Canada’s unions have called on the government to do more, including ending the discriminatory ban on blood donation for all men who have sex with men. It’s past time to end this homophobic and transphobic policy once and for all.

Internationally, Canada has also become more engaged on LGBTQ2SI issues. Later this year, Canada will host Leaving No One Behind: the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) Global Conference on LGBTI Human Rights and Inclusive Development in Vancouver. Co-chaired by Canada and Chile, the ERC is the first-ever intergovernmental coalition dedicated to the protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world.

To learn more about the CLC’s pharmacare campaign, visit aplanforeveryone.ca.

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“I am pleased to see Canada respond so quickly and decisively to defend Canadian workers and industry against President Trump’s bullying tactics. Canada cannot waver in its defence of balanced trade,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Today, Canada announced plans to stand up to sweeping American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada. Canada’s plans include new surtaxes and other targeted measures on steel, aluminum and other imports from the U.S. amounting to $16.6 billion, the value of total Canadian exports of steel and aluminum to the U.S. in 2017. These surtaxes are set to take effect on July 1^st, 2018 and will remain in place until U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are dropped.

“Trump’s aggressive trade provocations against Canada are a totally unjustified and unwarranted sanction against a fair-trading ally,” said Yussuff. “The implications of Trump’s tariffs will be felt on both sides of the border, but in Canada, it will impact the lives of more than 20,000 workers directly employed by the industry, and another 100,000 indirectly employed workers.”

Every year, Canada exports $6 billion worth of steel products to the U.S., and, because of the integrated nature of the North American steel industry, imports steel products of the same value from the U.S. Last year, Canada exported $9.3 billion worth of aluminum products to the United States. Canada’s steel industry is also responsible for millions of dollars worth of research and development throughout the economy.

“Unfair and one-sided trade tactics cannot be allowed to undermine Canadian workers and industry,” said Yussuff. “In the days and weeks ahead, Canada’s unions will be calling on the Canadian and provincial governments to assist Canadian workers and steel and aluminum manufacturers who will need support to maintain their livelihoods and stay in business until this dispute can be resolved.”

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On May 21^st, Han Sang-gyun was released on parole after serving two and a half years in prison on charges related to legitimate and peaceful trade union activities undertaken in his capacity as union leader.

Han Sang-gyun was jailed after leading mass mobilizations against the repressive labour law changes of the former corrupt Park Geun-hye government.

“Since his arbitrary arrest almost three years ago, millions of workers have called for his release,” says CLC President Hassan Yussuff, who visited former President Han at Chuncheon Correction Center last year. “Today his freedom is celebrated by workers worldwide and I look forward to meeting him again without the glass and bars that divided our conversation last year.”

With Han Sang-gyun’s release, the fight continues by calling for the release of Lee Young‑joo, ex-general secretary of the KCTU, who is under detention for the same charge and awaiting a jury trial, which will be held in June 2018.

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“Violence and harassment should never be part of the job. It’s time for our government to commit to ensuring that any worker who experiences homophobic and transphobic harassment and violence has the support they need,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB), marking the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders and illnesses.

Canada’s unions have long championed LGBTQ2SI rights and safe and healthy workplaces, free from discrimination, violence and harassment. However, homophobia, transphobia and biphobia continue to affect LGBTQ2SI workers on the job and in communities. According to Statistics Canada, 13% of police-reported hate crimes in 2016 were motivated by hatred based on sexual orientation.

“LGBTQ2SI workers face more barriers when it comes to reporting these crimes and accessing support services to deal with the impact of violence and harassment,” said Yussuff.

Later this month, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will begin negotiations for a new labour standard on violence and harassment in the workplace. Trade unions from around the world will be pushing for an inclusive standard to protect all workers and address the full spectrum of workplace violence and harassment.

The CLC is calling on Canada’s government to champion a standard that will protect workers who experience harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression.

“With leadership, education and action from our federal government, we can end harassment and violence and make workplaces safe for all workers, regardless of their sexuality or their gender identity and expression,” said Yussuff.

Add your voice and speak up against violence and harassment.

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Today also marks the 70th commemoration of the Nakba, or Catastrophe Day, where more than 700,000 Arabs fled, or were expelled, from their homes during the 1947 49 war. For Palestinians, this is a day of mourning and resistance, calling for the respect of international law and the right of return for refugees to Palestine.

The CLC supports a vision of two nations co-existing in peace and security, within safe borders, free from occupation. We believe that direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine are the only viable avenue to the resolution of the conflict. Once again, the CLC calls on the Canadian government to recognize the State of Palestine.

In light of recent events, including the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the controversial and provocative relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, constructive dialogue is now all the more difficult to achieve. On this day, we mourn those who have lost their lives and stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers calling for human rights and social justice and the respect for international law.

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While it may take some time to uncover the motivation behind this heinous act of violence, we can take comfort in the incredible outpouring of support for the families of the 10 deceased and numerous others who were injured in Monday’s assault.

Our thanks go to the courageous first responders who played such a significant role in bringing order, safety and support to a very chaotic downtown crime scene.

Our hearts are with the people of Toronto as they mourn the loss of the innocent victims to this tragedy.

Our actions, as they should, express love in the face of violence.

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“The world is watching. By launching this task force, Canada has the opportunity to set an international example on how to implement progressive policy to reduce emissions while keeping people and communities at the centre,” said CLC President and Task Force Co-chair Hassan Yussuff.

Workers will have a strong voice at the table thanks to a significant labour presence on the 11-member task force. Yussuff will be joined by five representatives from Canadian unions who can speak to the concerns of coal workers and their families.

“People affected by plans to phase-out coal power must be at the heart of this transition. This task force will help ensure that the needs of workers and communities – as well as Canada’s environmental goals – are met,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff commended Environment Minister Catherine McKenna on her personal commitment to the creation of this task force. The Task Force will develop recommendations to present to Minister McKenna to influence Canada’s plans to phase-out coal power. This would include helping workers find comparable employment through retraining programs and resources to help affected communities transition their local economy.

“I look forward to working collaboratively with the government and the members of the Task Force to develop effective and practical solutions to support Canada’s transition for coal power workers and communities,” said Yussuff.

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On April 24, 2013, over one thousand garment workers were killed or injured when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed. Investigations showed that working conditions in the building did not meet safety standards. The tragedy highlighted the human rights abuses and substandard conditions that continue to plague the textile industry.

“Canadian companies have a responsibility to ensure that the products they produce are made ethically,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “Canadians do not want to compromise the safety and dignity of workers in exchange for a cheap t-shirt. That’s not who we are.”

Basic human rights

Canadian unions are advocating that workers in Bangladesh, and anywhere along a supply chain, are:

• Treated fairly and with respect at work;
• Paid a living wage;
• Able to exercise their rights to form unions and bargain collectively;
• Working in safe factories.

Soon after the tragedy, dozens of companies operating in Bangladesh signed a five-year legally binding agreement called the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The agreement has been renewed for three more years and aims to ensure that factories are inspected regularly and that minimum safety standards are maintained. It also protects the rights of workers to organize.

Corporate accountability

The CLC calls on the Canadian corporations operating in Bangladesh to sign the Accord. There are over 140 signatories from around the world, including Canadian owned Loblaws. The full list can be found here.

More recently, Canada’s federal government announced it will appoint an ombudsperson to ensure Canadian corporations respect their human rights obligations abroad.

“Canada can and must be a champion of all workers. That requires making sure that our corporations are held to account for any human rights abuses,” said Yussuff.

Taking action

Several CLC affiliates will be holding events this Monday, April 23 to encourage Canadian companies including Walmart and the Canadian Tire owned stores of Mark’s, Sports Experts, and Sport Chek to commit to transparency about their supply chains.

Canadians who want to participate should visit the United Steelworkers (USW) campaign page here and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) here.

Supporting workers

Since 2016, the CLC and several affiliates have been supporting the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity in its effort to strengthen labour rights in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector. The project is supported by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), UFCW, Ontario Secondary School Teacher Federation (OSSTF) and USW. It runs until 2019.

The CLC is also a member of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, along with over 30 other unions and human rights, environmental, faith-based and solidarity groups. Union members of the coalition include CUPE, Unifor, USW, PSAC and the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF).

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Every April 28, Canada’s unions join workers and their families to mourn those who have been injured or killed on the job. Workplace violence and harassment have also led to worker deaths, as well as significant mental and physical injuries. Yet they are often less frequently talked about.

“Workplace harassment and violence are often overlooked hazards of the job,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “In the era of #metoo and #timesup, we need to talk about the negative, even deadly, impacts these hazards can have in the workplace.”

Canada has strong violence prevention regulations that were developed by unions, employers and the federal government working together in a tripartite process. Federal Bill C-65 promises to finally recognize sexual harassment as a workplace hazard.

However, workers are also calling for new measures:

• First, to make it safe for workers to report harassment and violence by implementing anti-reprisal measures, including whistleblower protection;
• Second, to ensure federal health and safety officers can be as effective as possible by hiring more officers and ensuring they receive the robust training they need;
• And finally, to recognize domestic violence as a workplace hazard. This will raise awareness around the need for employers to conduct workplace risk assessments, training and safety planning, and to ensure supports are in place for workers experiencing domestic violence.

“We encourage the federal government to take meaningful steps to further protect workers from harassment and violence,” said Yussuff. “This impacts every sector.”

Supporters are encouraged to add their voice to this campaign at dayofmourning.ca. To find Day of Mourning events happening across Canada, visit the CLC website here.

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“Unions, business, communities and governments must work together on comprehensive strategies that will ensure those most affected can adapt and thrive as we shift to a zero-carbon economy,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Yussuff pointed to the reality of climate change around the world and here in Canada.

“We must face the facts. Warmer climates are compromising food and water supplies, and that’s hurting the livelihoods of millions. Rising temperatures are causing severe draughts in parts of the world,” he said.

He cited Cape Town, South Africa as an example, where resident face strict water rations in a bid to stave off Day Zero, the projected day when taps will run dry. Current estimates show that Day Zero will come in 2019.

“Here in Canada, it’s widely accepted that climate change played a big part in causing the catastrophic fire that ravaged Fort McMurray in 2016,” said Yussuff.

A drier-than-usual winter and record-high spring temperatures, coupled with high wind gusts caused the Fort McMurray fire to spread quickly. It displaced almost 90,000 people and many lost their homes. The fire took 15 months to fully extinguish.

Canada’s unions – along with organizations like the Green Economy Network, Blue Green Canada and Canada’s Building Trades – have long fought for a greener economy that puts workers and communities at the centre of any climate change policy.

“Progressive emission-reduction policies must centre around people and communities. Canada’s move to reduce its carbon emissions will impact employment. Adequate supports like re-training are necessary to a successful shift to a greener economy,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

In February, the federal government announced the Terms of Reference for the Just Transition Task Force for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities. The Task Force’s mandate is to develop recommendations to influence Canada’s plans to phase-out coal power. Their first meeting is scheduled for this week.

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Nearly 100 expert witnesses presented to the Committee, with the majority arguing that Canada needs universal, comprehensive, and publicly-administered prescription drug coverage.

“This announcement reinforces what we’ve heard at town hall meetings across the country: the current patchwork prescription drug system isn’t working. This is a great first step that will hopefully lay the groundwork for implementation of universal pharmacare in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Last fall, the CLC launched a national campaign calling for universal pharmacare. Its pan-Canadian pharmacare town hall tour has so far visited 23 communities and garnered nearly 30,000 petition signatures and 7,000 emails to Members of Parliament.

“Over 3 million Canadians can’t afford their prescriptions and many people have reported skipping doses or splitting pills to stretch out their prescriptions,” said Yussuff. “Everyone knows someone who can’t afford to take their medication as directed.”

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Coverage in Canada vastly differs depending on where you live. Earlier this year, the government committed to a pathway to establishing universal pharmacare in its federal budget.

“Nobody should have to choose between paying for groceries and paying for the medication they need. That’s why we need a pharmacare plan that covers all Canadians, regardless of their age, income or where they live or work,” he said.

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“Harassment and violence are serious barriers to equality, particularly for LGBTQ2SI workers, who are disproportionately affected by violence, harassment and bullying. Canada’s unions have proudly negotiated anti-harassment, anti-violence and anti-discrimination policies in workplaces across the country, but there is more work to do,” said CLC Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau.

For those of us who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, non-binary and Two Spirit, harassment and violence can be exacerbated by other forms of discrimination, like racism, sexism or ableism. This is a daily reality for far too many people.

According to Statistics Canada, 13% of police-reported hate crimes in 2016 were motivated by hatred based on sexual orientation.

An Egale Canada report states that bullying can have long-lasting effects on an individual’s mental health, which can increase the risk of suicide. Studies confirm that suicide rates and suicidal thoughts are significantly higher in LGBTQ youth when compared to their non-LGBTQ peers.

The CLC’s groundbreaking research on the impact of domestic violence at work also revealed that trans workers reported substantially higher rates of experiencing domestic violence.

The International Day of Pink started in Nova Scotia when high school students intervened in support of a fellow student who was bullied for wearing pink. These students purchased pink shirts and encouraged their classmates to arrive at school wearing pink, in solidarity with their bullied peer. Everyone participated, effectively challenging homophobic and transphobic bullying in their school. The Day of Pink has since become a movement, with awareness-raising events taking place in across Canada and around the world.

In addition to helping raise awareness by participating on the Day of Pink, Canada’s unions continue to press for safer workplaces and an end to homophobic, transphobic and gender-based violence and harassment. This includes calling for a clear definition of violence and harassment to be applied to the recently-introduced federal legislation, Bill C-65, so that workers are protected from transphobic and homophobic harassment and violence, including bullying.

We also offer ongoing training and resources to help people address discrimination and create safer workplaces and communities free of gender-based violence, including homophobic and transphobic bullying.

The CLC recently launched #DoneWaiting, a campaign that outlines concrete steps the federal government can take to remove barriers to equality in Canada – which includes eliminating violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.

On the international stage, we are working with the global union movement to call for a new ILO Convention on gender-based violence in the world of work which explicitly includes protections for LGBTQ2SI workers.

“Violence and harassment should never be part of the job. We encourage everyone to challenge discrimination if and when they see it,” said Rousseau.

“On this Day of Pink we call on the federal government to make it safe for workers to report harassment and violence by implementing anti-reprisal measures, including whistleblower protection, to hire and train more federal health and safety officers to recognize and address all forms of harassment and violence, and to recognize domestic violence as a workplace hazard,” Rousseau added.

To learn more about CLC’s #DoneWaiting campaign visit donewaiting.ca. Read our LGBTQ2SI bargaining guide.

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• Addressing systemic discrimination of all forms, including stopping anti-Black racism and Islamophobia;
• Reconciliation and nation-to-nation relationship building with First Nations;
• Launching an inquiry into the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous children and youth in the care of child protection services; and
• Reforming the criminal justice system, with a shift to restorative justice, and addressing the disproportionate number of incarcerated Black and Indigenous people.

“Recent high-profile cases underscore the urgent need to address the systemic discrimination that is woven into the fabric of multiple Canadian institutions. Systemic failures can have life-or-death consequences,” said Yussuff.

Twenty-two-year-old Colten Boushie from the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation of Saskatchewan was shot and killed in the summer of 2016. Boushie’s family spoke publicly about the mistreatment they received from law enforcement when they were informed of his killing. The accused was acquitted of all charges in Boushie’s death, and experts have indicated that the lack of diversity on the all-white jury played a significant role in the acquittal.

The body of Tina Fontaine, a 15-year-old Anishinaabe girl from Sagkeeng First Nation, was found discarded in the Red River in Winnipeg. She was in contact with child protection, law enforcement and medical professionals in the weeks leading to her disappearance and death. Fontaine’s case is one of many examples of systemic failures and helped prompt the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Abdoul Abdi, a young Somali refugee who was brought to Canada as a child has been failed by a system not designed to support him. Upon his arrival in Canada at the age of six, Abdi was removed from his family and ended up being moved between 31 group and foster homes where he faced psychological and physical abuse. He ended up in trouble with the law and serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence. Once released, he learned he would face deportation because the Nova Scotia government failed to fulfill its responsibility to secure his citizenship while he was in their ward. His deportation hearing has been scheduled for March 21 which is – ironically – the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

“These cases and so many more demonstrate why we must do more to end systemic racism, xenophobia and discrimination at home and around the world,” said Yussuff.

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“Canada’s unions have been advocating for paid domestic violence leave for years. What started as a relatively modest undertaking with a national study, resulted in important insight into the impact of domestic violence in the workplace. Now we are seeing real progress,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Yussuff commended Manitoba for being the first province to introduce paid domestic violence leave in 2016. Manitoba now provides all workers the right to five paid days of domestic violence leave, plus an additional ten unpaid days. When necessary, a worker can request up to 17 weeks of unpaid leave without jeopardizing their employment. Earlier this year, Ontario also introduced five paid days of leave for survivors of domestic and sexual violence and if necessary, up to 15 weeks of unpaid leave.

“Paid domestic violence leave for people experiencing violence helps them take steps that can help keep themselves and their children safe. Dealing with violence is time consuming – especially when it comes to tasks like finding housing, opening a bank account, or meeting with lawyers and the police, a lot of which has to happen during office hours,” said CLC Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker.

Momentum for paid leave is building across Canada. Many local unions have now negotiated domestic violence leave clauses. However, Canada’s unions want this right extended to all workers, so across Canada, workers are calling on their provincial and territorial governments to amend their Employment Standards and offer paid domestic violence leave to any worker who needs it.

Paid leave is one of many forms of support people who experience domestic violence can access in their workplace. The CLC has developed training for stewards and union representatives, to empower them to identify and respond when a member is dealing with domestic violence. Our Domestic Violence at Work Online Resource Centre has resources for individuals, representatives and unions who want to learn more and support others. Canada’s unions are also proud to have negotiated support for victims of domestic violence in many workplace collective agreements.

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U.S. President Trump released his finalized steel and aluminum tariff package today, with temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

Despite these exemptions, today’s announcement will mean that Canadian producers will be competing with the excess supply of steel and aluminum diverted from the U.S. market.

“The steel and aluminum sectors are one of Canada’s key economic drivers and employers, directly and indirectly supporting good jobs in nearly every region in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“Canadian steel and aluminum should have a permanent exemption from American tariffs. Canada and the U.S. have an integrated economy that has yielded economic benefits for both countries, but this move jeopardizes the future of that relationship,” said Yussuff.

The steel sector supports 22,000 direct jobs across Canada and the aluminum sector supports nearly 10,000 direct jobs mostly in BC and Quebec, with supply chains and related industries affecting more than 100,000 additional workers.

“The Canadian government must take immediate action to prevent foreign steel and aluminum dumping in the Canadian market. The federal and provincial governments must also be prepared to assist Canadian workers and steel manufacturers who will need support to maintain their livelihoods and stay in business,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff also underscored that this announcement should not impact ongoing NAFTA negotiations.

The Canadian Labour Congress is asking for the federal government to put together a rapid response working group with industry and worker representatives to develop a package to support workers, businesses, and communities.

Elements of a package could include:

• Action by Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to address any trade diversion caused by US measures;
• Additional resources devoted to border agents and inspections to ensure Canadian market isn’t flooded with dumped products;
• Policy measures that prioritize the use of Canadian made steel and aluminum for energy projects within Canada. This would enable the government to meet its stated aim of developing Canada’s energy resources in an environmentally responsible way.

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The CLC’s #donewaiting campaign outlines concrete ways the federal government can remove three key barriers to women’s economic justice: wage discrimination, sexual harassment and violence and the child care crisis.

“Women in Canada want equal pay for work of equal value. We want to be able to go to work feeling safe and secure. And we want to be able to go to work knowing our kids are safe and well cared for,” said CLC Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker.

“Our campaign will build on mounting public pressure for decision makers in Canada and around the world to move beyond rhetoric to take action that will make feminist rhetoric a feminist reality,” she added.

The #donewaiting campaign highlights how different women experience these barriers differently.

“We know that Indigenous women, racialized women, and women with disabilities face higher rates of violence and barriers to support, wider wage gaps, and have a harder time finding and paying for the child care they need to be able to work or study,” said Clarke Walker.

The campaign invites people to write to their Member of Parliament to take action, and to share the campaign on social media.

CLC President Hassan Yussuff said that although the campaign is being launched in time for International Women’s Day, it will continue through until the next federal election.

“This campaign is about shaping an agenda for women’s economic justice in the 2019 federal election,” he said.

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The Canadian Labour Congress, which represents 3.3 million Canadian workers, today released a detailed budget analysis, which outlines the commitments on important issues for working Canadians.

This budget provides initial steps forward toward national pharmacare and pay equity in the federal jurisdiction, dedicated parental leave for male and non-birthing partners, action to assist seasonal Employment Insurance (EI) claimants, support for victims of domestic violence, more help for workers seeking unpaid wages from insolvent employers, and Just Transition funds for workers and communities affected by climate change policy.

However the budget’s failure to offer an expanded commitment to early learning and child care weakened its consistent gender equity focus. The limited movement on protection for pensioners and pension plan members in the restructuring and bankruptcy process, and limited progress on the government’s tax fairness commitments also detracted from the budget’s equity goals.

Read the full analysis.

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The call comes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose duties of up to 25% on steel imports, and 10% on aluminum imports. Key details, such as whether fair-trading allies such as Canada will be excluded from duties, have yet to be disclosed.

“The steel sector is one of Canada’s key economic drivers and employers, directly and indirectly supporting good jobs in nearly every region in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“If Canada were included in this aggressive trade action, it would affect workers and businesses on both sides of the border. It would decimate Canada’s steel industry and impact the lives of 22,000 workers directly employed by the industry, and another 100,000 indirectly employed workers,” he added.

Every year, Canada exports $6 billion worth of steel products to the U.S., and, because of the integrated nature of the North American steel industry, imports steel products of the same value from the U.S. Last year, Canada exported $9.3 billion worth of aluminum products to the United States.

Canada’s steel industry is also responsible for millions of dollars worth of research and development throughout the economy.

“Federal and provincial governments must vigorously defend the interests of Canadian workers and businesses by demanding that U.S. president Trump exclude fair-trading allies such as Canada,” said Yussuff.

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In a joint letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today, the three organizations express dismay over comments made today by Morneau about pharmacare and say he should recuse himself from the pharmacare file given his perceived conflict of interest.

Download the letter

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

Re: Minister Morneau should recuse himself from the pharmacare file given his perceived conflict of interest

We write to express our dismay at comments made today by Finance Minister Bill Morneau before the Economic Club of Canada regarding pharmacare. In the absence of any terms of reference for the newlyannounced Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare (ACINP), Minister Morneau has already presupposed the outcome. His comments today suggest a sharp turn away from the evidence-based pharmacare recommendations that every commission ever convened on the topic has made, as well as the commitments of Morneau’s own Liberal Party at their most recent convention.

In his comments before the Economic Club of Canada regarding the ACINP, Minister Morneau differentiated between a “national pharmacare strategy” and a “national pharmacare plan,” calling them “two very different things.” He went on to say, “we recognize that we need a strategy to deal with the fact that not everyone has access and we need to do it in a way that’s responsive – that deals with the gaps and that doesn’t throw out the system we currently have.”

Minister Morneau’s comments are incorrect: Canadians have witnessed decades of research, consultations, Royal Commissions and parliamentary studies which have overwhelmingly recommended a national pharmacare plan, not piecemeal coverage. Moreover, after receiving testimony from 99 expert witnesses, the Commons health committee is on the verge of unveiling a landmark report to Parliament which is expected to recommend the same: a universal pharmacare plan.

Minister Morneau’s comments contradict the overwhelming evidence and threaten to undermine the work of the ACINP before it even begins. We request that he retract these statements and recuse himself from involvement with the ACINP. This is a vital step to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest. To ensure its legitimacy, the ACINP must be guided exclusively by evidence and public interest. In his speech, the Minister also stated “my firm [Morneau Shepell] was the largest provider of benefits consultancy services in Canada.” With these deep ties to the private firm Morneau Shepell, we are concerned that the Finance Minister may not be approaching the issue of fundamental change in national drug insurance policies with an exclusive focus on evidence in the public interest.

As health professionals and labour leaders, we are committed to the wellbeing of patients and the effectiveness of our health care services, it is our hope that insurance industry and pharmaceutical industry interests will not play a role in the implementation of universal public pharmacare. Canada must join the rest of the industrialized world and establish what the evidence shows works best – a universal, public pharmacare system similar to our universal health care system.

We remain optimistic about the appointment of Dr. Eric Hoskins to chair the ACINP. With his track record in Ontario, as a public official committed to the wellbeing of patients, he is the right person for the job. We look forward to working collaboratively with Dr. Hoskins and the ACINP to assemble a blueprint for the implementation of a national pharmacare plan by early 2019. Thank you for your consideration of this letter.

Signed,

Linda Silas, RN, BScN
President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

Dr. Danyaal Raza, MD MPH CCFP
Chair, Canadian Doctors for Medicare

Hassan Yussuff
President, Canadian Labour Congress

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Today’s federal budget commits to setting up an Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare headed up by former Ontario health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins.

“We are very pleased to see the government committing to a pathway that will finally establish a universal prescription drug plan for all Canadians, regardless of their age, income or where they live. We hope to see the promise of universal pharmacare fulfilled before the next federal election,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

The federal budget also promises to deliver long overdue proactive pay equity legislation in the Budget Implementation Act.

“Women in Canada have waited far too long for fairness, and Canada’s unions look forward to working with the government to get this legislation right,” said Yussuff. “That means ensuring, for example, that it establishes both a distinct Pay Equity Commission and a Hearings Tribunal – two essential components of a proactive pay equity regime.”

Yussuff was also encouraged to see implementation of a long-standing call for dedicated leave for second parents, but had hoped that child care would be more of a priority in a federal budget focused on boosting participation of women in the workforce.

“The evidence is very clear that the most effective way to remove barriers to women’s participation in the workforce is with a universal child care system,” said Yussuff. “That’s why we had hoped to see this budget commit to increasing child care spending – over time – to reach the internationally recognized benchmark of one percent of GDP.”

Yussuff said he was happy to see the budget commit to expanding protections to workers under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.

The budget increased the maximum limit so that workers’ final paychecks, severance and vacation pay are better protected when companies go bankrupt.

“It’s unfortunate, however, that the government didn’t go further, ensuring that pensioners have the same protections and are prioritized in bankruptcy situations,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff highlighted other positive announcements in today’s federal budget, including:

• New apprenticeship and training initiatives including incentive grants for women entering the Red Seal trades, pre-apprenticeship programs targeting under-represented groups, additional supports for women in trades and investments in skills building for women new to Canada.
• Extending Working While on Claim provisions to those on maternity and sick leave.
• Making Status of Women Canada an official government department and providing it with $100 million over five years to enhance the Women’s Program.
• A commitment of an additional $86 million over five years to the Gender Based Violence Strategy and additional commitments to combat workplace harassment and violence.
• A commitment to five days of paid leave for victims of domestic violence.
• Funding to combat anti-black racism.
• Moves to close tax loopholes and crack down on tax evasion, including the imposition of a $50,000 threshold on passive income.
• A pledge to replace the beleaguered Phoenix pay system.

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1. A commitment to universal public pharmacare

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Our patchwork prescription drug system is inefficient and expensive, and has left 3.5 million Canadians unable to afford the medication they need. Budget 2018 must commit to a timeline to work with the provinces and territories to design and implement a universal, comprehensive, national public prescription drug program that covers all Canadians, regardless of their age, income, or where they work or live.

2. Long overdue action on pay equity

Canada’s gender wage gap is the sixth highest in the OECD. This wage discrimination exists regardless of women’s education or whether they work full or part-time. Lower lifetime earnings means less retirement security and more poverty for older women. Canada’s unions have long advocated for proactive, stand-alone pay equity legislation and are hopeful that it will finally be tabled later this year. In anticipation of that, Budget 2018 must fund the establishment of an independent Pay Equity Commission and Hearings Tribunal, and commit funding to support workers’ and advocacy groups’ access to advice, information, training, and participation in the pay equity process.

3. Education and action on gender-based harassment and violence

The #metoo movement has demonstrated that gender-based harassment and violence is a widespread and very serious issue that requires strong leadership from the federal government. That’s why Canada’s unions want Budget 2018 to commit to a national public education campaign on gender-based harassment and violence. Gender-based violence costs the Canadian economy $12 billion annually, but the women’s organizations providing frontline support and services to survivors of gender-based violence have no stable core operational funding. Budget 2018 must restore the Status of Women Canada’s mandate to provide core funding to women’s organizations for research, advocacy and services, and increase its funding by $100 million annually so it can do that.

4. Long-term investment for child care

Canada is facing a child care crisis. The OECD says child care costs in Canada are among the highest in the world. Canadian families are spending almost one-quarter of their income on child care. Single parents spend an average of 32 percent their income on child care. For women, access to affordable, high quality child care is about economic justice. Budget 2017 announced some long-term funding for early learning and child care, but not enough to solve the crisis. Budget 2018 must allocate $1 billion for child care in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and increase that amount each year until public spending on child care reaches at least one percent of GDP, the international benchmark used by the OECD, UNICEF and other international bodies.

5. Reforms to Employment Insurance

Successive federal governments have made the Employment Insurance program less equitable and harder to access, at the same time as our labour market has undergone major changes. Right now, too many vulnerable workers are left behind because of gaps in the system that is supposed to support them. Budget 2018 must reform the EI appeals process by restoring the Board of Referees and bringing labour back into the adjudication of claimants’ appeals. It must also establish a single national eligibility standard for EI regular benefits with a 360-hour threshold, and raise the replacement rate for insured earnings to 60 percent. Canada’s unions are also calling on the government to reform the claw-back of EI sickness benefits by allowing workers to top up their income by working during their benefit claim, and by expanding the number of weeks for sickness benefits to deal with episodic or long-term illnesses.

6. Fairness for federally-regulated workers

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to commit to fairness for workers in federally-regulated workplaces. First, Budget 2018 should commit to a federal minimum wage. This would have an immediate, significant and positive impact for workers at Canadian airports and those performing outsourced maintenance work in federal buildings and offices. Second, Budget 2018 must reinstate the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act for federal government procurement and construction contracts. Third, the budget must commit to ending contract flipping in federal workplaces like airports. Employers must not be allowed use contract flipping to undermine job security, wages and benefits. Fourth, the government must reform Part 3 of the Canada Labour Code to provide paid leave for personal reasons; prevent misclassification of workers as independent contractors; prevent discrimination in pay and benefits based on employment status (part-time, temporary and contract workers); and make employers responsible for labour standards violations in their supply chains.

7. Training and skills-building for workers

Canada’s unions will be looking for commitments on training and skills-building for workers in Budget 2018. For example, we have proposed that the government support the right to lifelong learning with guaranteed paid training leaves so that workers can upgrade skills. We have also urged the government to create more training opportunities for skilled trades jobs by investing in pre-apprenticeship training and mandating apprenticeship training for federally funded infrastructure projects, procurement contracts (for example in defence and shipbuilding), and building maintenance. Budget 2018 must also invest in workers by restoring funding for literacy programs and core funding for literacy organizations, and investing in a new national workplace literacy program.

8. Tax fairness

Canada’s unions want all Canadians to pay their fair share and are calling on the federal government to act for tax fairness by closing costly tax loopholes (like the stock option deduction and capital gains deduction), cracking down on Canadians’ foreign tax haven use, including by pension funds and Crown corporations, and ending the unfair advantage enjoyed by Google, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, and other foreign companies who sell services in Canada but are exempt from Canadian sales and corporate income taxes.

9.Investments in a green economy

The federal government must implement a bold green economic program of targeted investments over the next five years for renewable energy development and infrastructure, including job creation and greenhouse gas reduction targets, in order to boost electricity generated from solar, wind, and geothermal energy sources.

10. Just Transition training and adjustment funds for workers

Canada’s unions are calling for the establishment of Just Transition training and adjustment funds for workers affected by climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy, automation, the digitisation of work, and job losses caused by trade agreements like CETA.

11. Improvements to the disability tax credit

Budget 2018 must increase the federal disability tax credit for people with disabilities and make it refundable, clarify eligibility, and simplify the application process. This would be a first step toward addressing poverty for people with disabilities. A refundable disability tax credit would provide a modest annual amount of money to many people living with significant disabilities, particularly those who are not able to participate in the workforce. This is a long time demand of the disability rights community and a necessary step toward greater inclusion and fairness for people with disabilities.

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• Work together to protect our members from raids and organize the unorganized;
• Defend our members and their international unions from baseless attacks; and
• Recommit our efforts to the political action necessary to improve the lives of all workers.

The Canadian Labour Congress represents over 3 million workers and brings together Canada’s national, international, and provincial unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 107 district labour councils, whose members work in virtually all sectors of the Canadian economy, in all occupations, in all parts of Canada.

Signed by,

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The same message is being highlighted in meetings today between over 300 union representatives from across Canada and more than 175 ministers, Members of Parliament and Senators.

“Nobody should have to choose between buying groceries and paying for the medication they need,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “But today 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford their prescriptions.”

“That’s why Canada’s unions are campaigning for pharmacare, here with our lobby day on Parliament Hill today, and over the next few months with town hall meetings across the country,” he added.

Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, emphasized why employers are out front in the push for universal pharmacare.

“The burden of Canada’s incomplete and inefficient system of public drug coverage falls heavily on businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises that comprise the backbone of Canada’s economy,” she added. “With rising costs of medications, many businesses are seeing their bottom lines erode and some find they simply cannot afford to provide insurance plans for their employees.”

Dr. Monika Dutt, a family physician and Canadian Doctors for Medicare board member, emphasized the cost of health outcomes when patients fail to take their medications as prescribed.

“As a doctor, it’s hard to come up with an effective care plan for a patient when you’re uncertain if they can afford to fill their prescriptions or take their medications as prescribed,” said Dr. Dutt.

A recent study by Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives highlights why pharmacare makes economic sense too.

“Our research found that a universal pharmacare plan will save billions of dollars a year by eliminating current federal, provincial and territorial programs, private insurance and out-of-pocket expenses paid by individual Canadians,” she added.

Marissa Semkiw, Director of Policy and Government Relations for CARP, highlighted support for pharmacare among her organization’s membership.

“Ten percent of CARP members have admitted to skipping prescription medications because of costs, and 87 percent support consistent drug coverage across all of Canada,” said Semkiw. “Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. It’s time we recognize that the two go hand in hand.”

Almost 30,000 Canadians have signed on to the CLC’s petition calling for universal pharmacare since its campaign launched on Labour Day. Over the next few months, the CLC will host town hall meetings in more than 25 communities across the country, featuring Canada’s foremost pharmacare experts and advocates.

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Such a strategy would require the government to commit to analyzing race-based statistics on how various institutional policies impact Canada’s Black communities. The key objective would be to eradicate institutionalized racism that is disproportionately harming this specific segment of Canadian society.

“Black people in Canada are systematically disadvantaged in workplaces, criminalized and victimized by the judicial system, and discriminated against in public services and housing,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The federal government should look to taking the following steps:

• Create an intersectional national anti-Black racism strategy;
• Institute criminal justice reform to address anti-Black racism in the judicial and prison system; and
• Call for an inquiry on the overrepresentation of Black children and youth in care of child protection services.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent as a response to the need to strengthen the rights of people of African descent. Canada’s federal government officially recognized the International Decade of People of African Descent this week.

“Recognition is a step, but it won’t mean much if it isn’t followed up with concrete commitments to addressing the real grievances people have,” said Yussuff.

Canada’s unions are striving to educate their membership on the issue of anti-Black racism.

Last year, the CLC hosted a series of webinars called Working While Black. The series highlighted the contributions of Black activists and organizers in Canada and helped build skills and knowledge towards confronting discrimination.

This year, Canada’s unions are celebrating Black History Month with the release of a special podcast later this month called “Smoke and Mirrors: Uncovering Truths about Human Rights in Canada”. Hosted by lawyer, writer and PhD candidate Hadiya Roderique, the episode will explore the history of anti-Black racism in Canada and its legacy on society today.

The podcast features interviews with Black intellectuals and activists including authors and historians Robyn Maynard and Dr. Afua Cooper, as well as the award-winning journalist Desmond Cole.

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I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be in that sacred space and have that serenity destroyed by a lone gunman, bent on killing as many people as he could.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their loved ones that night, the families of Aboubakr Thabti, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Azzedine Soufiane and Abdelkarim Hassane. I think of the seventeen children who will no longer have their fathers in their lives. I think of their spouses who have lost their life partners. It truly is heartbreaking and unfathomable.

I think, too, of the nineteen others who were physically injured that night. One of those men is Aymen Derbali, whose story has now become widely known. Aymen deliberately put himself in the shooter’s line of sight in order to distract him away from his fellow worshippers.  He was shot seven times – two bullets are still lodged in his spine. He is a Canadian hero. I’m deeply inspired by his determination to rebuild his life, though he faces many challenges and obstacles as he will never walk again.

The Quebec City Muslim community is still coping with this tragedy; such loss is understandably deeply traumatic and has both short and long-term consequences.

What I hope to express is my personal commitment to counter the attitudes that would lead to hatred and bigotry of any kind. That is why the Canadian Labour Congress joined in the call for a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia. Canada’s unions will continue to work with the National Council of Canadian Muslims, and countless other organizations, to make this happen.

I believe each and every one of us has a responsibility to speak up whenever we hear or see hateful attitudes expressed: in our workplaces, in our social gatherings, in any other day-to-day interactions, and online.

Islamophobia is real. We must face it, and eradicate it, together. Let’s never forget January 29.

– Hassan Yussuff, CLC President

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• Chapter 12 of the TPP, which gives corporations the ability to bring employees to Canada en masse, without any requirement that they be paid fairly;
• That it allows employers to transfer skilled trades and technical employees to Canada with no requirement that they attempt to hire within Canada first;
• That the deal’s labour provisions have no teeth and provide no guarantees that basic workers’ rights will be protected or that workers will be able to exercise their rights to form a union and to engage in collective bargaining;
• That the deal will mean massive job losses in Canada’s auto sector because it eliminates any incentive to manufacture vehicles in Canada and increases the incentive to source auto parts from low-wage non-TPP nations. No side deal can improve Canada’s auto exports to Japan; and
• That it will undermine efforts to combat climate change. Investor-state dispute mechanisms allow corporations to challenge environmental regulations and could put a chill on governments trying to fight climate change.

Yussuff says it isn’t clear yet whether the new deal will protect the Canadian dairy market. 250 million liters of milk, and the production jobs that come from that, are at risk annually.

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I was deeply disappointed by today’s news that Unifor has decided to disaffiliate from the Canadian Labour Congress.

This evening the CLC held an emergency meeting of our Canadian Council, the CLC’s highest decision-making body between conventions. At this meeting, our affiliates reaffirmed their unanimous support for the CLC and a strong labour movement.

In turn, I stressed that as CLC president, I am committed to resolving this issue and reuniting Canada’s labour movement, and that I take my responsibility to do that very seriously.

I also emphasized that we will not let this development distract us from our important work to improve the day-to-day lives of all Canadians, including:

• Our campaign for a universal prescription drug plan for all Canadians
• Winning proactive pay equity legislation
• Winning fair labour laws and a $15 minimum wage across Canada
• Negotiating a worker-friendly NAFTA

The CLC has a 61-year history, and is more than just one affiliate – we are 55 international, national and provincial affiliates. We will come out of this stronger than ever.

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• Independent, impartial and arms-length from government;
• Mandated and adequately resourced to investigate incidents. That means being able to compel documents and testimony;
• Able to make public findings and recommendations that tie subsidies, loans, loan insurance and other trade support from government to respect for human rights;
• Able to monitor and follow up on recommendations;
• Transparent. To be effective, the ombudsperson’s findings, recommendations, approved settlement agreements and policy proposals must be publicly available.

Yussuff added that the creation of a strong and independent human rights ombudsperson is also important given calls by the G7 and G20 on all member countries to create and strengthen mechanisms to fulfill their commitments under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The move will also help Canada fulfill its obligations under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international norms, he said.

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In what has been the largest organizing drive in Canada’s history, more than 4,000 part-time Ontario college support staff cast their ballots last year. But an 18-month legal fight launched by the College Employer Council meant the ballot boxes remained sealed until today, when the Ontario Labour Relations Board counted the ballots, resulting in a clear victory for the union: 84 percent of those who cast ballots voted to join OPSEU.

The win means that an estimated 20,000 part-time college support staff, mostly women, including many who work 24 hours or less a week, will join OPSEU and have union representation for the first time.

“Despite facing a myriad of obstacles, these workers were steadfast. They understood that the only way to improve their working conditions, and win on important issues like equal pay for equal work, was to form a union,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“This is a crucial victory for these college workers, and an inspiring example for all of those in today’s precarious workforce working part-time, on contract or in temporary positions,” he added.

OPSEU’s president, Warren (Smokey) Thomas, said he was looking forward to representing his newest members.

“These workers have laid the foundation for a brighter future for all workers—not only in Ontario, but across the country. We are proud to be their union,” said Thomas.

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“We’ve been working with communities from across the country in support of the sanctuary movement,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “We believe that Canada should be a safe place for everyone; sanctuary municipalities help ensure migrants find welcoming spaces wherever they arrive,” he added.

The United Nations’ theme for this year’s International Migrant Day is “Safe Migration in a World on the Move.”

At least 65.3 million people have been forced from their homes. There are an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 non-status migrants in Canada.

Non-status migrants may include, but are not limited to, people who have had their status revoked, who were coerced by traffickers, or who had their refugee claim denied. Many have experienced conflict, violence, persecution, and other human rights violations.

Migrants experience increased insecurity and violence in their adoptive communities as a result of the rise of racism, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment. Racialized women, Indigenous people, LGBTQ2SI, and persons with a disability are especially vulnerable.

“Non-status migrants’ precarious immigration status makes them vulnerable. These are people who live and work in constant fear,” said Yussuff. “We can and we must respond to the needs of these people. We have to place ourselves in their shoes.”

A sanctuary city designation provides residents who don’t have full status documents safe access to municipal services. The designation must be accompanied by comprehensive training and implementation of best practices. The designation also requires broad support from front line community service providers including police, firefighters, school staff and administrators.

“Canadian municipalities can take an active stand against racism and xenophobia through a sanctuary designation. We can and we must respond,” said Yussuff.

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A statement issued by Canada’s finance ministers today promises “to provide greater benefits to parents whose income drops after the birth or adoption of their child [and] to persons with disabilities.”

“We were very surprised to learn that child-rearing and disability protections weren’t included in last year’s hard-won CPP expansion,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“For 18 months we’ve called on the government to fix the problem by fully protecting workers with disabilities and workers who take time off work to raise their children,” he added.

Unions and women’s groups fought for years to include protections that ensured that parents who took time off to raise children – mostly women – could exclude or “drop-out” periods of low and zero earnings from the calculation of their retirement benefit.

A disability drop-out excludes periods in which a worker has become severe and chronically disabled and is receiving CPP disability benefits.

When the finance ministers agreed in June 2016 to expand the CPP, unions believed these drop-outs would continue to apply in the enhanced benefit. They didn’t.

“We’ll be asking for more details on what the finance ministers are planning,” said Yussuff.

“We know that including these protections in the expanded CPP can mean thousands of dollars more in retirement for parents – especially women – and workers who lost income because of injuries or disabilities, and we want to ensure this problem is fixed once and for all,” he added.

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On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the declaration, outlining the basic and fundamental rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled.

This year on Human Rights Day, the UN kicks off a year-long campaign to promote, engage, and reflect on how each of us can stand up for human rights.

“Canada’s unions are committed to defending human rights. We are proud to have stood against apartheid in South Africa and to have fought for labour rights in Colombia,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “And we continue to challenge racism, xenophobia and discrimination at home and around the world,” he added.

Here in Canada, advancing human rights means:

• Addressing systemic discrimination of all forms, including interrupting anti-black racism, and Islamophobia;
• Reconciliation and nation-to-nation relationship building with First Nations;
• Reforming the criminal justice system to address the disproportionate number of incarcerated Black and Indigenous people;
• Taking steps to narrow the gender wage gap by passing proactive pay equity legislation in early 2018;
• Addressing ongoing systemic discrimination experienced by LGBTQ2SI people, and ending the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure and the ban on blood donation for gay men ;
• Ensuring that promised federal accessibility legislation provides a clear path to address the many barriers to inclusion that people with disabilities face;
• Advocating for an independent and impartial federal ombudsperson to help ensure Canadian corporations respect human rights in the countries where they operate.

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The federal government announced this week that it was beginning consultations around signing the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Optional Protocol would allow individuals in Canada who believe their rights under the Convention have been violated to register complaints with the United Nations.

Unions are also calling for these rights to be enshrined in Canadian legislation. The CLC recently participated in government consultations for new federal legislation on accessibility. Not surprisingly, employment was the top issue identified in these consultations.

“We would like this legislation to take a broad, rights-based approach that not only improves accessibility, but also promotes inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of Canadian life,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The CLC has a long history of advocating for Canadians living with disabilities and for injured workers, and of advocating for strong health and safety legislation and regulations that make all workers safer. Canada’s unions are also working to improve labour force access for Canadians with disabilities and injured workers.

Earlier this year, the UN reviewed Canada’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and made concrete recommendations for action, including the need for a policy on employment for persons with disabilities and strategies to ensure access to decent work.

“We are looking forward to the promised federal accessibility legislation,” said Yussuff. “We hope that it provides a clear path to address the many barriers to inclusion that people with disabilities and deaf and hard-of-hearing persons face,” he added.

This past May, delegates to the CLC triennial convention voted to establish the CLC’s priorities for the next three years. Those priorities include urging the federal government to make the disability tax credit refundable, review and revise the CPP disability program in order to increase access and benefit amounts, and extend the CPP disability drop-out provisions to the enhanced retirement benefit.

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Over the past 15 years, progress against AIDS has inspired a global commitment to end the epidemic by 2030. The CLC established an HIV/AIDS Fund in 2002.

Over the last three years, the fund has also supported the undertaking of a national assessment of HIV/AIDS in the workplace in Nigeria. Nigeria’s HIV epidemic affects all population groups and geographic areas of the country.

The International Labour Organization (ILO)’s Recommendation 200 highlights the role of workplaces in facilitating access to prevention, treatment, care and support of those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.

“We are working in partnership with the Nigeria Labour Congress and ITUC-Africa, with support from the ILO, the UK Trades Union Congress and Canadian affiliates to carry out these workplace assessments,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The baseline data on HIV and AIDS in the workplace will help ensure that workers are included in national action strategies aimed at ending the epidemic by 2030.

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“This is a good day for Canada’s LGBTQ2SI workers, and for all those who tirelessly pushed for justice,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “In particular we should acknowledge the relentless advocacy of many unions who fought for this, and our allies and community partners Egale and the We Demand an Apology Network.”

Yussuff said he was especially pleased to see that a settlement had been reached in the class action lawsuit, and that there would be a process aimed at expunging the records of those convicted of criminal offenses. He was also pleased to see funding commitments for historical reconciliation, education and memorialization efforts, along with new awareness and support programs for the RCMP and the military.

“As a gay man, a labour leader and a public service worker, it was incredibly moving to hear the Prime Minister outline in detail the various ways that workers were persecuted and oppressed, just because they were gay, or suspected of being gay,” said CLC Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau.

“What’s crucial now is that we remember that the systemic discrimination experienced by LGBTQ2SI folk does not end with this apology – too many continue to experience discrimination and violence on a daily basis. We are hopeful that this apology will be followed up with other concrete measures,” he added.

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The campaign is an opportunity to reflect on the impact of gender-based violence on our lives, work and communities, and to take action to eliminate it. In Canada, unions and many other organizations hold events and actions on December 6, the day set aside to remember the women murdered at Montréal’s École Polytechnique in 1989.

This year, in the wake of #MeToo and in recognition that too many women experience sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence at work, the Canadian Labour Congress is issuing a challenge to governments, to unions, and to men in the labour movement.

It’s time to up our game.

“If we are truly going to eliminate violence against women, men need to step up,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “We need to acknowledge our complicity in perpetuating a culture that tolerates toxic masculinity. Men need to own up to our own behaviour and hold ourselves and each other accountable. And we need to make a commitment to change – in our workplaces, but also in our own organizations.”

The CLC has developed a partnership with the producers of the documentary film A Better Man. The film portrays a series of conversations between a survivor of domestic violence and her former abuser. It is a powerful film, intended to provoke conversations about accountability, healing, and the possibility of restorative justice.

On November 24, the CLC will launch a discussion guide for unions, using the film as a launching point for a broader conversation about domestic violence and how individuals, unions, and workplaces can act to break the silence and end the cycle of violence.

“We are encouraging union members – and especially men – to watch the film, and to talk about their reactions, whether it’s on social media, at a union event or around the kitchen table with friends and neighbours,” said Yussuff. “We also want to make sure that talk leads to action, to change in behaviour and to change in legislation.”

Following on our groundbreaking survey on Domestic Violence at Work, the CLC has taken action by:

• Launching an education program to empower union representatives to recognize and respond to domestic violence at work, to promote awareness of the issue in workplaces, and to help keep members safe and supported at work.
• Developing collective bargaining language to assist unions in negotiating workplace supports, including paid domestic violence leave and women’s advocates.
• Lobbying governments in all jurisdictions to amend health and safety legislation to recognize domestic violence as a form of workplace violence (as is the case in Ontario), and to follow Manitoba’s example and amend employment standards to give all workers paid domestic violence leave.
• Working with the global labour movement to press for an international labour standard on violence and harassment in the world of work.

The work of union members, unions, and federations of labour has seen results. Ontario will join Manitoba in establishing five paid days of domestic violence leave, and discussions are underway in a number of other jurisdictions. Legislation on harassment and violence in the federal sector was recently tabled, and the latest Budget Implementation Act establishes unpaid family violence leave. Canada’s unions will continue to push for this leave to be paid, and for harassment and violence legislation to clearly define and establish processes to address harassment and violence at work.

On November 25, watch A Better Man on TVO or stream it on TVO.org. Visit our online resource centre to download the discussion guide. Throughout the 16 Days of Action, follow @CanadianLabour for tips and tools, and participate in the conversation using hashtags #16Days and #DVatWork.

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A cancer-fighting medication had kept Judy Pope alive for five years, but when her husband Gary’s health insurance switched to a new provider, a cap on coverage meant the Popes were faced with medication costs of more than $3,000 a month.

Judy Pope’s painful choice is chronicled in a new CLC video launched online on November 16. The video is meant to encourage Canadians to share the Popes’ story and to add their voice to an online petition that has so far garnered thousands of signatures from across Canada.

“Canadians know it is simply unacceptable that anyone should have to choose between bankrupting their family and saying no to a life-saving drug,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “It’s time our governments took action.”

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Our patchwork prescription drug system is inefficient and expensive, and has resulted in the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States.

Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions. For many, that has meant serious consequences for their health. And for some, like Judy Pope, it has meant giving up the chance at a longer life.

• About one third of working Canadians don’t have employer-funded prescription drug coverage.
• The less someone earns at work, the less likely they are to have prescription drug coverage.
• Women and young workers are less likely to have the coverage they need.
• Half of Canadians worry that some day they’ll have trouble paying for medication they need. That includes almost half of those with prescription drug coverage today.

“Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members, but we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medication they need,” said Yussuff.

“That’s why we’re working to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age, or where they work or live,” he added.

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“Canada has seized an opportunity to set an international example by proving that ambitious economic restructuring policy to save our planet can be drafted with people at the its centre,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Against the backdrop of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany, Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna today pledged federal support for the Government of Alberta’s just transition plan for coal workers, including flexibility on Employment Insurance and working with Western Economic Diversification Canada to support the communities affected by the phasing out of coal power.

“Workers who have dedicated their lives to keeping the lights on can’t be expected to shoulder the burden of meeting Canada’s emission reduction targets,” said Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan, who was a part of the Canadian labour delegation to this year’s UN Climate Conference.

“The Alberta government took the lead by promising income support, retraining, and local economic development, but workers needed assurance that Ottawa was equally committed to their livelihoods and their communities. We now have that commitment,” he added.

Minister McKenna also announced her government’s intention to work directly with the Canadian Labour Congress to launch a task force that will develop a national framework on Just Transition for workers affected by the coal phase-out. The work of this task force is slated to begin early in the new year.

“Unions are committed to working in partnership with the governments of Canada and Alberta to meet Canada’s international climate change targets while making sure that no one is left behind,” said Yussuff.

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“Unions have been advocating for this for years because we know that designated, paid domestic violence leave means it is easier for survivors to keep their jobs and escape violent and abusive relationships. And sometimes, that can mean the difference between life and death,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“Dedicated paid leave means people experiencing violence can do what’s needed to keep themselves, their children and family members safe, such as going to counselling, opening a new bank account, or meeting with lawyers or police – all things that have to happen during the standard workday,” he added.

The Ontario legislation, part of Bill 148, makes the province the second in Canada to offer workers five days of paid domestic violence leave. Manitoba was the first to introduce legislation giving all workers the right to five paid days, plus an additional ten unpaid and if necessary, up to 17 weeks of unpaid leave.

The federal government has yet to follow suit, proposing only unpaid leave in its budget implementation bill, C-63. Yussuff appeared before the finance committee on November 9 to urge the government to amend its proposal so that it offers paid domestic violence leave instead.

In 2014 the CLC partnered with the University of Western Ontario on a groundbreaking national study that found one in three workers has experienced domestic violence, and the violence often follows people to work, putting safety and jobs at risk.

Since then, unions across the country have been working to negotiate domestic violence supports into collective agreements, train union representatives to recognize and respond to domestic violence at work, and change legislation to support non-union workers who face domestic violence.

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The proposed legislation was announced today by Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, and would amend both the Canada Labour Code and the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act.

“Workplace violence and harassment has reached epidemic proportions and is having very real consequences for the day-to-day lives and mental health of workers across the country,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “We are pleased to see the government addressing some of the gaps and inconsistencies in current legislation meant to address this issue.”

Unions have long lobbied the federal government for comprehensive workplace violence legislation requiring employers to develop policies and programs to help prevent workplace violence and harassment, as well as take precautions to protect workers from domestic violence in the workplace.

“The legislation announced today is an important first step, but questions remain about the effective practical protections that will be available to workers, especially the most vulnerable,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff said he would be seeking clarification around issues including:

• Why the legislation does not contain a clear definition of harassment and violence. Unions are concerned that this can’t be addressed through a regulatory process. The Ontario government’s legislation, for example, contains a clear definition.
• Whether the legislation will be backed up with adequate staffing and training resources. We need to ensure that Labour Inspectors will receive the specialized training necessary to enforce the legislation.
• Whether union members will have the right to union representation throughout any complaint process.
• Whether workers will have the right to access information pertinent to their complaint.
• How this legislation will interact with provisions in collective agreements, such as the right to third party arbitration.
• How this legislation impacts the role of the Canadian Human Rights Commission in addressing complaints.

“We are pleased that the labour minister has committed to a stakeholders’ working group to develop regulations and guidance documents and hope that many outstanding issues can be addressed there,” said Yussuff.

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The legislation imposes dubious restrictions on religious accommodation and includes controversial rules which prevent anyone who covers their face from giving or receiving public services. Women who wear face veils as part of religious practice have decried the Bill as a violation of their freedom of religion and of expression, as they already show their faces upon request for identification and security purposes.

Bill 62 applies to Quebec ministries, school boards, universities, public health care institutions, subsidized daycare centres, municipalities, public transit authorities, doctors, dentists, and other health care professionals.

Provincial legislators have not provided any clear guidelines, nor outlined the consequences workers will face should they object to the discriminatory nature of the law.

“This is a harmful, undemocratic, and unnecessary bill that violates the fundamental freedoms of women through state control over their bodies,” says CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The CLC unequivocally condemns any law which creates two classes of citizens in our country.”

To date, one bus driver may face sanctions for publicly showing support to a protest against the Bill that took place last Friday in Montreal.

Further, the union representing workers at the STM, the Montreal public transit authority, has stated that bus drivers do not want the responsibility of having to interpret the law. Nor should they have to.

“Every Canadian is fully entitled to the rights promised to them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as provincial human rights codes,” says Yussuff. “It’s wrong to ask workers to participate in the violation of those rights – especially while delivering the public services every Quebec resident is entitled to receive.”

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“Today’s commitment by Canada’s health ministers is an important step for pharmacare, and we look forward to working with all governments and stakeholders to develop a plan for Canadians as soon as possible,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The commitment from health ministers came in a communiqué issued by the ministers at the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Edmonton.

Yussuff was in Edmonton for a breakfast meeting for stakeholders hosted by the Alberta and Ontario health ministers and attended by Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor. Other stakeholders included Canadian Doctors for Medicare, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, and the Canadian Health Coalition.

Canada’s unions have always made negotiating health insurance for their members a priority, but believe anyone with a health card should have prescription drug coverage. This past Labour Day, the CLC launched a campaign calling for a national pharmacare plan.

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Instead, our multiple-payer system has resulted in the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States. That’s left 3.5 million Canadians unable to afford their prescriptions.

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The CLC will join other organizations advocating for pharmacare at the meetings taking place in Edmonton this Thursday and Friday October 19 and 20.

“We will be there to encourage the health ministers to take steps that would advance the discussion around implementation of a universal prescription drug plan that would cover everyone in Canada, regardless of age, income or where they live,” said Yussuff.

At July’s Council of the Federation meeting, provincial and territorial premiers called on the federal government to continue to collaborate with them and engage actively in discussions about establishing a national pharmacare plan.

Since then, the Parliamentary Budget Officer issued a report using the Quebec government’s public prescription drug plan formulary to estimate universal pharmacare would yield annual savings of $4.2 billion.

A second report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Canadian Doctors for Medicare used a more efficient model to estimate net annual savings of $11 billion.

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Instead, our multiple-payer system has resulted in the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States. That’s left 3.5 million Canadians unable to afford their prescriptions.

This past Labour Day, on the heels of a successful bid to expand the Canada Pension Plan, Canada’s unions launched a campaign calling for a national pharmacare plan.

The post Canada’s unions urge federal government to work with health ministers on pharmacare appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

They were compelled to flee Myanmar this past summer due to what the United Nations Office of Human Rights is now calling “brutal, well-organized, coordinated and systematic attacks.” These attacks were orchestrated by Myanmar security forces, says a newly-released UN report.

Canada’s unions are urging everyone to support the efforts of relief agencies, including Oxfam Canada. Oxfam Canada has established a strong presence on the ground, reaching 100,000 displaced people with desperately needed supplies, as well as providing clean drinking water, portable toilets, and sanitation facilities. The CLC has donated $10,000 towards its efforts.

“We cannot put a price tag on safety, security, and overall health and well-being,” says Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “It is our collective and individual responsibility to help those who are far less fortunate by supporting aid organizations doing critical work to alleviate suffering around the world.”

Oxfam aims to reach 200,000 people with:

·      water tanks, water treatment plants, containers for clean drinking water;

·      portable toilets and sanitation facilities;

·      30 tons of flattened rice, 23 tons of sugar, and 23,000 fortified biscuit packs;

·      plastic sheets, and other essential Non-Food Items (NFIs).

Learn more from Oxfam Canada about how you can support this life-saving work.

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This spring the Canadian Labour Congress introduced an online resource centre with tools and information for workers dealing with mental health issues at work.

“One in five people in Canada experience a mental health problem or illness every year, and in too many cases, these issues are caused or exacerbated by workplace stress,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“Canada’s unions are committed to continuing to work with the government, employers and workers to address the systemic issues that create unhealthy work environments. We have to work together to find solutions that create and maintain safe and healthy workplaces,” he said.

Yussuff added that just as unions fight to protect workers’ physical safety and well being at work, they also support a worker’s right to a psychologically safe and supportive work environment.

“You wouldn’t ask a worker with a repetitive strain injury to keep performing the action that injured them. So why would a worker be expected to continue to put their mental health at risk by subjecting themselves to unhealthy working conditions?” he asked.

The Mental Health Risk Index released by Ipsos in April this year found that the number of Canadians considered “high risk” for mental health illness increased to 41% from 35% in 2016. The risk is even higher for women, and low-income and young workers.

Several tools exist to help employers and unions ensure workplaces foster mental health. The 2013 National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, for example, provides guidelines, tools and resources for promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work.

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What is “decent work”?

• Access for all workers to quality jobs, dignity, equality, and safe working conditions.

• Putting workers at the centre of development and giving them a voice in what they do.

This year’s global focus is on struggles to win living minimum wages and a pay raise for all workers.

The Canadian Labour Congress has outlined steps Canada needs to take in a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, outlining several steps the federal government can take to ensure better access to decent work at home and abroad.

“We need federal leadership on decent work, not just so that we improve work for Canadians, but so we can set an example for other countries too,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

What our federal government can do

• Ensure the creation of high-quality jobs needed by millions of unemployed, underemployed, and precariously-employed workers in Canada.

• Promote and uphold collective bargaining rights at home and abroad.

• Restore the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, indexing it to wage growth, and bring back full employment as a primary policy target.

• Create public employment programs for regions and populations with high unemployment or a high concentration of low-wage workers. That should include job creation programs for youth, Indigenous and Northern communities, newcomers to Canada, Alberta and the Atlantic provinces;

• Commit to long-term funding for high-quality, public, universal, affordable child care;

• Adopt strong, proactive pay equity legislation incorporating the recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force;

• Use all available tools to eliminate discrimination in hiring, promotion, and pay, including strengthening the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program;

• Introduce paid sick leave and paid leave for victims of domestic violence for workers in the federal jurisdiction, and encourage provinces and territories to follow suit;

• End the systematic violation of migrant workers’ rights by abolishing tied work permits and implementing a proactive compliance assessment and enforcement regime;

• Promote fairness by tightening regulations on hours of work and scheduling;

• Increase staffing, training and resources for federal employment standards and health and safety inspectors; and

• Improve the Wage Earner Protection Program to better protect wages when employers go bankrupt or simply disappear.

Canada’s unions are also asking the federal government to promote decent work in global supply chains and the extractive sectors by:

• Appointing a human rights ombudsperson to investigate how Canadian companies’ foreign operations impact human rights;

• Introducing national due diligence legislation with a monitoring mechanism and an enforcement procedure for large companies.

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“We are pleased that the NDP under its new leader Jagmeet Singh is continuing to make pharmacare such a priority, and we hope all political parties respond by making this much needed program a reality as soon as possible,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer issued a report using the Quebec government’s public prescription drug plan formulary to estimate universal pharmacare would yield annual savings of $4.2 billion.

A second report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Canadian Doctors for Medicare used a more efficient model to estimate net annual savings of $11 billion.

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Instead, our multiple-payer system has resulted in the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States. That’s left 3.5 million Canadians unable to afford their prescriptions.

This Labour Day, on the heels of a successful bid to expand the Canada Pension Plan, Canada’s unions launched a campaign calling for a national pharmacare plan.

“We are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members, but we believe all Canadians should have prescription drug coverage, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live,” said Yussuff.

The post Unions encouraged to see pharmacare on Parliament’s agenda today appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Each year, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and Families of Sisters in Spirit (FSIS) organize vigils to remember the missing and murdered indigenous women in this country. Family members, Indigenous community members, and concerned citizens gather together to stand together in solidarity, raise awareness, demand action, and provide support to those who have lost love ones.

Between 1980 and 2012, the RCMP reported close to 1,200 cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada (although many working on the front lines believe the number is much higher). While they make up only 4% of Canada’s female population, Indigenous women and girls make up over 16% of female homicides and 11% of missing women.

What began with eleven vigils in 2006 has grown to over 200 vigils today, in communities across Canada, including a vigil on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

In response to calls from Indigenous families, communities and organizations, including unions and the Canadian Labour Congress, the Government of Canada launched an independent National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in September 2016.

In response, the CLC stated:

“We must ensure the inquiry addresses the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, such as racism, sexism and misogyny so that it truly does result in justice and meaningful change.

Canada’s unions will stand in solidarity with Indigenous women, girls and their communities both as the inquiry is underway and beyond to help ensure our country truly addresses the root causes of violence against Indigenous women.

We will also continue to urge the government to implement strategies that include clean water, affordable housing, accessible education and poverty reduction in Inuit, First Nations and Métis communities.” (news release, 02-21-2017)

NWAC has created a quarterly report card about the inquiry to encourage transparency and to measure its progress.

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“On the first ballot, Jagmeet has won the support of over half of the NDP’s membership, both from the party’s base, and those who’ve signed up because they’re excited to see a bold new vision,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“We’re looking forward to working with Jagmeet to advance the goals of working people across Canada,” he added.

Singh won 53.8 percent of the more than 60,000 votes cast in the leadership contest today.

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The report uses the Quebec government’s public prescription drug plan formulary – one critiqued by experts as inefficient and expensive – to nonetheless estimate that a single-payer universal prescription drug plan would save Canada $4.2 billion annually.

“Even using the worst-case scenario, the PBO says Canada would save billions a year,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff. “It’s clear that we can’t afford to wait any longer for a universal prescription drug plan for all Canadians.”

A report issued earlier this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Canadian Doctors for Medicare uses a more efficient model and estimates savings of more than $30 billion annually.

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Instead, our multiple-payer system has resulted in the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States.

• About 8.4 million working Canadians don’t have prescription drug coverage.
• The less you earn at work, the less likely you are to have prescription drug coverage.
• Women and young workers are less likely to have the coverage they need.
• Even those with drug plans are paying ever-increasing co-payments and deductibles.

This Labour Day, Canada’s unions launched a campaign calling for pharmacare.

“We are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members, but we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medicines they need, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live,” said Yussuff.

“We know that Canada’s provincial and territorial leaders recognize the need for a pharmacare plan too, so we are asking the federal government to commit to coordinating with them to make this a reality as soon as possible,” he added.

The post Canadians can’t afford to wait for pharmacare: Canada’s unions appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Today’s tax rules make it possible for someone earning $300,000 to save more on their taxes than the average Canadian worker makes in a year, and that is fundamentally unfair,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

Current tax rules allow wealthy Canadians, especially self-employed professionals, many of whom are lawyers, doctors, dentists and accountants, to pay less in personal income taxes by setting up CCPCs – Canadian-controlled private corporations. The federal government wants to address three ways CCPCs are used to avoid higher tax rates:

• Income “sprinkling”: High-wage earners who own CCPCs can split – or “sprinkle” – their income among lower-income family members, paying them salaries or dividends (even though they often don’t actually work for the company) to take advantage of their lower tax rates. This is not something other working families can do.
• Exploiting capital gains: High-income earners who own CCPCs can pay themselves in capital gains – only 50 percent of which are taxed at the personal tax rate – instead of dividends, which face higher taxes.
• “Passive” investing: CCPCs offer the wealthiest Canadians another tax advantage others don’t have access to: more capital for their investment portfolio. Many CCPC owners are parking income in their business so it’s taxed at the lower business rate, leaving them more capital to invest in “passive” investments like mutual funds. But lower tax rates for businesses are meant to encourage reinvestment and job creation, not to help the wealthiest Canadians make more out of their retirement portfolios.

“This kind of tax avoidance is costing the federal government as much as $500 million a year,” said Yussuff. “Taxes pay for the vital services that we all rely on, from physical security and food safety, to health care and education and disaster relief, and Canadians expect everyone to pay their fair share.”

Further reforms are needed

These measures are an important first step, said Yussuff, but he hopes more are in the works to make Canada’s tax system truly fair.

“We need to ensure that the the top one percent and corporations pay their fair share too, which means a more aggressive clamp-down on tax havens and corporate tax dodging,” he said.

That would include:

• Eliminating regressive and ineffective tax loopholes by cancelling stock option deductions, fully including capital gains in taxable income, and cancelling the flow-through shares deduction.
• Taxing foreign e-commerce companies to level the playing field for Canadian providers.
• Increasing taxes on banks and finance, which have received windfall profits from corporate income tax cuts over the last decade and a half.
• Introducing wealth taxes and making income taxes more progressive.

The post Canada’s unions welcome plans to start closing tax loopholes appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Nobody should have to choose between paying for groceries or the medication they need,” he added.

Currently one in five people pay out of pocket for their medication, either because they don’t have a prescription drug plan, or because they have a plan that doesn’t cover the full cost of the medications they need.

“Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members. But we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medication they need,” said Yussuff.

Canada has the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States, and is also the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. 

A strong majority of Canadians want universal prescription drug coverage. A 2015 Angus Reid poll found that 91 percent of Canadians believe our public health care system should include a universal prescription drug plan.

“This is why we’re working to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live,” said Yussuff.

Visit aplanforeveryone.ca to learn more. 

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As I watched the devastating events unfold, and how the so-called leader of the free world responded, my thoughts immediately turned to my daughter, to her future, and then to what this means for racialized communities everywhere.

And then I saw a chilling interview that made me wonder how Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka felt about her father’s choice to defend the white supremacists who stormed Charlottesville.

Vice News correspondent Elle Reeve interviewed one of the heavily armed neo-nazis – Christopher Cantwell – as he prepared to march. In the interview, Cantwell blasts Trump for not being racist enough because – as Cantwell puts it – he had given his daughter to a Jew.

“I don’t think you could feel about race like I do, and watch that Kushner bastard walk around with that beautiful girl,” Cantwell tells Reeve, referring to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor.

With one sentence, Cantwell illustrated the indisputable link between misogyny, racism, xenophobia and fascism – a link so perfectly personified in Donald Trump, and one that may explain why Ivanka Trump has been so silent.

True to his character, her father spent the week resisting calls to condemn the fascists, instead repeatedly expressing solidarity for Cantwell’s cohorts.

There were “good people,” Trump insisted, among those who marched through Charlottesville brandishing military grade weapons, torches and nazi symbols chanting “white lives matter”, “Jews will not replace us,” and one of Hitler’s favourites, “blood and soil,” violently attacking counter protesters along the way. Under pressure, Trump would only condemn violence “on many sides.”

As for what the fascists were protesting – the removal of confederate statues celebrating another era’s fascists who sought to break up the United States in defense of slavery?

“We should cherish our history,” Trump proclaimed to reporters. “The beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!” he later tweeted.

His choice to react as he did was roundly applauded by today’s fascists and their supporters.

“He said he loves us all. Also refused to answer a question about white nationalists supporting him. No condemnation at all. When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room. Really, really good. God bless him,” one Trump supporter wrote in a comment on the Daily Stormer, an American neo-nazi and white supremacist web site.

It is all horrifying and disgusting. But none of us should be surprised.

Campaigning for the presidency Trump refused to distance himself from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, an honoured guest at the fascist rally last week. And as president, he has repeatedly fomented hate with his anti-immigrant, misogynistic, racist rants, dangerously normalizing tolerance of the intolerable.

There were Canadians among the white supremacists in Charlottesville. Two of them – Montreal’s Shawn Beauvais-MacDonald and Vincent Belanger-Mercure – have been outed after appearing in the Vice News documentary, enthusiastically shaking Cantwell’s hand, telling him they’d driven 12 hours to be there.

Not that they’d need to leave Canada to find murderous hate. We need only think back to the murder of Muslim worshippers in a Quebec City mosque in January, or to the growing number of hate crimes perpetrated against Muslims, Jews and racialized communities reported this year. Or look ahead to fascist Unite the Right rallies being planned in cities across Canada, starting with Vancouver this weekend, and in Toronto, the multicultural capital of the world, in September.

Donald Trump has failed the test of moral leadership, but we must not. Every local, regional and national labour leader, political leader, business and community leader has a responsibility to ensure that today’s fascists are denied the support they need to survive. We must all commit to challenging the racism that is still too prevalent in our homes, workplaces and communities. And we must all publicly and unconditionally condemn fascism, and those who refuse to condemn it.

Because what happened in Charlottesville can happen anywhere.

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With a president who has himself promoted hate, and now champions rather than condemns the perpetrators of the violence in Charlottesville, the United States has a very frightening challenge ahead. 

That challenge must also be faced here in Canada. Some of the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville were from Canada, and support for the hatred they espouse is growing here too. From the treatment of Indigenous peoples to the murder of Muslim worshipers in Quebec to the countless other examples of hatred being experienced by racialized and vulnerable individuals, we must recognize that we too face an enormous challenge in combatting racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and hate across our own nation.

The CLC calls on labour, community, political and business leaders, regardless of partisanship, to work together in solidarity to take on this challenge, and to help stamp out the hate, discrimination, and oppression being visited upon minorities and vulnerable persons here in Canada.

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“We urge the Winnipeg Airport Authority to do the right thing and return to the bargaining table immediately,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

The Winnipeg Airport Authority (WAA) walked away from negotiations after tabling its final offer at 6:00 pm Sunday, several hours before the 3:00 am strike deadline. The 150 workers currently on strike are represented by the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees Local 50600, a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

“The airport authority has yet to table a fair offer that addresses issues like outside contracting of bargaining unit work. These workers are simply fighting for what is fair,” added Yussuff.

Workers have stated that their intention is not to disrupt passengers. While they are asking for people to make alternate travel arrangements, or use another airport if possible, they will not restrict passengers coming into the Winnipeg airport.

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“What we call Canada today was inhabited by hundreds of diverse societies long before the arrival of Europeans, but our colonial history has entrenched inequalities that have been compounded by hundreds of years of racism, exploitation, injustice and systemic discrimination,” said CLC President, Hassan Yussuff.

“We have a long way to go to re-build relationships with Canada’s Indigenous communities so we can better support their ongoing struggle for justice through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls,” said Yussuff.

Indigenous communities are struggling to receive basic necessities like clean drinking water, education, and health care. These communities are further devastated by the continued rise of suicides in young people.

“It’s shameful that many Indigenous families live without basic services, like clean drinking water, educational facilities and mental health support,” said Yussuff. “We cannot continue to look away from conditions that would never be acceptable for other communities. It is time for Canada to invest in concrete measures to elevate the standards in Indigenous communities in this country.”

Canada’s unions have been active in the call for justice for Canada’s First peoples. They made the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls a priority, launching petitions and actively lobbying government to take action. Unions also supported the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Sisters in Spirit project, by encouraging union members to attend annual vigils, and assisting Indigenous women to bring their voices to UN bodies to raise international awareness.

When the federal government finally launched the long-awaited inquiry in August 2016, union representatives stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and other allies to respond to the terms of reference.

Canada’s unions also recognize that the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women is linked to the intergenerational legacy of residential schools, as outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report.

The federal government today announced its intention to rename National Aboriginal Day to National Indigenous Peoples Day in order to better reflect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

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There is no question that Muslims around the world today feel the chill and vulnerability that results from being the target of violence directed at their faith. That is the definition of terror.

This incident must serve as a potent reminder of our collective obligation to always challenge racism, Islamophobia and prejudice of any kind wherever and whenever we see it. After all, hate is the enemy of humanity.

Our hearts are with you, the community of the Finsbury Park Mosque, the people of London and the entire United Kingdom, as you mourn the loss of the innocent victims to this tragedy.

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“Our affiliates and labour activists across the country have organized and campaigned against these bills from the beginning, and this is their victory to celebrate,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. 

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau then promised that, if elected, he would repeal these bills and we are happy he has kept that promise,” he added.

The former Conservative government argued Bill C-377 was about union transparency, but experts from across the spectrum agreed it was really about red tape that would have forced unions, their suppliers, and other businesses they work with to spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours producing and processing expense reports to be reviewed and filed – all at taxpayer expense.

Bill C-525 would have made it more difficult for workers in federally-regulated workplaces to join a union. It was opposed by labour relations experts, but was nonetheless passed into law by the Conservatives in December 2014.

Bill C-377 was opposed by everyone from the NHL Players’ Association to Conservative and Liberal senators, constitutional experts, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, the Canadian Bar Association, the insurance and mutual fund industry, seven provinces, and a long and diverse list of others in the business, financial, professional, legal, labour, and academic communities, private and public, federal and provincial. Despite that opposition, the Conservatives used their Senate majority to pass the bill on June 30, 2015.

“By passing Bill C-4, the federal government has demonstrated it understands the importance of fair labour relations, and the critical role unions play advancing rights for all Canadian workers,” said Yussuff. 

“I want to thank everyone who opposed these bills over the years, in addition to both former minister MaryAnn Mihychuk for introducing Bill C-4 in January last year, and current labour minister Patty Hajdu for her Senate testimony in support of the bill. We are also grateful to Senator Diane Bellemare for shepherding it through the Red Chamber,” he added.

Legislative timeline

December 5, 2011: Bill C-377 is introduced in the House of Commons

March 26, 2011: Order papers are prorogued because federal election is called

May 2, 2011: Conservatives win false majority government

March 14, 2012: The reintroduced Bill C-377 is referred to the House of Commons finance committee.

October 25, 2012: CLC testifies on Bill C-377 at House finance committee

December 12, 2012: Bill C-377 passes in the House and referred to the Senate

June 5, 2013: Bill C-525 is introduced in the House

June 26, 2013: Senate passes Bill C-377 with amendment. The amended bill is sent back to the House for consideration

October 16, 2013: Bill C-525 is reintroduced in the House

October 17, 2013: Conservatives ignore Senate amendment to Bill C-377 and refer it back to the Senate 

January 29, 2014: Bill C-525 is referred to HRSDC committee in the House. CLC and PSAC testify in February 2014.

April 9, 2014: Bill C-525 passes in the House and is referred to the Senate

December 16, 2014: Bill C-525 passes in the Senate and receives Royal Assent

June 30, 2015: Despite opposition by a minority of senators, Bill C-377 passes in the Senate and receives Royal Assent in the House. Reporting requirements would apply to labour organizations as early as December 31, 2015.

October 19, 2015: Liberals win a false majority in the federal election

December 21, 2015: The Minister of National Revenue announces she is waiving the Conservatives’ anti-union Bill C-377’s reporting requirements for unions and labour trusts.

January 28, 2016: Bill C-4 is introduced in the House.

March 7, 2016: Bill C-4 is referred to the House HUMA committee. The CLC testifies before the committee in May 2016.

October 19, 2016: Bill C-4 passes in the House and is referred to the Senate the next day.

December 15, 2016: Bill C-4 is referred to Senate committee. CLC testifies before the committee on February 1, 2017.

April 18, 2017: Senate passes amendments to Bill C-4, effectively negating important aspects of the Bill, and refers the amended Bill back to the House for consideration. 

May 17, 2017: The House overwhelmingly rejects the Senate’s amendments to Bill C-4, sending the original back to the Senate. 

June 14, 2017: Bill C-4 is passed by the Senate.

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The Convention reinforces the right to collective bargaining and protects all workers from anti-union discrimination, including being forced to give up union membership in order to get a job, or job termination for participating in union activities.

“This is a long overdue and important step forward for Canadian labour relations and sends a strong message to the world,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff. “By signing this convention, Canada is finally recognizing the crucial role that strong unions and collective bargaining rights play in reducing inequality and building stronger, fair and inclusive economies.”

Today’s ratification of Convention 98 means Canada has ratified all eight considered by ILO to be the minimum “enabling rights” people need to defend and improve their rights and conditions at work, and to work in freedom and dignity.

Canada’s unions have been working for ratification for decades, but since 1949 and until now, successive Canadian governments have refused. Canada is the 165th country to ratify. The United States, Mexico, and 20 other countries have yet to ratify.

“By ratifying Co98, Canada is committing not just to respect collective bargaining rights, but to promote and uphold them abroad and at home,” said Yussuff. “This means encouraging and supporting provincial and territorial governments to find negotiated solutions to disputes rather than overriding collective bargaining rights with draconian measures like back-to-work legislation,” he added.

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The Framework sets out guiding principles and commits the federal government to funding over time, and will be accompanied by separate bilateral agreements for each of the provinces and territories.

“We are happy to see the federal government committing to building a system based on principles, to investing in regulated care, and to addressing the crisis in care for the most vulnerable families,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.  “We also need to ensure that the agreement commits to building a system that provides child care for all families who need it.”

Yussuff says unions have been encouraged by recent provincial commitments to providing universal care, and are disappointed it wasn’t emphasized in today’s agreement.

Despite recent cutbacks, Quebec’s system has long been an inspiration to others. Recent announcements in Alberta and Ontario demonstrate a willingness among provincial governments to work towards a universal system, and British Columbia’s government-in-waiting has committed to making $10-a-day child care a priority.

“We will continue to press to see universality as a component of bilateral agreements. The goal must be providing early learning and child care for all families who need it,” he added.

Yussuff said unions would also continue to work towards ensuring bilateral agreements contain clear commitments to public and not-for-profit delivery of child care.

“We must ensure all governments invest in public and not-for-profit care, because this is a key component of ensuring quality,” he said.

The multilateral framework sets out principles that must guide service delivery by provinces and territories. Those are affordability, accessibility, quality, flexibility, and inclusivity.

The Framework also stipulates that provinces and territories must:

• Invest in regulated care for children under six;
• Focus on the families most in need, including low-income, lone parent, Indigenous families, those living in underserved communities, working non-standard hours, or with children with varying abilities;
• Ensure reporting and performance measurement; and
• Ensure spending does not replace existing early learning and child care programs, but rather work to expand the system.

“Today’s signing is a step forward for families, women, and the economy.  Unions are ready to work with governments to ensure we establish a truly universal, high quality, affordable, and inclusive system of child care across the country. That’s what families so desperately need,” said Yussuff.

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June 12^th marks the World Day Against Child Labour and one year since the Canadian government ratified the International Labour Organization’s Minimum Age Convention. Ratifying countries are required to set a minimum employment age of 15 years and protect young workers from hazardous work.

“Most Canadians would be surprised to hear that most provinces and territories still have work to do to meet our obligations under this international treaty,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Some provinces stipulate a lower minimum employment age than required by the treaty. In British Columbia, for example, the minimum age is 12. The Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon don’t stipulate a minimum employment age at all.

Conditions for employing children also vary greatly by province and territory. Some require written consent from a parent or guardian, and others bar specific industries from employing children, such as construction or logging. But the scope is too narrow, and many industries aren’t named.

“It is young and new workers who are most likely to be injured on the job, so we must work together and make it a priority to tackle these inconsistencies,” said Yussuff.

Statistics from the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada reveal that in 2015 alone, four young workers aged 15 to 19 years died on the job, and more than 8,000 in the same age range reported suffering work-related injuries or disease.

Yussuff says the Alberta government has shown important leadership with The Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act, taking effect in January 2018. The legislation prohibits work (with the exception of artistic endeavours) for children under 13, and provides a list of “light work” jobs youth under 16 can take on without a permit.

“We need to see the same kind of leadership across the country,” said Yussuff. “All provinces and territories must follow Alberta’s example and make this a priority, so we can keep young workers and children safe.”

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Le gouvernement de l’Ontario a annoncé un Cadre stratégique renouvelé pour la petite enfance et les services de garde d’enfants qui comprend un engagement à rendre les services de garde à l’enfance plus accessibles et à rendre leur prix plus abordable pour toutes les familles, notamment par l’investissement dans de nouvelles places en garderie et l’expansion du secteur sans but lucratif.

Le gouvernement fédéral est censé publier sous peu le détail de son Cadre national sur l’apprentissage et la garde des jeunes enfants. Le budget fédéral de cette année prévoit une affectation de 7 milliards de dollars en 10 ans pour l’apprentissage et la garde des jeunes enfants.

« Nous sommes particulièrement heureux de voir le gouvernement de l’Ontario donner la priorité à l’accès universel et nous espérons que le cadre fédéral assurera la même approche aux familles de toutes les provinces et des trois territoires », a déclaré Hassan Yussuff, président du CTC.

Le cadre du gouvernement de l’Ontario comprend bon nombre d’éléments que le CTC et ses alliés jugent indispensables à tout système d’apprentissage et de garde des jeunes enfants, y compris les suivants :

• Donner à toutes les familles qui en ont besoin l’accès à des services de qualité fournis par des organismes publics ou sans but lucratif;
• Rendre les prix des services de garde à l’enfance plus abordables;
• Voir à ce que le personnel des garderies ait des salaires et des conditions de travail décents;
• S’assurer que le système des services de garde à l’enfance soit inclusif pour les enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux.

Le CTC et ses alliés ont incité le gouvernement fédéral à annoncer un cadre qui ouvre la voie à la création d’un système bien conçu de services de garde à l’enfance qui permet de tenir compte de la diversité des besoins plutôt que d’adopter une approche unique.

« Il s’agit d’établir des régimes inclusifs fournissant des services de qualité à prix abordable dans l’ensemble du Canada », a déclaré M. Yussuff. « Nous devons en outre adopter une stratégie de mise en valeur de la main-d’œuvre portant sur les salaires, les conditions de travail, le recrutement et la formation. »

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The Ontario government has announced a renewed Early Years and Child Care Policy Framework that pledges to make child care more accessible and affordable to all families, including a plan to invest in new child care spaces and a pledge to grow the non-profit sector.

The federal government is expected to release details about its own National Early Learning and Child Care Framework soon. This year’s federal budget pledged $7 billion over 10 years for early learning and child care.

“We are especially pleased to see that the Ontario government make universal access a priority and we hope the federal government’s framework will ensure the same approach for families in all provinces and territories,” said CLC President, Hassan Yussuff.

The Ontario government’s framework included many of the elements the CLC and its allies say are crucial to any child care and early childhood education system, specifically:

• Access to high quality, public and not-for-profit child care for all families who need it;
• Making child care more affordable;
• Ensuring that child care workers have decent wages and working conditions; and
• Ensuring the child care system is inclusive of children with special needs.

The CLC and its allies have called on the federal government to announce a framework that paves the way for a well-designed child care system that takes into account the diversity of needs: not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“The goal must be affordable, inclusive, high-quality child care systems across Canada,” said Yussuff. “We also need a workforce development strategy that addresses wages and working conditions, as well as recruiting and training.”

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On the last day of the spring legislature sitting last week, the Manitoba Progressive Conservative government rammed through wage freeze legislation that affects the rights of public sector workers in the province, including those working in health care, public education, social services, and Crown corporation staff.

“Instead of good faith negotiations, Manitoba has chosen heavy-handed legislation that denies 120,000 public sector workers the right to collectively bargain wages for years,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

This legislation is only one piece in a series of attacks on workers and their families. The Manitoba government also introduced legislation to restructure health care bargaining units, giving an appointed and unaccountable commissioner sweeping powers to supersede even the provincial Labour Board.

“Manitoba’s unions developed an alternative proposal to bargain through a health care union council, which would increase efficiency while still allowing workers to keep the union they choose. But again, the Pallister government has chosen to dictate rather than talk,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff pointed to a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that found the BC government had violated the guarantee of freedom of association under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it passed legislation infringing on BC teachers’ bargaining rights.

“Premier Pallister must heed the Canada’s Supreme Court’s ruling, which strongly reaffirmed that government must negotiate in good faith and respect the collective bargaining process instead of trying to unilaterally strip collective agreement protections,” said Yussuff.

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“Alberta took an incredible step a year ago when they announced they would raise the provincial minimum wage to $15 an hour — helping nearly 300,000 Albertans who currently struggle to make ends meet. There’s no doubt that bold move helped pave the way for the improvements we’re seeing in Ontario,” noted Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff.

Albertans have already seen the first step up in their minimum wage, which will raise again this October to $13.60 an hour. Yussuff dismissed fair wage opponents’ arguments against a $15 minimum wage, saying higher minimum wages reduce employee turnover, increase productivity and boost workers’ local spending ability.

“Experts have been studying minimum wage increases for decades. When you look at their research and the impacts of minimum wage increases in Alberta and several US jurisdictions, the evidence is clear: a higher minimum wage is good for workers and it’s good for businesses,” said Yussuff.

Along with minimum wages that allow full-time workers to stay above the poverty line, unions have long advocated safer, fairer working conditions for everyone in our changing economy. Last week, Alberta introduced legislation that supports this goal: Bill 17: The Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act, which includes a number of amendments to outdated provincial labour and employment standards legislation.

Among other changes, Bill 17 will make it easier for Alberta workers to exercise their right to join a union, support unions’ right to bargain collectively, and ensure workers who are sick, caring for a family member or experiencing domestic violence have access to job-protected time off. It will also repeal an offensive section of the Employment Standards Act that allowed people with disabilities to be employed at less than minimum wage.

This week, Ontario announced its own set of changes, including equal pay protections for part-time workers and improvements to shift scheduling and time off — both vacation and personal leaves for workers experiencing a family emergency.

“We’re very happy to see these changes happening to make it easier for workers to make ends meet, to balance work and family responsibilities, and to organize a union in their workplace,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff said the CLC is looking forward to working with the Alberta and Ontario governments on further improvements to ensure fairness for workers and their families. He also urged other provinces to take up the challenge of modernizing their own labour and employment legislation.

“Unpredictable hours, lack of access to sick or vacation time, barriers to unionization, wages so low that full-time workers are living in poverty: these are urgent, widespread issues. Alberta and Ontario have taken up that challenge, and now it’s time for the rest of the country to do the same,” Yussuff said.

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As part of its ongoing monitoring and assessment of developments in the enduring conflict in the Middle East, the Canadian Labour Congress reaffirms its support of a peace-building process between Israel and Palestine through the establishment of two sovereign nations. The CLC joins those who support the vision of two nations co-existing in peace and security, within safe borders, free from occupation.

There is international consensus that direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine are the only viable avenue to resolution of the conflict. At the Paris Peace Conference in mid-January this year, more than 70 countries, including Canada, warned that the two-state solution is under threat and encouraged both sides in the conflict to resume talks.

Unfortunately, there is serious concern that any immediate resumption of direct talks has been jeopardized by Israeli government policies that have been found to be in contravention of international law. These include aggressive settlement expansion and demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the fragmentation and economic isolation of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, the blockade of Gaza, and the endurance of the separation wall. Ongoing eruptions of violence against civilians by either side have further derailed diplomatic efforts.

The new U.S. administration’s endorsement of the settlements and intentions to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem also imperil the likelihood of renewed talks.

In the context of attacks on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, the CLC will continue to defend freedom of speech and the right to legitimate protest.

Despite the challenges, the Government of Canada still has a significant role to play to advance a just and peaceful two-state solution in the Middle East.

The CLC appreciates that the government has reinstated funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), cancelled under the Harper government in 2010.

The CLC supports the recognition of the State of Palestine and notes that 137 member states of the United Nations have already recognized Palestinian statehood.

If Canada is truly committed to a two-state solution, the government must acknowledge the current stalemate and go beyond a diplomatic status quo to unequivocally recognize the State of Palestine.

The CLC reaffirms the principles adopted in its 2011 Statement on Israel-Palestine (attached) outlining support for the many UN Security Council Resolutions, which have recognized the 1967 borders of Israel and Palestine, called for an end to the occupation and illegal settlements and are aimed at a fundamental achievement of a just and lasting peace.

Background: In 2011 the CLC adopted the statement on Israel-Palestine, approved by the Executive Council in March and adopted by the CLC National Council in November. The statement outlined support for UN Security Council Resolution 242, which recognizes the 1967 borders of Israel and Palestine, and Resolution 338, which is aimed at a fundamental achievement of a just and lasting peace.

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“The forestry sector is one of Canada’s key economic drivers and these unfair and unjustified U.S. duties threaten more than 25,000 good jobs in nearly every region of our country,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“The CLC is pleased that the government is acting quickly and taking concrete steps to help affected workers, communities and companies,” he added.

In particular, the CLC welcomes the following steps announced today:

• Reducing lay-offs by extending the maximum period for Work Sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks;
• Expanding access to retraining and skills development programs to help workers transition to new jobs;
• Wage insurance or “Targeted Earnings Supplements” for workers who find new jobs that pay less;
• Federal loans and loan guarantees from the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada to help forestry companies in the short and medium term; and
• Investments to diversify export markets overseas and promote the diversification of the forest products sector in Canada.

Yussuff said he was pleased to see the federal government adopt some of the measures proposed by the CLC and its member unions, and was hopeful there was more to come.

“Today’s announcement is a good first step for addressing a dispute that could drag on for years. We look forward to working with the government to build on this relief package to ensure no workers are left behind as the situation evolves,” he said.

“We’d like to see an extension of Employment Insurance benefits for workers in hardest-hit regions, a move that made an enormous difference to workers and communities affected by falling oil prices in 2015 and 2016,” he added.

Yussuff said the CLC believes that a negotiated settlement is in the best interests of both Canada and the United States, and that he looks forward to supporting efforts to negotiate a new Softwood Lumber Agreement which gives Canada fair access to the U.S. market.

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“We hope more municipalities will take this step to support people who have very few options and who are just trying to keep themselves and their families safe,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says the world is experiencing the higher than ever levels of displacement. The agency says that at the end of 2015, at least 65.3 million people had been forced from their homes, compared to 59.5 million a year earlier. In 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 24 people were forced out of their homes every minute of every day. Nearly half are children.

“Canada has the means to help people escape the terrible conditions they’re fleeing, so we should do everything we can to offer them a safe place to live. Canadian municipalities have an important role to play,” he said.

Municipalities have a very unique role to play because many of the services provided have a vital impact on the lives and well-being of residents. A municipality that adopts sanctuary city designation provides residents without full immigration status and/or without full status documents from the federal government access to municipal services without fear of detection, detention or deportation. Such services include libraries, recreational programs, child care, emergency shelters, food banks, public health, transportation, and police services.

Yussuff emphasized that a sanctuary city designation is only effective and meaningful when accompanied with strong municipal policy implementation, training for municipal management and staff, as well as a public education campaign.

“Public education is an important part of the sanctuary city designation, because migrants are often subjected to racist attitudes and even violence as a result of prejudice, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment,” said Yussuff.

“But these designations will put Canada on the right side of history and will mean that Canadian municipalities are taking an active stand against racism and xenophobia,” he added.

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While Pride is a time to celebrate, it is also a time for reflection and activism. Pride originated in response to the police crackdown on LGBTQ2SI spaces like the 1981 bath house raids in Toronto.

“It is important for us to continue to challenge ongoing discrimination and the challenges faced by members of the LGBTQ2SI community,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

There are still many countries where homosexuality is illegal and subject to extreme punishment and even execution. In Chechnya, for example, gay men are being detained in concentration camps, tortured and in some cases killed, and families are being pressured to kill their gay sons.

Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian organization that helps LGBTQ2SI people who face physical violence, imprisonment, or death, has been working with Russian LGBTQ2SI organizations to bring Chechnyans to Canada as refugees. At this May’s CLC Convention, delegates gave unanimous support for a resolution calling on the Canadian government to actively support these efforts and to condemn Chechnya’s actions.

Canada has its own dark history of state-sanctioned discrimination and much work needs to be done to make reparations. Canada has yet to formally apologize for a decades-long national security campaign that targeted public service workers and members of the RCMP and military perceived to be homosexuals. Many were questioned, outed, and fired.

“These individuals and their families have waited decades for justice. It is long past time not just to apologize to those whose lives and careers were destroyed, but to secure pardons and provide compensation for the harm inflicted upon them,” said Yussuff.

“We encourage everyone to be loud and proud at parades and pride events across the country and we will celebrate the ways Canada’s unions have helped advance LGBTQ2S1 rights. But we also commit to continuing our work to achieve more fairness and justice for these communities in Canada and abroad,” Yussuff added.

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In these volatile times, it is more important than ever that we stand in solidarity to counter the hate and division which breeds senseless acts of terror.

Our hearts are with you, the people of Manchester and of the United Kingdom, as you mourn the loss of innocent victims to this tragedy.

Hassan Yussuff
President, Canadian Labour Congress

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This year, Canada’s unions hope to see the passing of Bill C-16, a legislation that would protect both gender identity and gender expression under the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code.

“This would mark a significant step in protecting the trans and gender diverse communities in Canada. Many trans folks face discrimination in employment, housing or health care, and far too many experience violence and prejudice,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Unfortunately, this legislation faces obstacles in the Senate, driven by conservative senators determined to slow the process. Similar legislation has been stalled in the Senate in the past, or amended in ways that were contrary to the spirit of the bill. Canada’s unions are concerned that the hearings thus far seem overly dominated by testimony from individuals and organizations that oppose trans rights and perpetuate harmful myths and stereotypes.

“We call on Senators to do the right thing and pass this bill as is. It is long past time for the federal government to follow the example set by the provinces and territories who have lead on this issue, and just get it done,” said Yussuff.

“It’s about allowing people to know they are safe to be themselves. This legislation will not only protect trans, nonbinary and genderqueer individuals, but also anyone whose gender expression does not conform to traditional norms,” added Yussuff.

Canada’s unions have a significant history of support for LGBTQ rights, from negotiating protections from discrimination and harassment at work to access to spousal benefits and parental leaves. The CLC also assists affiliated unions to bargain contract improvements for trans members, such as access to safe washrooms and change rooms and the right to be referred to by one’s chosen gender in the workplace.

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CLC President Hassan Yussuff won a second mandate by acclamation. Yussuff was originally elected to the presidency at the 2014 CLC Convention in Montreal, becoming the first person of colour to lead Canada’s labour movement.

“I am looking forward to working with this very talented and determined team to build on the victories we’ve won over the last three years and to moving us closer to a fair future for all workers,” said Yussuff.

Marie Clarke Walker was elected to replace retiring Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Byers. Walker was previously a CLC Executive Vice-President, having held the position since her election in 2002. She was the first racialized woman and youngest person to hold the position of CLC Executive Vice-President.

Returning Executive Vice-President Donald Lafleur was re-elected for a second term. Lafleur was first elected to the position at the 2014 CLC Convention in Montreal.

Newly elected Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau was previously the Regional Executive Vice-President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) for the National Capital Region.

Over the course of the week, delegates debated issues like Just Transition for a greener economy, better protections for equity-seeking members, the creation of more good jobs in Canada to put an end to precarious work, and the fight to implement a $15 minimum wage. Delegates also heard from inspiring speakers like Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. This helped set a strong mandate for the incoming Executive, focusing on creating a fair future for all Canadian workers.

Delegates to the Convention also elected new equity representatives for the next three years, as part of the different equity committees of the CLC. These positions include representation for LGBTQ, young workers, workers of colour, Aboriginal workers and disability rights, as well as regional representatives across Canada.

New Officers and council members were sworn in later in the day.

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The minister confirmed the news ahead of participating in an international solidarity event at the Canadian Labour Congress Convention in Toronto.

“Our government understands that organized labour is key to healthy labour relations that benefit people in workplaces all across our country,” said Minister Hajdu. “We are committed to ratifying Convention 98 and sending a clear message to the world about the right of workers to organize in Canada.”

“This is a long overdue and important step forward for Canadian labour relations,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The convention is the only one Canada has yet to ratify out of eight considered by ILO to be the minimum “enabling rights” people need to defend and improve their rights and conditions at work, and to work in freedom and dignity.

The Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, protects all workers from anti-union discrimination, including being forced to give up union membership in order to get a job, or job termination for participating in union activities.

Canada’s unions have been working for ratification for decades, but since 1949 and until now, successive Canadian governments have refused. The decision will make Canada the 165th country to ratify. The United States, Mexico, and 20 other countries have yet to ratify.

“Internationally, this ratification means Canada can more effectively insist that trade partners like the United States and Mexico must respect and enforce labour rights,” said Yussuff. “This is key as we face the prospect of the renegotiation of NAFTA.”

At home, Yussuff said, ratification will help reinforce recent decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada that protect union rights.

“Those Supreme Court decisions are binding in all of Canada’s courts and tribunals, and now provincial and territorial governments will be expected to conform under Convention 98 as well, and Canada’s unions will work hard to ensure they do,” said Yussuff.

Media contact:

Kerry Pither
National Director, CLC Communications
613-294-2203
Email: kpither@clc-ctc.ca

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CLC President Hassan Yussuff thanked White’s family for sharing him with the labour movement.

“Bob was unique, tough as nails, articulate, loved by the media, compassionate, loving and was a visionary. His mark on our movement and our country will be felt for a long time,” he said.

Unifor National President Jerry Dias said that, for Bob, the rank and file meant everything.

“He knew you couldn’t have success unless the members were engaged. The grassroots had to be involved and had to lead,” he said. “He was smart, tough, articulate, challenging and determined. He always called it the way he saw it. He was a pioneer.”

“We are a better nation because of you. Thank you brother,” he added.

CLC Secretary-Treasurer Barb Byers emceed the memorial. “He didn’t feel that he was diminished if someone else was better at something. He wasn’t afraid to lead and he wasn’t afraid to learn,” she said. “He was not afraid of challenge or change.”

Bob’s son Shawn White talked about life as the labour leader’s son. His father was away during the week, “but when the weekends came, it was Dad 2.0.”

“He strongly believed that if you can help someone, you should,” he said.

Basil “Buzz” Hargrove, former president of the CAW, talked about how Bob embraced life and all of the challenges he faced in both his union and personal life.

“He loved the camaraderie and working with local unions. He had the greatest respect for people who stood for union office, especially in the smaller shops. He loved working with coalitions. He was one of the greatest trade unionists in the world,” said Hargrove.

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, sent a message to the memorial by video. She remembered White as an extraordinary man who had devoted himself to improving the lives of all working people.

“Your spirit, your teachings, your challenges will live on in our hearts and in the work we all do to build social justice every day,” said Burrow.

White’s daughter, Robyn, talked about how lucky she had been to be her dad’s daughter, and about all the ways he had been such a caring and devoted father.

“He was supportive and encouraging every step of the way. All of the charisma and charm that he exuded as a labour leader was there for his family as well,” she said.

The memorial ended with a band called “the SPECIAL INTEREST group” playing White’s favourite song: Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World.

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“This is an important victory for all workers in our country, and a tribute to the Westray families and families of other fallen workers whose determination made this possible,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The next step will be ensuring urgent coordination among all levels of government.”

The announcement comes on the eve of the National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, and just days before the 25^th anniversary of the May 9, 1992 Westray Mine explosion that claimed the lives of 26 miners.

Years of determined lobbying by the miners’ families and their union, the United Steelworkers, won new Criminal Code provisions in 2004 making it possible to prosecute employers for negligence leading to workplace death and injury. However, families and health and safety advocates have long reported issues with enforcement.

On Thursday, the federal government announced it is marking the 25^th anniversary of Westray by committing to working with the Canadian Labour Congress and its members, with employers, and with provincial and territorial partners to finally help ensure the Westray law is effectively enforced. That will include:

• doing more to ensure that labour inspectors and law enforcement officials are properly trained in the provisions of the law, and are coordinating effectively to ensure the possibility of a charge for criminal negligence resulting in serious injury or death is not overlooked;
• sharing of best practices in investigating workplace fatalities across federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions.

The CLC has an online petition at RememberWestray.ca calling on the provinces and territories to work closely with the federal government on an urgent action plan that includes:

• training and directing Crown prosecutors to apply the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code;
• appointing dedicated prosecutors for workplace health and safety fatalities, and training and directing police to apply the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code; and
• ensuring regulators, police and Crown attorneys are coordinating. Health and safety regulators must be reaching out to police when Westray charges might be warranted.

“When criminal negligence results in injury or death of a worker – that needs to be treated as a crime, not an accident. We are counting on governments at all levels to work together so we can prevent future Westrays,” said Yussuff.

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