Publications

Marie Clarke Walker to receive African Canadian Achievement Award of Excellence

The Canadian Labour Congress is congratulating Executive Vice-President Marie Clarke Walker for receiving the African Canadian Achievement Award (ACAA) for excellence in business. Walker is one of fifteen recipients being honoured for their work as contemporary Black history-makers by the ACAA. The ceremony is considered one of the African Canadian community’s most prestigious Black History Month events. “I’m very proud…

Nova Scotia premier must heed Supreme Court ruling and bargain in good faith with teachers

Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff is urging Nova Scotia premier Stephen McNeil to heed a Supreme Court ruling and go back to the bargaining table with the province’s public school teachers instead of arbitrarily imposing contract terms. The premier has threatened to impose a contract on Nova Scotia’s 9,300 public school teachers in an emergency legislative session on Monday.…

North America’s unions unite against Islamophobia and in support of refugees and immigrants

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff made the following joint statement about recent acts of violence against Muslim communities in both countries and U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration: As leaders of the Canadian and U.S. unions, we jointly affirm our commitment to ensuring that our societies are welcoming and egalitarian, and that…

Report vindicates Colombian unions in their struggle for basic workers’ rights

For years, Colombian unions have been sounding the alarm about workers’ and human rights abuses in their country. Now, a new report vindicates long-standing grievances about the violation of Colombian unions’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. The report was released by the National Administrative Office (NAO), in response to a joint submission from the Canadian Labour Congress and five…

Canada’s unions say prime minister must keep his promise on fixing Canada’s unfair electoral system

Canada’s unions say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to keep his promise and reform Canada’s outdated and unfair electoral system. Today Justin Trudeau issued a revised mandate letter to Minister of Democratic Institutions, Karina Gould, indicating that the government is abandoning its promise on reforming Canada’s electoral system. “Canadians do not believe that a government should be able to win…

The past, present, and future of working while Black

by CLC Executive Vice-President Marie Clarke Walker In 1946, Halifax businesswoman Viola Desmond went to a movie and sat on the main floor. The staff asked her to move: as a Black woman she was only allowed to sit in the balcony. When she refused, she was hauled out of the theatre by police and held overnight in jail, without…

Canada urged to denounce US anti-Muslim travel ban as discriminatory and help those affected

Canada’s unions are urging the Canadian government to denounce the US Executive Order barring Syrian refugees and discriminating against other travellers of Muslim faith or background. They also want Canada to do more to help those most affected. “The measures being implemented by the US administration are based on ignorance, Islamophobia and hate and have nothing to do with protecting…

Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with Muslim communities

Canadian labour leaders are outraged, shocked and saddened by the shooting at a mosque in Quebec City on Sunday night that has left six dead and eight injured, some critically. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the victims, their families and their communities,” said Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff.  Yussuff said the Canadian Labour Congress and its affiliates are…

Canada’s unions say NAFTA renegotiation is an opportunity for more fairness

Canada’s unions are glad to hear that Canada is ready to walk away from NAFTA, saying that renegotiating the deal offers the opportunity take a new approach to trade that puts the interests of working people and the environment first. In a statement sent to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland today, the Canadian Labour Congress points out that over the…

Unions applaud step forward for trans rights

Unions are joining trans Canadians and their allies celebrating the settlement of a landmark human rights complaint today. The settlement resolves a complaint launched in 2011 by Christin Milloy (“she/her”), a trans activist from Toronto, against Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). “What we see today is an important recognition by government that it is inappropriate to collect data about…