Publications

Mesothelioma Awareness Day highlights the need for asbestos ban

September 26 is Mesothelioma Awareness Day in Canada. Asbestos – which causes mesothelioma – is the leading cause of work-related death in Canada, which is why Canadian unions are calling on the federal government to ban asbestos. “As a mechanic, I was exposed for more than 20 years to asbestos contained in brake pads. To this day Canada imports similar…

Committee recommendations fall short for migrant workers

On September 19 the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) tabled their report on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Overall, HUMA released a pro-business, pro-employer report with few positive concrete recommendations for Canadian and migrant workers. “This report recommends expanding the temporary foreign worker program, and making it…

German and Canadian unions make concrete recommendations on improving CETA

In solidarity with protests across Europe, the Canadian Labour Congress and the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) are reiterating their firm opposition to the current text of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and making concrete recommendations on how to improve the deal. “Canada and Europe have many shared values that could allow us to deepen our…

CLC marks Democracy Day with a campaign calling for proportional representation

Canada’s largest labour organization is marking Democracy Day on September 15 with the launch of a campaign backing proportional representation. The campaign includes a 30-second long animated video being promoted on line, online ads and a petition hosted on ChoosePR.ca. “Our electoral system is broken, and we know that proportional representation is the only way to make it fair,” said…

Labour Day: A time to celebrate how Canada’s unions make fairness work for everyone

This Labour Day, Canada’s unions are launching a new site, fairnessworks.ca, and three compelling online videos to showcase the ways unions are improving the day-to-day lives of all Canadians. “We have a long, proud history of winning changes that improve workers’ lives, and this Labour Day we are celebrating and showcasing ways we are making a difference to all Canadians…

Young Canadians need more opportunities

As the world celebrates International Youth Day on August 12, the Canadian Labour Congress is asking the federal government and employers to invest more in job training and employment opportunities to help young Canadians break away from the ongoing cycle of precarious work and unemployment. In Diving without a parachute: Young Canadians versus a precarious economy – released today –…

Government launches inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls

CLC president Hassan Yussuff was honoured to participate in the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s (NWAC) news conference today marking the historic and monumental launch of the official inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Following a series of consultations that began in late 2015, the government announced the inquiry’s terms of reference and the names of the…

Work is changing. Workplace standards need to change too.

The Canadian Labour Congress welcomes today’s interim report of Ontario’s Changing Workplace Review. The report acknowledges the many ways in which work is changing in the 21st century. It also paves the way for legislated improvements that would lift the standards for every worker in the modern workplace, whether unionized or not. “We know that our world of work is changing,…

CLC wants Canadian mayors to address use of lethal force and systemic racism in policing

Canada’s largest labour organization is saddened and outraged by news of yet another black man dying after a violent confrontation with police, this time in Ottawa, and it calls on Canada’s mayors to take action. 37-year old Somali-Canadian Abdirahman Abdi died on Monday after succumbing to injuries sustained after being pursued and, according to several witnesses, violently beaten by Ottawa…

What an expanded CPP means for someone like you

What does a better plan for all mean, in real terms? We calculated the difference that the Finance Ministers’ planned CPP expansion would make for four typical Canadians, whose stories might be similar to you, or someone you care about. Fitness Instructor Jayden is a 24-year-old fitness instructor. He combines several part-time jobs at fitness centres around Mississauga and Etobicoke. His income…