Publications

Canada’s unions call on party leaders to commit to Calls for Justice

Every year on October 4, Sisters in Spirit Vigils occur across Canada to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people. This October 4, Canada’s unions are echoing calls from Indigenous families, communities and organizations for the implementation of all 231 Calls for Justice from the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and…

Unions mark Gender Equality Week with election demands

Canada’s unions are marking Gender Equality Week 2019 by calling on federal political parties to commit to creating a fair Canada for everyone. “Gender Equality Week was created to celebrate recent gains while reflecting on the work that needs to be done to improve gender equality and women’s rights across Canada,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour…

Let’s all commit to ending racism

By now, you’ve probably seen old images of the Prime Minister in brownface and blackface resurface in the media.   Not only are they shocking and disturbing, they are deeply hurtful to those of us who have faced racism and discrimination firsthand. It brings to the forefront the injustices committed against people of colour and Indigenous communities in this country for over 150…

Canadian Labour Congress stands in solidarity with student-led Global Climate Strike

Students around the world are taking bold action to protect the planet, holding climate strikes every Friday, pushing for urgent and ambitious climate action to limit global warming. The strikes were started in August of 2018 by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. These #FridaysForFuture student strikes now take place in communities all over the world, including across Canada. Students are…

Improving the lives of workers is sound business sense

By Hassan Yussuff, as published in the Toronto Sun. There will always be those who believe that the most important aspect of any business is the bottom line, regardless of how such tunnel vision can negatively impact the lives of workers. But the best employers understand that a sound business model includes nurturing workplaces in which their employees are treated with…

Global Day of Action for the Amazon

Today, on the Global Day of Action for the Amazon, Canadian labour calls on the Government of Canada to safeguard protections for the Amazon rainforest in its trade agreement with Brazil and the Mercosur countries. In its ongoing negotiations on the Mercosur trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Canada must ensure the agreement contains enforceable provisions that uphold…

Working families have a lot at stake this election

By Hassan Yussuff You can be forgiven if you’ve avoided thinking about the upcoming federal election all summer, but Labour Day is here. That means it’s time to return to the fall routine and start thinking about how you are going to cast your ballot. You may have seen politicians working the barbecue circuit, vying for the support of workers…

Labour Day 2019: Unions seek to put fairness on the ballot

This Labour Day, Canada’s unions are launching a campaign to make fairness a ballot box question in the October federal election. That means unions will be calling on Canadian workers to vote for candidates who support universal pharmacare, retirement security, climate action, equity and inclusion, and good jobs for everyone. “Over the last four years, our work has resulted in…

Democracy protests in Hong Kong

Canadian unions condemn the use of excessive force against democracy protestors in Hong Kong.   In the last two months, hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens have protested against an extradition law with China, perceived to undermine Hong Kong’s independence and restrict basic freedoms. These demonstrations have been met with an escalation in police violence, tear gas and rubber…

Canada’s unions applaud return of tripartite decision-making to EI appeals

Canada’s unions applaud the federal government’s decision to restore tripartite decision-making to the Employment Insurance (EI) appeals process, an outcome of the Social Security Tribunal Review first initiated in 2017. Under the new system, EI appeals at the first level will be heard by a tripartite decision-making tribunal called the Employment Insurance Boards of Appeal, overseen by the Canada Employment…