OTTAWA – As Parliament reconvenes this week, Canada’s unions are urging Members of Parliament to put aside glib rhetoric and work together to provide relief for those who need it most amid the ongoing affordability crisis. Today’s inflation numbers showed that while CPI has begun to level off, grocery prices continue to increase at rates not seen in over four decades, while workers’ wages lag behind.

‘’Everyday necessities like food, fuel and housing eat away at more and more of workers’ hard-earned paycheques. Meanwhile, large corporations see their profits soar while their employees’ wages lag behind. Canada’s affordability crisis has been made even worse by rich corporations cashing in at the expense of struggling families,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress “MPs have an opportunity when Parliament reconvenes to help struggling families and make these profitable corporations finally pay their fair share.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions welcome recent cooperation between New Democrats and the Liberal government to provide targeted help and put money back into the pockets of Canadians.

“This is a prime example of how democracy should work, and we need more of it. Dental care for kids, doubling the GST rebate, making housing more affordable. Politicians finding common ground and getting targeted help to people who really need it,” continued Bruske. “We really have to question those opposed to this collaborative approach. How can Conservatives like Pierre Poilievre talk so loudly about the challenges families face and then oppose this concrete help for those who need it most?”

Bruske added that with some of our most essential workers are being hit the hardest, Canada’s unions recently launched a campaign calling for increased investments in care services and improved working conditions for care workers.

“We need our elected representatives from across the political spectrum to recognize that we will all need care at some point. Care work is essential and care workers must be properly supported,” concluded Bruske. “With a crisis facing public health care and the chronic underfunding of Canada’s care economy, addressing the care crisis must be a priority for MPs.”

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TORONTO – Today’s minimum wage announcement is another example of how Conservatives start talking friendly about workers when votes are at stake, but Doug Ford’s real record is one of putting corporate insiders first and leaving workers behind.

“Behind Doug Ford’s chummy rhetoric, you find attacks on workers and cuts to services that everyday Ontarians rely on. Throughout his 1222 days in the premier’s office, Ford has put delivering perks to his buddies first – not helping hard-working Ontarians struggling to get by,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The Ontario PCs have consistently ignored the demands of workers throughout their time in office. When he took office, Ford cancelled a planned minimum wage increase to $15 an hour then earlier this year raised the minimum wage by a paltry 10 cents. Throughout the pandemic, Ford and his party opposed paid sick days.

“Ontario is the economic engine of Canada. But under Premier Ford, Ontario is a laggard, not a leader when it comes to wages. Ontario workers have fallen behind,” said Bruske. “British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories all have wages at fifteen dollars or higher already.”

“Ford’s record is one of ignoring workers and imposing pay cuts. The Doug Ford Conservatives wrote a law that imposed a 3.4% pay cut on Ontarians, under current inflation numbers. Doug Ford shouldn’t tell employers it’s fine to impose wage cuts, just when the cost of living is skyrocketing,” continued Bruske. “If you are a youth counsellor in this province, or you coordinate snowplows, or you work as a nurse, or are a food safety inspector – the fact is you are getting a pay cut courtesy of the Ford government’s wage cap.”

“Since being elected in 2018, Doug Ford’s record on workers speaks for itself,” concluded Bruske. “If Ford and his government are now serious about helping working families, they should be focussing on signing a child care agreement with the federal government so women have a path back to the workforce, negotiating a universal pharmacare agreement so workers aren’t choosing between groceries and their medicine, and ensuring every worker in the province gets a fair wage and worker protections.”

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