“The fact is, the crisis is not over for many workers, families and communities. It is vital that MPs listen to Canadians, not right-wing politicians and columnists once again pushing an austerity agenda,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “We must ensure lost jobs are replaced by better ones – and invest in making life more affordable and ensuring services Canadians rely on are there for them when they need them most.”

Canada’s unions will be engaging Ministers and MPs about priorities for the new Parliament, including concrete action to help take the strain off family budgets through investments that:

• Address the crisis affecting so many communities through action that makes housing more affordable.
• Get child care deals in place with every province and territory, so parents now pushed to the economic sidelines have a path back to the labour force.
• Quick implementation of universal pharmacare, to bring down the costs of needed medicines.
• Action on fair taxation, so the large corporations who have profited so much from the pandemic finally pay their fair share.

The pandemic revealed weaknesses in our public health care and the urgent need to repair gaps in Canada’s social safety net, so we are ready when the next crisis hits, including through:

• A permanent fix to employment insurance and ensuring paid sick days for all workers.
• Strengthening our health care system with universal pharmacare; taking the profit out of long-term care; and investing in better mental health care.
• Action on climate that includes a just transition for workers affected and investments in green infrastructure, such as transit, energy, and manufacturing.

“Without workers there is no recovery. In the coming weeks we will continue to make sure that workers’ voices are heard loud and clear on Parliament Hill,” said Bruske. “We have an opportunity in the days and weeks ahead for MPs and the government to work with us to replace lost jobs with better ones and build an economy that is more equitable, more inclusive and more sustainable.”

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

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“Conservatives keep pushing the same playbook, time and time again. You can’t solve today’s crisis with policy from the inflation struggles of the 1990’s,” said Bruske. “Rate hikes, austerity policies and government cuts to services families rely on is not going to solve supply chain disruptions or the aftereffects of the pandemic economic slowdown.”

Higher interest rates and lower investment in people won’t help lower energy prices or bring down the costs of groceries, two of the biggest drivers of today’s inflation numbers.

“Conservative economists and right-wing columnists are suffering from magical thinking,” said Bruske. “You can’t keep a steady drumbeat of tightening credit and cutting help for people without slowing an already uneven recovery, generating insolvencies, and above all, raising workers’ level of insecurity.”

Immediate relief for families can be achieved through quick action on affordable housing, child care and pharmacare to bring drug costs down.

“On a day when Loblaws beat expectations and reported even higher profits it baffles me why Canada is still dragging its heels on a wealth tax to make pandemic profiteers pay their fair share,” concluded Bruske. “Now more than ever we need a strong social safety net and investments in the programs so many Canadians depend on, including universal child care, pharmacare, affordable housing and job-training programs to help workers transition to low-carbon and green jobs.”

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

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Canada’s unions are looking to parliament’s return next week for measures to make life more affordable, including investments to make housing more affordable, immediate implementation of pharmacare to lower the price of medicines, and agreements with every province and territory to bring down the costs of child care.

“The cost of living is skyrocketing and workers and their families are feeling the brunt of it,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “While some companies are making gigantic pandemic profits – yet now talking about passing on higher costs to everyday people – elected officials must stay focussed on helping working people and their families who are the ones suffering the most.”

Many workers face minimum wages that have fallen far behind a living wage. While others are suffering under legislated wage freezes or caps – including in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba – where low single-digit wage increases combined with inflation surging over 4% translates into lower real wages for workers.

“Governments must immediately raise minimum wages to a living wage and rescind unfair wage freezes and caps. Having what amounts to legislated pay cuts imposed on so many workers is meanspirited,” said Bruske.

“The fact is, we do not know how long this inflation surge will last or how bumpy the road to economic recovery will be. Cleary the answer isn’t slashing taxes for the wealthy, as Conservatives always do. We need our governments acting as leaders in creating good jobs with fair wages, real benefits and better working conditions.”

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

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EI applications have risen while the Delta variant continues to affect hotspots across the country and supply chains continue to be disrupted. This means it is crucial for the government to immediately extend emergency supports past Saturday’s deadline.

“I had the opportunity earlier this week to relay our concerns directly to Deputy Prime Minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland. I explained how it is vital the government continues to have the backs of workers in these challenging times,” said Bruske.

“The COVID-19 pandemic laid-bare the existing inequality in Canada and we must not forget that now. We urge Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible and act to make sure the recovery is focused on alleviating inequality and providing decent work for all,” said Bruske.

Learn more at canadianplan.ca.

What: CLC President available to speak about emergency benefits
Where: By phone or by ZOOM
When: October 21, 2021
Who: Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress

Contact information:
Amy Boughner
Cell: 343-549-8397
media@clcctc.ca

The post Canadian Labour Congress’ President Bea Bruske available to speak about emergency benefits appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“I want to thank Minister Freeland for a positive discussion. Her government has extended vital support throughout the pandemic to working people and their families,” said Bruske. “Our economy still hasn’t met the government’s own benchmarks, their own fiscal guardrails they set for Canada’s labour market. With so many still unemployed, many for over a year or more, and so many others still unable to qualify for EI – there remains a critical need for emergency supports like the CRB.”

According to Statistics Canada’s latest jobs report, the unemployment rate is still 1.2 percentage points over February 2020 and about 2.5 million are either looking for work, not working enough hours, or have been pushed out of the labour market altogether. Lower paid people relying on precarious work have been particularly hard hit. EI applications right now are at 100,000 a week, twice as high as August.

“Sadly, the pandemic is not over. Canada’s unions look forward to working with Minister Freeland and her government, alongside the new Parliament, on building an economic recovery with workers at its heart”, concluded Bruske. “In addition to the need for extending emergency supports, we addressed the affordable housing crisis, the need for climate action and a just transition, and the critical need for affordable child care, so women can rejoin the labour force.”

Freeland and Bruske both pledged to keep lines of communication between the government and Canada’s unions open on these vital issues.

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

The post Bruske meets Deputy Prime Minister Freeland to discuss help for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada may very well be headed for another minority government and Canada’s unions want the new federal government elected on Monday to hit the ground running and deliver on promises made over the course of election campaign.

Elected officials from all stripes must commit to working together to move these priorities forward.

“Workers in Canada were targeted by all parties in this campaign, in a way we’ve never seen before. And now it’s time to deliver. Canada’s unions are eager to work with the next federal government to shape a pandemic recovery that makes life better for all Canadians and doesn’t leave anyone behind,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions are urging the incoming government to finish implementing national, affordable public child care; implement universal pharmacare; enact fair tax reforms; permanently improve EI; and replace the existing first-past the post electoral system with mixed member proportional representation.

“Canadians have heard promises of universal pharmacare for many years now, without any real results. A universal, single-payer program would help reduce household expenses and allow everyone to access the medications they need,” said Bruske.

Canada’s unions have also long championed a national affordable child care system. And we’re getting closer: many provinces and territories have signed agreements with the federal government to provide $10 a day child care for children under the age of 6.

Tax fairness is another issue that must be addressed urgently. The top earners in Canada have accumulated even more wealth over the course of the pandemic while average working families are struggling to make ends meet.

“The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the existing inequality in Canada, and for many people, things have only gotten worse,” said Bruske. “We want to see concrete measures to reduce income inequality and help people get back to work in good jobs. And we want the government to commit to fixing our social safety net so that we’re ready the next time disaster hits.”

The pandemic highlighted the need for an adequate and accessible unemployment benefit system and all parties have agreed that Employment Insurance reform is needed. With temporary pandemic benefits set to expire at the end of this month, the incoming government will need to get to work addressing the gaps in the current EI system.

The post Next federal government must deliver for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“We support a publicly funded, universally accessible and affordable early learning and child care system. Without affordable child care, even more women will be pushed out of the labour market,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “In a few days, Canadians will vote in a crucial election and the stakes are high for working families. Child care is on the ballot in this election.”

Bruske added that she has been urging all parties to strengthen Canada’s social safety net, including investing in a universal child care system. Erin O’Toole and the Conservatives decided instead to cancel already signed funding agreements with the provinces and cut billions from child care.

“At a moment where we should be investing billions more for affordable child care, Conservative Erin O’Toole is threatening to tear up agreements and eliminate thousands of new child care spaces. Mr. O’Toole is turning his back on working women,” said Bruske. “This would be devastating for so many people desperate for affordable child care spaces for their children.”

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Women have been pushed to the economic sidelines by the pandemic but Erin O’Toole’s plan risks making things even worse, according to Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

“Lack of child care during the pandemic forced a lot of women to the economic sidelines while others were thrown out of work and forced into the precarious gig economy. Throughout the pandemic, women were on the frontlines keeping our communities safe while working to keep their families safe,” said Bruske. “At this crucial moment, Erin O’Toole threatens years of hard-fought gains for working women.”

O’Toole’s Conservatives have declared they will eliminate tens of thousands of new, quality child care spaces, canceling child care agreements with the provinces. Experts agree that these spaces are desperately needed by working families today. The Conservative platform also includes measures that fail gig economy workers, introducing a risky private scheme instead of real access to EI and pensions.

“Mr. O’Toole is full of pretty words as he looks for votes, but it’s clear he’s not actually listening to working women about the real challenges they face today,” added Bruske. “With child care and public health hanging in the balance this election, Erin O’Toole is not worth the risk.”

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Canada’s unions are raising the alarm, warning that Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey shows signs that the economic recovery is uneven, wage growth for low-paid workers remains weak, and some groups are being left behind.

“In the US, wages of lower-skilled workers have begun to rise, but wage growth for low-paid workers in Canada, like in the service sector, is still anemic.” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadians Labour Congress.

Unemployment among racialized workers was almost 10%, with little change since June. Long-term joblessness is still sky high and 100,000 jobless Canadians haven’t worked since the pandemic struck. While women remain well behind pre-pandemic labour force participation rates.

“Canada’s labour market shows growing signs of lasting, long-term damage, and the jobs recovery is uneven. And we must be wary about the impact of the pandemic’s fourth wave in the months ahead,” said Bruske. “We’re certainly not out of the woods. This morning’s report raises serious questions about the quality of the jobs being created and delivers a clear warning that some groups risk being left behind.”

Bruske added that workers of colour, Indigenous workers, workers with disabilities and the long-term unemployed need more help and better training and employment programs to help them rejoin the labour market.

“With the election only ten days away, all parties must rise to the challenge of the moment and present plans for repairing the damage the pandemic has done – and addressing the inequality and insecurity of the pre-pandemic years. Ensuring higher quality jobs are created is vital. We must replace lost jobs with better ones.”

“We have a critical choice before us,” concluded Bruske. “Will we build a recovery with workers at its heart, where inequality is reduced? Will we make decent paid work and training for everyone who wants it a priority? Or will we choose a recovery that puts business interests first, like Mr. O’Toole is proposing?”

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