By Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress and Mitzie Hunter, President and CEO, Canadian Women’s Foundation 

With global trade in turmoil and economic instability reshaping the world, the Carney government has promised strategic support for key sectors to strengthen Canada’s economy. Without bold, sustained investment in the care economy, those efforts will fall short. 

The inclusion of the care economy in the recently announced Workforce Alliances is a step forward. Still, past decisions like the lapse of the Sectoral Table on the Care Economy—on which we had been tapped to serve—gaps in the latest federal budget, and allowing progress toward national $10-a-day child care to stall, raise serious concerns. 

Any funding directed toward the care economy must be recognized and treated as what it is: an investment in a powerful economic engine, and a foundation that supports every other strategic sector. 

Care work, performed primarily by women, and disproportionately by Indigenous, racialized, immigrant, and migrant women, is what allows the rest of our economy to function and thrive. Without child care, parents can’t work. Without long-term care and home care, families are pushed out of the workforce. Without nurses, teachers, personal support workers, and early childhood educators and assistants, there is no productivity, no innovation, and no economic growth. 

That is why Canada needs a comprehensive federal strategy to support and invest in the care economy.

Paid care jobs generate at least 13% of Canada’s GDP and account for 22% of all jobs. Unpaid care work, such as caring for children, aging parents, or people with disabilities, is worth up to $860 billion, or roughly 37% of Canada’s GDP. That is more than the combined contribution of manufacturing, wholesale, and retail. 

As Canada’s population ages and care needs grow, the care economy is projected to become one of the country’s largest drivers of economic growth and job creation. 

Investments in care deliver real economic gains. Studies show that Québec’s child care system, the most supportive in Canada, generates $1.75 in provincial and federal tax revenue for every dollar invested. That is clear proof of a successful public program.   

Prime Minister Carney has spoken about strengthening Canada’s economy through investment. An effective strategy must recognize that people are our most important asset. That means universal access to affordable, high-quality public and not-for-profit care services so people can work, learn, and live in dignity. It means good jobs with safe working conditions. And it means recognizing care workers—paid and unpaid—as essential to Canada’s economic resilience. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, care workers were hailed as heroes while enduring burnout, chronic understaffing, and the deadly consequences of years of austerity and privatization. Many left the sector. Some became seriously ill. Some lost their lives. We cannot forget these consequences, nor can we move forward without addressing their root causes. 

Six years later, demand for care continues to rise, while workforce shortages deepen. Women continue to bear the burden, scaling back paid work, turning down promotions, or leaving the workforce altogether to fill gaps in child care, elder care, and disability supports. 

Now is the time for ambitious, nation-building conversations about the care economy as a foundation for how Canada can weather the multiple economic crises at our doorstep, including the uncertainty created by a rapidly shifting global economic order. 

Canada’s unions and women’s rights organizations are ready and willing to partner with this government to strengthen Canada’s economic resilience and independence through a visionary, world-class care investment strategy. 

To arrive there, Canada needs a Care Economy Commission: a coordinated, cross-sector initiative mandated to develop concrete recommendations to grow the care economy sustainably, ensure decent and dignified jobs with livable wages across all care sectors, strengthen protections and fairness for caregivers, and guarantee access to care for everyone in Canada. 

If this government truly intends to fortify Canada’s economic sovereignty, it must begin where real economic strength starts: with care. 

Women’s economic justice and Canada’s economic security—two sides of the same coin—depend on it. 

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“Mental health care supports in Canada will only improve if governments invest in our existing health care infrastructure,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “But Canada’s health care systems are struggling. Rebuilding our cherished public health care systems must be a priority and must include investment in mental health care for all.”

Mental health continues to be a significant issue facing workers in the workplace. According to a 2024 survey from the Canadian Mental Health Association, at least 500,000 Canadians miss work due to mental illness every week, with an estimated economic cost of $51 billion annually.

Health care workers are also facing serious and well-documented challenges, including poor working conditions, stagnant wages and an alarming rise in workplace violence and harassment.

“Workers and their families have been sounding the alarm for years that Canada’s health care systems are in desperate need of strong investment. Our country deserves commitments and real solutions from our new federal leaders to bring all levels of government, employers, and workers on board, and finally fix health care in Canada” added Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice President of the CLC.

The recent election included specific platform commitments from several parties on improving our health care system and working conditions for health care workers, including improving mental health support for first responders. The CLC welcomes these commitments and urges our newly elected government to implement them. The CLC also reiterates our call for the federal government to introduce a Canada Universal Mental Health and Substance Act with enforceable national standards and a dedicated health transfer to support meaningful investments and infrastructure in this sector.

“Mental health matters everywhere, for everyone, including at work. Canada’s unions are looking forward to working with this new government to rebuild our health care system and ensure that every person across our country can access the mental health care they need,” said Lily Chang, Secretary Treasurer of the CLC.

For more resources on navigating mental health at work for unions, visit the CLC’s Mental Health Online Resource Center.

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“Our public health care system is on life support,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Staffing shortages have reached a dangerous tipping point. Wait times for surgeries span months or even years. Millions of Canadians are living without access to a family doctor, and far too many must choose between paying for medication and covering basic needs.” 

Canada’s unions are calling out decades of underfunding, understaffing, privatization, and political decisions that have allowed corporate interests to flourish at the expense of everyday Canadians. 

“This didn’t happen overnight. It’s the direct result of choices made by politicians who prioritize tax breaks for the wealthy over investments in public health care,” said Bruske. 

Labour leaders underscored the rise in for-profit care, including the growing presence of American health care corporations operating in Canada.  

“Canada’s health care system was built on the principle that everyone deserves care based on need, not ability to pay,” said Barb Nederpel, President, Hospital Employees’ Union, who represents over 60,000 health care workers in British Columbia. “Our members are exhausted. They were called heroes during the pandemic, and now they’re working in a broken, overburdened system, without the support they need.” 

Canada’s unions are calling on all political parties, especially during this federal election, to commit to: 

• A national health workforce strategy that recruits, retains, and properly compensates health care workers; 
• A full, universal, single-payer Pharmacare program—no more delays or half-measures; 
• Reinvestment in public health, long-term care, and home care to meet the needs of an aging population; 
• An end to growing privatization that leaves patients behind and profits corporations. 

The message was clear: Canadians cherish their public health care system. It is a pillar of national identity and a foundation for a fairer society. 

“We don’t want American-style health care where people go bankrupt for getting sick,” said Bruske. “We want a system that puts patients before profits—and politicians who are brave enough to fight for it.” 

Despite this crisis, health care will not be a focus of this week’s federal leaders’ debate, an astonishing omission and a missed opportunity to address one of the most urgent issues facing Canadians today. Our leaders must stop ignoring the crisis and commit to fixing our health care system. 

Canada’s unions are demanding urgent leadership to fix the crisis, invest in care, and protect what generations of Canadians have built. 

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ST. JOHN’S, NL–With yesterday’s election call sending voters to the polls on April 28, Canada’s unions are challenging all parties to put working families first. The Workers Together platform, Building a Better Future for Working People, was launched today in St. John’s, Newfoundland, by Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), alongside Jessica McCormick, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.

The platform provides a clear blueprint for the next government at a time when Canadians face mounting pressures from all sides.

“This isn’t just another election – it’s a crucial choice about who will support Canadian workers in these turbulent times,” said Bruske. “Workers and their families are caught between aggressive U.S. trade threats, corporate price gouging, and increasingly strained health care and public services. The next government must be ready to take bold action from day one.” 

As the voice of more than 3 million workers across Canada, Canada’s unions are calling for commitments from all political parties to:  

• Mitigate the trade tariff threat with a worker-first response to secure jobs, support workers, and strengthen communities    
• Ensure everyone has access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner and deliver fully universal public Pharmacare to ensure health care is accessible to all  
• Cap prices on food staples and essential goods to stop corporate price gouging and protect family budgets  
• Build one million truly affordable homes to bring down the cost of housing and tackle the housing crisis  
• Fix our broken tax system by restructuring corporate taxes to fund affordable housing, hospitals and the public services Canadians count on  

The CLC President emphasized that campaign promises alone aren’t enough – Canadians need leaders with proven experience of standing up for workers. 

“Pierre Poilievre has never worked on a factory floor, never run a business, never held corporate interests accountable. How can he negotiate with Trump when he has no experience of getting things done for Canadians?” said Bruske.  

“Workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, like workers across Canada, are facing an affordability crisis compounded by the effects of a trade war,” said McCormick. “Workers and their families need and deserve elected officials who will prioritize their needs – not the interests of the corporate elite.”
 
Canada’s unions are ready to work with political leaders who will deliver results for workers and their families. The solutions outlined in the Workers Together platform offer a clear path forward for any party serious about supporting working families.  

“The time for bold action isn’t just now – it’s overdue. We need a government that will crack down on corporate greed, rebuild public health care, and protect workers against Trump’s attacks. When working people thrive, our whole economy grows stronger. That’s what the Workers Together platform will deliver,” Bruske stressed. 

Click here to view the full platform.

The event was held with workers from both the private and public sectors, highlighting solidarity across various industries.

The Canadian Labour Congress is Canada’s largest labour organization, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour unites and represents nearly 70,000 workers across Newfoundland and Labrador.

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The passing of the Pharmacare Act is a direct result of decades of advocacy from the labour movement, civil society groups, and the tireless efforts of political leaders. The Canadian Labour Congress’ Pharmacare campaign has brought together tens of thousands of workers and activists, hosting cross-country town halls and lobbying parliamentarians. In just the past few weeks, hundreds of calls were made to senators. The CLC also recognizes the New Democratic Party (NDP) for its decades of dedication to this fight and thanks the federal government for delivering on its promise to prioritize pharmacare through the confidence-and-supply agreement. 

“This is a monumental win for workers and their families,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “For too long, people across this country have had to choose between putting food on the table and paying for the medications they need. Bill C-64 brings us one step closer to ending that predicament, but we still have work to do.” 

Canada’s unions urge all levels of government to move swiftly and decisively to ensure this is just the beginning. Bill C-64 sets the framework, but it is essential that provincial and territorial governments sign bilateral agreements to implement the program fully and equitably across the country. 

“We are celebrating today, but we know this is just the first step toward a truly comprehensive, single-payer public pharmacare program,” added Bruske. “We call on every province and territory to get on board, so that no Canadian is left behind. This is an opportunity to build a stronger, fairer healthcare system for all.” 

The Canadian Labour Congress remains committed to ensuring the implementation of a national pharmacare program and looks forward to working alongside the federal government, provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities to make this a reality. 

“We must continue working together to finish what we’ve started,” Bruske said. 

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“Workers are the backbone of this country, they power our economy, and the government has an obligation to invest in programs that support them,” said CLC President Bea Bruske. “This fall, the government has a clear choice: either invest in people, or allow the challenges facing workers to worsen.”

The cost-of-living crisis has left many workers struggling to afford basic necessities. The CLC is calling for the government to step in and provide relief by ensuring a fairer tax system is in place in which the wealthiest pay their fair share and that housing and groceries are affordable for everyone.

The CLC is issuing a stark warning about Canada’s healthcare crisis, citing chronic underfunding and the growing threat of privatization. The CLC is urging the Senate to pass Bill C-64, long-promised pharmacare legislation, and significantly invest in public healthcare, including long-term care. Privatization, Bruske warned, threatens to undermine the universal healthcare that Canadians rely on and will further deepen inequities in access to care.

Finally, the CLC demands for the government to focus on enhancing support for Canada’s workforce by reforming the Employment Insurance (EI) system and pension programs to ensure workers can access benefits when they need them most. Canada’s unions are also calling for a national strategy to expand skills training and upskilling opportunities, allowing workers to adapt to a rapidly changing economy.

“Our EI system is outdated, and too many workers fall through the cracks when they lose their jobs. Now is the time for the government to create a more inclusive and supportive EI program,” said Bruske. “At the same time, we need to invest in training that prepares workers for the future, so no one is left behind as industries evolve.”

As Parliament resumes, Canada’s unions will continue to advocate for policies that prioritize workers’ rights, urging the government to commit to real, lasting change that benefits everyone in Canada

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According to the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada, an astounding 348,747 lost time claims were made in 2022, the last year for which complete data is available.

Shockingly, this number doesn’t even count those who decline – or are illegally persuaded by their employers not – to report their injuries.

On Day of Mourning, Canada’s unions issued a demand for “Safe work now!”, a call to action for employers and governments to make work and workplaces truly safe for all workers.

“Every workplace injury is preventable, says Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. ” These injuries – be they physical or psychological – should never be seen as “part of the job”. Employers have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that workers aren’t hurt or maimed.”

To ensure that every worker returns home whole from the job at the end of every work day, Canada’s unions demand from every level of government:

• Holding criminally negligent employers accountable through proactive enforcement of the Westray Law – not just for fatalities, but injuries as well;
• Substantive action to ensure workers know about the hazards in their work and workplace, regardless of the type of products they use;
• Development and implementation of comprehensive strategies to remove toxic substances from the workplace;
• That every workplace be free from violence and harassment; and
• Increased proactive workplace health and safety investigations and stronger enforcement of health and safety laws.

“Workers compensation systems must also provide workers with the compensation they deserve in a fair and transparent manner,” says Bruske. “Easy access to the rehabilitation and vocational services they need is also essential.”

Workers demand that governments have their backs, so they can get back on track: “Any shirking responsibility for injured workers by employers and governments is simply unacceptable: it’s time for safe work, now.” 

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Canadians are witnessing Conservative decision-makers wreak havoc. Rather than addressing the pressing crises of health care, affordability, and climate change, Conservatives across the country are indulging in political games. And who loses? Working-class families.

A year after a landmark health care agreement between the federal government and provinces and territories, Conservative premiers have failed to act and failed to care. Canada’s unions are hearing from health care workers who are under pressure to work harder and faster, facing dangerously high patient-to-care worker ratios.

These workers deserve support and action to strengthen our public health care system and better retain and recruit health care staff—but Conservatives won’t be the ones to deliver. Conservative premiers are actively pursuing the privatization of our public health care system, and Pierre Poilievre was a cabinet minister in a Conservative government that drastically cut health care.

Meanwhile, hard-earned paycheques are being swallowed by the sky-high price of groceries and other necessities. Workers need a helping hand so they can build a good life but instead, we get cuts for everyday people and a gravy train for corporate giants—such as the Ford government’s handouts to big business while slashing public services. Danielle Smith wants to throw hard-working people under the bus by dismantling the Canada Pension Plan, while Mr. Poilievre opposes a universal public pharmacare plan that would put more money in workers’ wallets.

At the same time, Canadians are grappling with the very real impacts of the climate crisis, but Conservative leaders don’t have a serious plan for working people and our communities. How much did Danielle Smith’s seven-month moratorium on renewable energy set back Albertan workers? And Poilievre’s Conservatives are trying to block pro-worker legislation, jeopardizing jobs and opportunities in a sustainable economy.

With so many real and urgent issues on the agenda, Canada’s unions oppose Conservative efforts to stoke a culture war by attacking trans kids and adults rather than offer real solutions, as we’ve seen Blaine Higgs, Scott Moe, and now Danielle Smith do. The playbook is familiar: shirk responsibility for making life harder for working people, stoke fear about a scapegoat, and then ride the fear train for power and personal gain.

Make no mistake, Conservatives stand against workers. Canada’s unions will defend working people and their families against Conservative games at all costs. We will fight for sustainable jobs, we will fight to make life more affordable, we will fight for our public health care system—and we will fiercely oppose attacks on vulnerable Canadians.

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“We’ve seen too many health care horror stories. A sick newborn waiting over eight hours to be admitted, a senior more than 12 hours to be seen by an ER doctor. A year after historic health agreements, patients still aren’t getting the timely care they deserve while health workers continue to face unsafe working conditions and growing burnout,” cautioned Bruske. “Without concrete action to repair it, we’ll see another year of Canada’s health care system failing our children, seniors, and seriously ill patients of all kinds.”  

Led by B.C., only four provinces have signed new bilateral deals. With a March 31^st deadline fast approaching so new investments can flow this year, Bruske cautioned that governments must act quickly to get deals done so provinces can implement effective new measures.  

“Canadians are looking for real relief, which means new bilateral deals must also include strict conditions that cap wasteful spending on private agencies and dramatically increase the number of permanent nursing positions,” added Bruske. “A photo-op has never cured anyone. Workers and families are looking to the federal government to defend patient care and protect our public health care from provinces trying to use the crisis to line the pockets of private investors with wasteful health care privatization.”   

Bruske urged governments and parties to come together behind solutions backed by new investments to address this national crisis.  

“The NDP–Liberal Supply and Confidence Agreement brought us a new dental care program, which will alleviate pressure on emergency rooms. This is the kind of innovative progress Canadians are looking for, yet Poilievre’s Conservatives voted against dental care for low-income kids and seniors,” concluded Bruske. “The last time Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives were in power, they unilaterally cut billions from provincial health care funding. They dug a big hole for our health care system and more Conservative cuts now would put Canada’s universal public health care at risk.”  

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

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“We applaud the deployment of the second phase of the dental care plan. As part of the supply-and-confidence deal with the NDP, the $13-billion public program is another step forward to a universal public dental care program in Canada,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Public programs like dental care help to alleviate some of the pressures facing working-class families as they struggle to find an affordable place to live, put food on the table or simply afford everyday necessities.”

As of November 2023, close to 400,000 children under 12 years of age have received dental treatment as a result of the federal dental care program. And now, access to dental care will be expanded to millions of Canadians, some of whom are among the most vulnerable in our communities.

With over one in three Canadians reporting a lack of dental insurance and even more indicating they have no access to any form of dental care, this is an important step towards a public care system that will improve Canadians’ health and wellbeing and make life more affordable, building resiliency across our society and economy.

“In this new phase of the program, the government must ensure that all qualifying Canadians have access to the dental care they need, when they need it. The dental care plan must be equitable and accessible,” added Bruske. “We know that a disproportionate number of persons with disabilities and seniors in Canada live in poverty; we must ensure the dental care program is inclusive and available.”

Canada’s unions will also be looking at the federal government to be vigilant and ensure employers do not download the costs of dental care from private health plan benefits packages onto the public dental care program.

“While we celebrate this announcement today, there are still too many families that have to make impossible choices every time they have to renew their prescription medications. Our future depends on investment in care now and that includes access to the medicines that people need,” said Bruske. “That’s why we will continue to pressure the federal government to establish a single-payer universal public prescription drug plan that provides coverage for all residents.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

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“So many people are worried that health care won’t be there for their family when they need it. Or a personal care bed won’t be available for their parents,” explained Bruske. “But the reality is, we only get the change we want when we make our power felt at the ballot box. In this election, that means getting out to the polls and electing Wab Kinew premier of Manitoba with a strong mandate for the NDP on October 3^rd.” 

While Heather Stefanson’s PCs offered negative attacks, Bruske said Wab Kinew and the NDP have been able to bring so many Manitobans together behind a constructive and inclusive message. 

“I know Wab Kinew. I have always been impressed with how much he cares about people and his ability to get things done. The way he’s brought together Manitobans from different political backgrounds, like Gary Doer and Lloyd Axworthy, just shows how he’s ready to lead our province,” said Bruske “Now it’s our turn as Manitobans to have our say. We have an opportunity to vote in a government that will bring in the kind of positive change we want.” 

Bruske added that the best way for Manitobans to respond to the negative campaigning of Heather Stefanson and the PCs is to mark their ballot for the optimistic and progressive ideas Wab Kinew and the NDP have brought to this election campaign. 

“We saw Heather Stefanson continue the Pallister legacy of broken promises. Four more years of heartless Stefanson-Pallister governments would be a disaster for our province. Fortunately, Manitobans are seeing through Stefanson’s fearmongering, and demonizing of workers,” concluded Bruske. “Let’s turn the page on handouts to billionaires and cuts to health and education. Let’s elect a government that will put help for people, stronger health care, respect for workers and good jobs back at the heart of Manitoba’s government.” 

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In Canada, an estimated 3 million workers are employed in paid care occupations, amounting to nearly 1 in 5 workers. Most of these workers are women, and are often racialized and newcomer women.

“Our jobs, our families and our economy depend on having our care needs met. We know how crucial these services and caregivers are; from supporting our seniors and our children, to ensuring people living with disabilities can live dignified lives, and more,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “For too long, political leaders and Canadian society have taken both paid and unpaid care work for granted. As a result, much of this work—largely performed by women—remains precarious and undervalued, while those who perform it are at constant risk of violence and harassment.”

“Care workers have shared countless stories of overwork and burnout, low wages, and inadequate working conditions. It’s pushing people out of these sectors, and as more workers leave these problems will only deepen. We must confront this crisis now by boosting wages as a first step, and by developing an integrated care workforce strategy for the long term,” said Siobhán Vipond, CLC Executive Vice-President.

“Care workers deserve better, and so do the people they care for,” said Bruske. “Care work should be rewarded appropriately—with better pay that reflects the value of their work; with good, stable jobs; and with safe and healthy working conditions. Building a better care workforce will ensure that everyone has access to care if or when they need it.”

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“Canada’s unions are looking to MPs from all parties to come together behind swift action to make sure help is there for people facing high prices, stretched budgets and a weakening economy,” urged Bruske. “Parliament must also act urgently on the dual challenges of addressing climate change while creating sustainable jobs.”

Bruske said Canada’s unions expect MPs to make it a top priority to strengthen the Sustainable Jobs Act, C-50, and get the bill passed before the winter break.

“The Americans’ Inflation Reduction Act has challenged the world to act, and many countries are responding. The Sustainable Jobs Act provides a roadmap for Canada’s governments, businesses, and unions to work together and make sure our workers aren’t left behind in the global transition to a low-carbon economy,” warned Bruske. “Climate change is real and getting worse. MPs must make it job one this fall to take smart action that creates the kind of good, sustainable, union jobs that are the cornerstone to building thriving communities.”

Bruske said that Parliament must also act to make things a bit easier for those struggling the most through urgent action to create more affordable homes, make sure EI is there for people when they need it, and pass a new pharmacare act so Canada can implement public, universal pharmacare.

“Building affordable homes and implementing publicly funded and publicly delivered pharmacare are tangible ways we can make sure no one is left with the impossible choice of choosing whether to pay for rent, groceries, or their kid’s medicine. MPs must deliver on pharmacare this fall,” declared Bruske. “3 in 5 unemployed people don’t even qualify for benefits. With unemployment rising and more people being thrown out of work, it’s critical we finally reform EI so help is there for workers when they need it.”

Bruske added that it is also critical the government introduces, and MPs pass, anti-scab legislation this fall.

“We have seen years of record corporate profits while workers’ pay lagged far behind. Workers are rightly demanding more balanced workplaces,” said Bruske. “If we ban the use of scabs once and for all, we can take a real step towards greater labour peace, avoiding work stoppages and building a more balanced economy.” 

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By Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress as published in National Newswatch

Over the next four weeks, Conservatives will spare no expense to try to scare the wits out of you. Their campaign strategy is, in a nutshell, hoping they can panic you into voting for them yet again.

Indeed, my fellow Manitobans, brace yourself for the great ‘Stefansmear’ campaign of 2023.

You will hear false claims about taxes and crime, and dishonest attacks on Wab Kinew’s character. Anything and everything they can think of to keep you from remembering the 7 long years of Conservative broken promises.

But we remember. For over seven years we’ve watched while Brian Pallister, Heather Stefanson, and the whole Conservative gang let us down. Their lack of care and compassion for working people is stunning. Time and again they’ve displayed an almost criminal level of neglect.

Let’s not forget how Conservatives promised action on affordability – but then raised hydro bills. Now they are planning to ding Manitoba families with ‘surge’ energy pricing. Which is government-speak for making you pay more for energy, just when you need it most.

Remember how Conservatives promised a constructive relationship with workers? Then they imposed contracts with lower pay, attacked workers’ rights, cut apprenticeships, and rolled back worker safety.

Who can forget how Conservatives promised 200 more nurses, 80 more paramedics and more personal care home beds? In government, Conservatives then delivered 300 fewer nurses, 87 fewer paramedics and 149 fewer personal care beds.

But look, broken promises aren’t about the numbers, it’s about all the people getting hurt by Conservative policies. If your pay is falling so far behind inflation you can’t make rent, or if you’re waiting for your child to get care in an Emergency Room, or if you’re waiting in vain for a personal care bed for your elderly relative, you’re another Manitoban who’s paying the price for these heartless Conservative policies.

Conservatives try to scare people into thinking you must choose between the fair treatment of workers and a strong economy. Ms. Stefanson has demonized unions. Hypocritically, she attacks workers fighting for fair wages while she gave herself a raise.

The reality is, making workers poorer may make billionaires richer, but it doesn’t help to build thriving communities. No, it’s workers who build and power our economy. This is why I was delighted to see Wab Kinew’s New Democrats already making a commitment to reverse Conservative cuts to training, restore the 1-to-1 apprentice ratio to improve worker safety, and ensure local communities benefit from major projects. Kinew’s plan will put more Manitobans to work and create good, sustainable jobs.

In contrast, for over 7 years we’ve watched as Ms. Stefanson steadily failed her way upwards through the Manitoba government. She was Brian Pallister’s Deputy Premier, his justice minister while crime got worse, his health minister while Conservatives closed three Emergency Rooms in Winnipeg. Despite this, bizarrely, Conservatives gave her a promotion. As premier, she’s cut education, raised energy costs, and failed to fix the health crisis she helped create. Now Ms. Stefanson wants to be rewarded for doing a bad job. It’s time for a change.

I know Wab Kinew, and I know how deeply he cares about how tough things have gotten for working people. He knows what it means to worry about whether care will be there for your kids. He’s been through trial by fire and has the strength of character to stand up to powerful interests. That’s why I trust him to put help for people and good jobs at the centre of his government.

As we mark Labour Day in Manitoba this year, I urge workers and families to see past the latest Conservative promises and their scaremongering rhetoric to take a close look at what they actually delivered over the past 8 years in government. Look at how Conservative policies have made life more expensive for families and hurt workers, then ask yourself: Who cares about people getting good jobs, with fair pay, for an honest day’s work? Who can I trust to help families as their budgets are stretched to the breaking point? Who will make sure public health care is there, not only for my family, but for generations of Manitobans to come?

In 2023, only the NDP are offering this kind of positive change.

Bea Bruske is President of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow her on Twitter @PresidentCLC

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“People are still facing long waits for care and Emergency Room closures while health workers are still experiencing difficult working conditions and unsustainable hours. Five months after a new funding agreement between federal and provincial governments, too little progress has been made,” declared Bruske. “We are facing a pan-Canadian health care crisis. It is disappointing the premiers failed to make more progress on coordinated action to better retain and recruit health care workers and strengthen our public health care system.”

Bruske added that workers were also hoping premiers would put their ideologies aside to come together with a commitment to work with labour, alongside business and the federal government, on an industrial strategy that will ensure Canada’s economy can keep pace as the world moves ahead on the global energy-employment transition.

“While we welcome the premiers’ commitment on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the need for new training supports, we are concerned that some provinces oppose the federal government’s Sustainable Jobs Act,” warned Bruske. “We urge all premiers to come to the table and work with us, the federal government, and business to make sure Canada’s industrial strategy puts good, sustainable union jobs at its heart. That’s how we’ll build thriving and prosperous communities, in every province and every region, for generations to come.”

Workers and families are also looking to the premiers to get to work with other levels of government to help bring down the cost of living.

“Family budgets are overstretched as people struggle to pay for family essentials like food and medicines, while high interest rates drive up housing costs. But governments can do something to help,” explained Bruske. “Governments can come together to deliver more affordable housing, implement publicly funded and publicly delivered pharmacare, and provide targeted support for low-income families. This could really help families get by.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions welcomed the premiers’ commitment to work with the federal government on Employment Insurance reforms, a critical support that isn’t there for many workers just when they need it most.

“Even after paying into the EI system for years, only 2 in 5 unemployed people now qualify for benefits. It’s clear that EI just isn’t up to the job of backstopping workers in a crisis,” warned Bruske. “With signs of an economic downturn and growing job losses, urgently implementing long overdue reforms of our Employment Insurance program must be a top priority.”

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The post Premiers commit to meeting on health care crisis but the need for urgent action remains appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Workers and families are looking to Canada’s premiers for action to fix the health care crisis, help families struggling with still-rising prices, and collaborate with workers on creating sustainable, union jobs in a low-carbon economy,” said Bruske. “We are looking to the premiers to put workers and families at the center of this week’s Council of the Federation.”

Bruske warned that people are particularly frustrated by a lack of progress on health care despite February’s health funding agreement between the premiers and the prime minister.

“Patients face another summer of long wait times and hospitals struggling to keep Emergency Rooms open, while health workers experience unsustainable hours and unacceptable working conditions,” cautioned Bruske. “Governments must work urgently with health care unions to improve working conditions to better recruit and retain workers.”

With wildfires and daily air quality warnings reminding people of the urgency for climate action, Bruske added that it is critical governments bring workers and industry to the table as Canada moves ahead on its clean energy industrial strategy.

“We are seeing a global transition to a low-carbon economy. Canada’s workers, industry and governments must work together to make sure our economy isn’t left behind as the world moves ahead,” explained Bruske. “Building thriving communities of the future starts with putting good, sustainable union jobs at the center of our industrial strategy.”

Bruske added that many people continue to struggle just to get by as prices for housing, food and medicines stretch family budgets to the breaking point.

“Governments must come together to create more affordable housing, implement publicly funded and publicly delivered pharmacare, and provide support for low-income families,” concluded Bruske. “This could go a long way to help families through today’s affordability crisis.”

Bruske’s open letter to the premiers is attached.

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“Workers and their families are looking to Canada’s premiers for concrete solutions to fix health care, action on the affordability crisis and a strong commitment to work with the labour movement to make sure good, sustainable, union jobs are at the heart of our industrial strategy,” said Bruske. “People are struggling. Canada’s health crisis continues while family budgets are stretched to the breaking point.”

Bruske added that people are frustrated that five months after the new health care funding agreement between the prime minister and the premiers, Canadians are still waiting for the promised bilateral deals.

“Patients face long wait times, hospitals struggle to keep Emergency Rooms open while health care workers across the country face another summer of extreme staff shortages, unsustainable hours and unacceptable working conditions,” warned Bruske. “Canada’s Premiers must listen to frontline workers and work with health care unions on measures to improve working conditions, better retain and recruit nurses and ensure the long-term viability of Canada’s cherished public health care system.”

On the climate crisis and the energy – employment transition, Bruske says workers want our politicians to be leaders not laggards.

“Now is the time to act to make sure Canadian workers aren’t left behind as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy,” exclaimed Bruske. “Let’s work together to future-proof our industrial strategy, in every province and every region of our country.”

What:            Comment on workers priorities for Council of the Federation meetings.

Who:             Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress

Where:         By arrangement via phone or zoom.

When:           July 7 – 12, 2023

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The post Workers Looking for Premiers to Act on Health Care, Affordability and Sustainable Jobs appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

OTTAWA – While today’s federal budget includes measures to create good, sustainable jobs and ease financial pressures for some, more action is needed to extend a helping hand to hard-pressed families.

“Canada’s unions applaud the government’s investment in sustainable jobs and training, which will benefit workers as our economy shifts to address the climate crisis,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The government’s move to attach strings to tax credits to ensure that investments in clean energy create good jobs is positive. We will continue pressing for unionized, low‑carbon jobs across all sectors of our economy to ensure workers aren’t left behind.”

Budget 2023 fulfills a significant commitment made in the agreement between the New Democrats and the Liberal government by expanding dental care, benefiting approximately nine million Canadians. However, we were alarmed to see three percent cuts to public sector funding, which could have a significant impact on workers and the services that people rely on.

As well, today’s budget only scratches the surface of Canada’s care crisis. Provincial health funding does not go far enough without accountability to ensure health care is publicly delivered.

“American-style, for-profit clinics drain resources from public systems, costing more and driving up wait times, with dire consequences,” said Bruske. “Our health care system is being slammed by extreme staffing shortages. We need a fully funded workforce plan to retain care workers and recruit staff where they are needed, and direct investments to bolster public health care.”

The government missed an opportunity to overhaul our failing Employment Insurance (EI) system and invest in prescription drug coverage for all Canadians. “The affordability crisis means public programs like universal pharmacare and EI are more critical than ever. It is disappointing that the federal government continues to resist calls to implement a full pharmacare program and fix our inadequate EI system,” she added.

Canada’s unions are also calling for the government to tackle rampant corporate greed.

“The proposed grocery rebate will provide some relief, but it fails to tackle the root of the problem: corporations putting profits before people. While we welcome the introduction of a new 2% tax on share buybacks and a corporate beneficial ownership registry it doesn’t go far enough. Workers are tired of watching their budgets get stretched further while big business rakes in blockbuster profits,” said Bruske.

Canada’s unions will continue to press for the government to make corporations and Canada’s wealthiest pay their fair share, for investments that put money back in workers’ wallets and tackle soaring shelter costs, and concrete action to address the staffing crisis in our care systems.

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Canada’s unions are calling for a workers’ budget, that prioritizes real and strategic investments in publicly funded, publicly delivered services like health care, and measures to permanently strengthen our EI system. 

Workers and their families are falling behind, and our inadequate social safety net is failing them. Workers expect the government to throw them a lifeline. 

What:          CLC President available to talk about Budget 2023 

Where:       In person, by phone or by ZOOM 

When:        March 28, 2023, and/or in advance of the budget, by arrangement 

Who:           Bea Bruske, President of the CLC  

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Contact information: 

CLC Media Relations 
media@clcctc.ca 
613-526-7426  

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“We are happy to see the government prescribe a new standard that mean residents should be able to live in long-term care residences where they will receive the care they deserve,” said Bea Bruske, Canadian Labour Congress President. “But today’s announcement provides no mandatory obligation to use the new standard,” added Bruske.

A week from today, the Prime Minister will be meeting with the premiers to talk about health care funding. Canada’s unions believe it is crucial that long-term care be brought entirely into the public system and regulated under the Canada Health Act.

“In the first months of the pandemic, more than 81 percent of COVID-19 deaths were in long-term care and retirement homes. It is a tragedy,” said Bruske. “We need the government to act urgently to put a stop to for-profit ownership of long-term care homes. For-profit long-term care homes have fewer staff, fewer hours of care per resident per day, lower pay, and more job insecurity,” added Bruske.

Another pressing issue is the shortage of staff in long-term care homes. More for-profit residences will not solve staffing issues, they will only take care workers out of the public system into the private sector.

Canada’s unions are urging the government to act on its promise to table a Safe Long-Term Care Act to ensure that seniors are guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live.

“Governments should keep seniors safe by removing for-profit corporations from the sector, requiring proper staffing and health and safety protections for workers, and raising wages and benefits as well as providing pension plans for long-term care workers,” added Bruske. “This is about strengthening and expanding our public care system—ultimately improving access for Canadians.”

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OTTAWA- As the cabinet retreat adjourns and all parties prepare for the return of Parliament next Monday, Canada’s unions are urging cooperation and collaboration focused on helping struggling families.

December’s CPI numbers showed that inflation is moderating in Canada, but workers continue to see their wages lagging. According to the Bank of Canada’s most recent survey, Canadians are cutting down on their spending by fear of higher interest rates and the specter of a looming recession.

“I hope that Governor Macklem and the Bank of Canada are seriously considering pausing rate hikes this year,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Let’s hope they are just as quick to start reducing rates as they were hiking them. If we are thrown into a recession, that would initiate massive job losses and downward pressure on wages.”

Across the country, the effects of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes are apparent. Big banks are expecting tens of thousands of people to default on their mortgages, and food banks are reporting a massive increase in usage. Meanwhile, before noon on January 3, Canada’s top CEOs had already pocketed the average workers’ annual salary.

“Parliament will resume next week and we’re at a crossroads. The rising costs of food, housing, and prescription medication are affecting everyone, meaning more and more people must make difficult choices – buying food to put on the table or buying the medication their kid needs. No one should have to make that impossible decision,” added Bruske.

“We are seeing public health care failing across the country – we have ERs shutting down, children’s hospitals are swamped, wait times for critical surgeries just keep getting longer and the worst recently happened when people died while waiting for care in an emergency room. At the heart of the crisis facing our health care system right now is the critical shortage of workers – the government needs to address this, and fast,” said Bruske.

To tackle the never-before-seen staff shortage, the government must invest in health care workers with better pay, benefits, pension plan and working conditions. Canada’s unions are asking the government to invest in addressing the underutilization of internationally educated health care workers with meaningful and faster licensure and certification.

Canada’s unions will be urging the government to increase investments in health care and to strongly oppose the privatization of our care systems. The Prime Minister needs to call a First Ministers’ meeting and work with provinces and territories to put in place programs like pharmacare and dental care for all to help alleviate some of the costs families are facing, ultimately helping reduce the impacts of inflation.

Canada’s unions will be pushing the government to fix the shattered Employment Insurance (EI) system. This must start with restoring temporary EI measures until permanent improvements can take effect.

Canada’s unions will also be calling on Parliament to pass anti-scab legislation, quickly. Workers don’t just need anti-scab legislation, they need strong anti-scab legislation. The government has an excellent model for this legislation in NDP MP Boulerice’s private member’s Bill C-302 and we are urging all parties to work together to pass this Bill.

Senators must also act swiftly to pass Bill C-228. This Bill will safeguard the hard-earned pensions of millions of workers and pensioners. It will also ensure that super-priority is given to pensioners and pension plan members in the event of an employer becoming insolvent, meaning they will have to pay pensions before addressing other financial liabilities.

Senators have a historic opportunity to restore fairness for workers and pensioners and ensure the injustice faced by Sears, Nortel, and Stelco workers is never allowed to happen again.

“Parliamentarians working together, across party lines, is key to progress. Cooperation between the New Democrats and the Liberal government resulted in significant gains – and Canada’s unions will continue to push for more cooperation to tackle the pressing challenges ahead of us,” said Bruske.

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Winston Churchill famously said, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste,’ and clearly Premiers Doug Ford in Ontario and Danielle Smith in Alberta, took note. Both are seizing this crisis in our health care system to institute huge, ideologically motivated changes to health care delivery. They promise a quick fix, but what they really want is to privatize as much of the system as they can, ripping away at the bedrock of our public health care system.

Reports predict that this week Premier Doug Ford will propose a massive shift of tax dollars from public hospitals to private surgical and diagnostic clinics. Make no mistake, the increased use of for-profit clinics will mean two clear outcomes: first, it will result in less funding for our public health system; and second, it will make the current health care worker shortage even worse.

The reality is private facilities are more focused on maximizing their profits than maximizing positive patient outcomes. Even if these are single-payer health facilities, where you can use your health card, for-profit care means dollars siphoned away from public hospitals to private investors. We saw during the pandemic that for-profit long-term care homes saw higher mortality rates than those that were not-for-profit. Innovative ideas for improving health care delivery are welcome but moving towards a U.S. style for-profit care model won’t benefit everyday people, but it will mean private investors are poised to make millions.

At the heart of the crisis facing the Canadian health care system right now is the critical shortage of workers, full stop. Health care employees who went above and beyond the entire pandemic are exhausted and fed up. Short-staffed facilities are clamoring to fill vacancies but it’s hard to retain demoralized staff.

Recruiting a new generation of health care workers into workplaces facing this level of crisis is a monumental challenge. It will be made even harder if more health workers head for private surgical clinics and empty out our public hospitals. It’s a simple question of math. One nurse removed from the public system and placed into a private facility won’t be easily replaced. Just last week we learned from Ontario Nurses’ Association interim president Bernie Robinson that Ontario’s nurse-to-population ratio is the worst in Canada. The Ford government’s bizarre suggestion that it would be the same staff working at the for-profit clinics shows his government simply doesn’t grasp the problem. Is the same nurse already being forced to work double shifts now expected to add a third or fourth shift at a private clinic?

Ford and other conservatives keep repeating the mantra that people just want better care and don’t care how it is delivered. But people do care. Recent polling released by the Ontario Federation of Labour showed that 60 percent of Ontarians oppose private health care delivery. And this number will only grow when someone is rushed to the hospital for urgent care only to find the surgeon out moonlighting at a private clinic, padding the bank accounts of investors off quick and easy procedures.

We are seeing public health care failing across the country. But the solution isn’t for-profit clinics taking money out of the public system. What we need is all levels of government to come together behind a plan to strengthen our public health care system, starting with addressing the critical shortage of health workers we are facing across the country.

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“Investments in care are essential if we’re going to reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid work and pave the way for women to take on paid work, or to access education or training,” said Bea Bruske, CLC President. “If women are going to have equal opportunities and equal access to the labour force, then Canada must address its care crisis. In addition to unpaid care duties, many women work in care jobs: jobs that are undervalued, underpaid and often have poor working conditions. We need drastic change to achieve true gender equality.”

It is estimated that Canada’s care economy employs roughly one in five workers in the Canadian labour force. Whether it’s health care, education, child care, elder care, domestic work, social services, care for persons with disabilities, community centres and more, care work is crucial to the wellbeing of our communities and our economy.

However, years of chronic government underfunding, coupled with increased privatisation and a worrying shift of care to for-profit businesses has left us with a broken care system. According to the OECD, Canada falls near the bottom among wealthy countries in its public expenditure on social services. This has led to a decreasing level of quality of care as well as an overall erosion of decent working conditions for workers in the care economy.

This is why Canada’s unions recently launched Show We Care, a national campaign aimed at highlighting care workers in Canada and calling for investments to fix the struggling systems.

In Canada, women make up nearly 75 percent of Canada’s care workers and research shows that their involvement in care work, particularly unpaid care, is a critical factor in shaping women’s employment and trajectories for lifetime earnings. Statistics Canada estimated that in 2019 alone, the economic value of unpaid household work in Canada was equivalent to between $515 billion and $860 billion. That amounts to a quarter or as high as 37 percent of Canada’s nominal GDP that year.

“Gender Equality Week is a significant opportunity for our federal government to take stock of the gender inequities in our broken care systems and commit to action,” said Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. “It’s past time for federal decision makers to take action and show they care by repairing Canada’s failing care systems.”

Unions are calling on the federal government to address the care crisis by:

• Forming a Care Economy Commission to study, design and implement a comprehensive Canadian care strategy;
• Making significant and on-going investments in public social infrastructure and care work to ensure an equitable and sustainable economic recovery;
• Implementing standards and investments to address shortfalls and inequitable levels of care for seniors and persons with disabilities, including in long-term care, home care and palliative care;
• Ensuring that the new investments in early learning and childhood education in every province and territory address the child care workforce crisis;
• Ratifying the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 189 to ensure decent work and protections for domestic workers; and
• Establishing pathways to permanent residency for migrant workers, many of whom deliver care, and ensure migrant workers have comprehensive worker protections to prevent exploitation and abuse.

“Our jobs, our families and our economy depend on having our care needs met,” said Bruske. “We need federal leadership to make Canada a place where everyone has the care they need, and caregivers have the recognition, support and compensation they deserve.”

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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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“The global care economy is in crisis. Here in Canada, underfunding, privatization and a lack of resources and supports for care workers has led to critical understaffing,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Each of us will need care at some point in our lives, but the shameful undervaluing of care workers – who are mostly women – has brought our care systems to the brink of collapse. Care workers are there for us during some of our most vulnerable moments, so we must support them in demanding better. Governments can’t claim to want to achieve pay equity while simultaneously ignoring the care crisis.”

In Canada, care jobs employ roughly one fifth of all workers, with women occupying 75% of those positions. Canada benefits greatly from both paid and unpaid care, with these services contributing tens of billions of dollars to the country’s economy. But successive rounds of cuts and concerted efforts at privatizing services have created a patchwork system, which is struggling under the weight of chronic underfunding and now, a global pandemic.

Meanwhile unpaid care, which is most often done by women, can impact women’s participation in the job market. Care responsibilities can significantly hinder a woman’s ability to access and maintain a good, stable job with decent pay.

Canada’s unions recently launched Show We Care, a national campaign aimed at raising the profile of care workers in Canada and addressing the mounting care crisis.

In Canada, it is estimated that the increased demands for care driven by the ageing population will add $93 billion to health care costs by 2028. And yet, according to the OECD, Canada falls near the bottom among wealthy countries in public expenditure on social services. The tragic losses of life in for-profit long-term care homes point to the failures of the private, for-profit model. These institutions have less staff, fewer hours of care per resident, more complaints from residents and family, more acute care hospital admissions, and higher mortality rates than public long-term care homes.

“Chronic underfunding has led to an erosion of available care, which has drastically increased the cost of care services. In addition to insufficient wages, poor working conditions, lack of support for workers, and harassment and violence in the workplace are driving workers out of the care sector,” said Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice President of the CLC “To mark International Equal Pay Day, Canada’s unions are calling on our federal government to make immediate investments across all care sectors, to lift wages for underpaid care workers and ensure good jobs that result in high quality care for people in Canada and their families.”

International Equal Pay Day – marked annually on September 18 – was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 and first marked in 2020.

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OTTAWA–Canada’s unions are marking Labour Day by celebrating the hard-fought gains of the labour movement and bringing workers, their families and allies together in solidarity, united in their commitment to the important work ahead.

“The collective power of workers and our long fight for fairness has delivered the forty-hour work week, pensions, weekends and so much more. Unions have paved a path to the middle class for millions of Canadians,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Today, more and more people are standing up, joining unions and demanding better. Coming together to fight for good jobs with fair wages, better benefits and improved working conditions.”

With workers struggling to afford necessities, as inflation skyrockets and wages lag well behind, Canada is seeing growing momentum behind workers fighting back against those trying to make workers pay for today’s affordability crisis.

“We keep hearing Bay St. CEOs calling for austerity and warning about rising wages. But this corporate scaremongering ignores the fact that while corporations are doing better than ever, wages aren’t keeping up and family budgets are breaking under the weight of runaway costs for housing, food, transportation and so many other daily essentials,” explained Bruske. “What we have seen is growing ‘greedflation’ from profitable companies, using the crisis to jack up prices, rake in record profits and drive-up inflation.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions will also continue to fight for government action to fix our public health crisis and address health worker shortages; help families struggling to survive the affordability crisis; and tackle climate change in a way that creates good jobs and leaves no worker behind.

“Canada’s unions stand united in the face of greedy corporations and demand governments make mega-profitable companies pay their fair share and play their part in making sure our economy can bounce back and people can prosper. We cannot solve today’s economic crisis by leaving workers and families behind,” concluded Bruske. “Today we march together in communities across Canada, in solidarity, because we believe in a country where workers have the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.”

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OTTAWA––As families in communities across the country face closures of emergency departments, hospitals, intensive care units and birthing centres, Canada’s unions are demanding quick action from Canada’s leaders to address this health care crisis.

Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanding he call an emergency First Ministers’ meeting and reconvene parliament in order to urgently shore up our public health care system.

“Parents shouldn’t live in worry that they take their child to Emergency only to find it shuttered. Our crumbling public health care system is facing a crisis that requires leadership from all levels of government,” warned Bruske. “This starts with the PM and every premier coming together, working alongside health care professionals, to make sure people can access the care they need.”

Bruske pointed out that when the political will is there, quick action is possible. Canada developed a COVID response plan and had new programs up and running in weeks.

“Despite the fact health care workers have been warning us for years about chronic underfunding and a coming staffing crisis, governments failed to act. Then COVID-19 revealed to everyone just how unprepared we were for a crisis,” continued Bruske. “Let’s take the right lessons away from the pandemic and come together, across party lines and at all levels of government, to solve this crisis.”

Bruske added that it is critical that the voices and experiences of frontline nurses and other health workers – who are burning out in record numbers – are at the centre of measures governments bring forward. This must start with provinces reversing laws that took away bargaining rights from health workers.

“Canadians have long expressed their pride for Canada’s universal public health care system. But instead of supporting the workers who deliver this care to Canadians, some governments passed Draconian laws that took away their rights and cut their pay,” concluded Bruske. “Governments must now work collaboratively with health workers on lasting solutions that build a more resilient public health care system.”

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Link to the official letter here.

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OTTAWA –Canada’s unions are celebrating today’s decision from the BC Court of Appeal in the Cambie Surgeries Corporation (CSC) case. Protecting and strengthening our public health care system is critical, especially with the current crisis in health care across our country. Today’s decision by the court upholds the BC Supreme Court’s September 2020 decision that safeguarded the key principles of public health care.

“For years, Dr. Brian Day and his well-financed powerful allies have used everything in their arsenal to try to erode key tenets of our universal health care system and threaten universal and equal access health care in our country,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Thank you to the many organizations and activists who worked so hard for this victory. Your work has been critical in defending our universal health care system.”

The BC Court of Appeal decision comes following the earlier court decision in the Cambie case which put Canada’s public medicare system on trial and threatened the principle of universal and equal access to health care.

“The push for profit-driven care in this country was delivered another significant blow today. But we know the fight isn’t over. While we expect this case will continue to the Supreme Court and Canada’s unions stand ready to defend our universal, single-payer health care system,” continued Bruske. “Repairing and strengthening the public health care system will take the combined efforts by all levels of government. Canada’s Premiers have called for a First Ministers’ Meeting on the topic of health care in Canada and Canada’s unions are calling on our political leaders to improve our health care system for everyone, not just for the people with the ability to pay.”

Bruske added that it is important to remember that the 2020 decision by the BC Supreme Court, at over 800 pages, was one of the most comprehensive verdicts in BC Supreme court history.

“Canadian courts and citizens have already ruled on this issue. Canadians do not want us to usher in a profit-driven, multi-payer health care system. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything – it is precisely how critical our universal, equally accessible health care system is. Now is the time to strengthen it”

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“Canada’s health care workers are looking at yet another summer without a break as terrible staffing shortages put an unbearable strain on the people who deliver care,” said Bruske, who was in Victoria this week to engage the premiers. “Canada’s unions support the premiers’ call for increased investments from the federal government. But new funding must include accountability and be tied to strengthening public health care and addressing the dangerous shortage of health workers.”

Bruske said new investments must also be linked to action that ensures all Canadians have access to affordable medicines and dental care; establishes standards and gets profits out of long-term care; and fights back against creeping privatization, so quality public health care is there for generations of Canadians to come.

“Frontline health care workers have been warning for years about the damage chronic underfunding has been doing to our public health care system, damage laid bare by the pandemic. Sadly, governments failed to heed these warnings,” continued Bruske. “Now, only provincial, territorial and federal governments working together with health care workers can fix this crisis.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions wanted to thank B.C. Premier John Horgan for putting health care front and centre for the Council of the Federation.

“Let me add a sincere thank you to John Horgan,” concluded Bruske. “As chair of the Council, Premier Horgan has put strengthening health care at the centre of the premiers’ agenda. His positive and constructive leadership will be missed.”

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“Extreme staffing shortages and years of chronic underfunding are placing an unbearable strain on health workers and putting our public health care system at risk,” said Bruske. “Canada’s unions will be in Victoria to bring a clear message to the premiers from workers: we need urgent action to strengthen health delivery, improve access and make sure Canada’s public health care system is there to care for Canadians, for generations to come.”

Bruske said that repairing the public health care system will take the combined efforts by all levels of government and warned that Canada’s unions will strongly oppose any attempts to further privatize Canadian health care.

“We agree with the premiers that fixing health care requires substantial additional investments from the federal government. But new funding must include accountability for improving the delivery of health care,” continued Bruske. “Creeping privatization undermines access to quality care and must be stopped in its tracks.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions are looking to the premiers to agree on urgent action to fix health care worker shortages; improve access to care; implement pharmacare; establish a standard of care and get profits out of long-term care; invest in mental health care; and ensure affordable dental care is there for everyone.

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OTTAWA –– A new report shows billions of dollars in public funds for long-term care have been diverted from patient care into the pockets of shareholders. Canada’s unions call on the federal government to make long-term care part of Canada’s public health care system.

“This report is brutal evidence of higher death rates and lower levels of care at for‑profit long‑term care homes across Ontario,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Despite all this, Conservatives want more private care homes and privatized health care services. We can’t let that happen.”

Canadians for Tax Fairness released the report, Careless Profits, today. Their analysis shows that over the last decade $3.8 billion in public funds have been converted to profits instead of going to residents or staffing. They also estimate that 1,400 lives could have been saved during the pandemic if those funds had been spent on better care. 

For decades, Ontario’s long-term care sector has been weakened by chronic underfunding, severe staffing shortages and poor oversight. Staff at for-profit homes have been sounding the alarm for years, and they were proven right when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

As of May 18, 2022, Ontario accounted for one-third of all long‑term care resident deaths in Canada. Ontario has the highest proportion of for-profit long-term care homes in Canada.

“At the start of the pandemic 80 percent of deaths from COVID-19 were in long‑term care homes and still the focus was on profits, not patient care. It’s despicable,” said Bruske. “It’s time to eliminate for-profit care homes and focus on decent jobs in the industry as it becomes more and more important to our population.” 

Ontario’s government has announced funding for new long-term care beds. The majority of those will go to for-profit companies, including those with some of the worst track records.

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OTTAWA –– After waiting three decades, Canada’s unions welcome today’s decision by the Canadian government to reverse its discriminatory blood donation policy, which had been in place since 1992.   

“This is a positive step in addressing ongoing systemic discrimination experienced by 2SLGBTQI people,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).  “By ending the ban on blood donation for men who have sex with men, the government and Canadian Blood Services are finally ending this discriminatory and unscientific practice which perpetuated negative homophobic and transphobic stereotypes.”

The ban reinforced a negative stigma surrounding men who have sex with men and misgendered trans women for the purposes of blood donation, preventing potentially healthy donors from donating blood.

“It should not have taken such a long time to ensure that all people are treated equally. Fear and negative stereotypes about men who have sex with men made this ban last for three decades,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President. “Today, the government and Canadian Blood Services have adopted criteria that is gender neutral with behaviour-based screening and finally ended this unacceptable homophobic and transphobic policy, once and for all. Now Canadian Blood Services must work to earn the trust of the 2SLGBTQI community and encourage much-needed donations.”

The federal Liberals made a campaign promise in 2015 to end the discriminatory blood ban following years of activism and pressure from the 2SLGBTQI and human rights advocates. The ban has been challenged at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, and in June 2021 the federal government lost an attempt to terminate the tribunal’s inquiry.  

“Today we celebrate alongside all of the activists and the 2SLGBTQI community and we thank the advocates who have worked so hard to make this day possible,” said Bruske. “This victory has taken far too long, but today’s announcement is about saving lives, and making up for years of missed opportunities for those who were excluded from donating simply because of their sexuality or gender identity”.

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OTTAWA – On the eve of federal, provincial and territorial labour minister meetings, chaired by Minister Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s unions are urging Canada’s leaders to protect our communities from COVID-19 and other future viruses by making sure workers have access to 10 paid sick days in every jurisdiction across Canada.

“Public health and worker protection go hand in hand. Throughout the pandemic, we saw that when workers can’t stay home, our communities pay the price with more outbreaks and worse health outcomes,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “The reality is, we know paid sick leave saves lives. We urge the Minister of Labour to work with the provinces and territories to make sure all Canadian workers can stay home when sick by having access to 10 days of paid sick leave.”

While Canada’s unions welcomed the passage of federal legislation, they are urging the government to accelerate the law’s implementation.

“We thank parliamentarians and the government for passing the federal law so swiftly, and unanimously. But the pandemic is not over and new variants are swirling,” said Bruske. “It is critical that the government now brings this law into force immediately, so federally-regulated workers can begin accessing these sick days as soon as possible.”

Bruske added that the right to access sick leave must be accompanied by changes to workplace culture, so workers feel free to use their sick days. She pointed to how some of the existing provincial programs were underused, especially for non-unionized staff, because of pressure from employers. This particularly impacted care workers, from health care to child care to long-term care.

“Many unionized workers have already won hard-fought access to paid sick leave,” said Bruske. “Now we need to make sure new sick leave programs are designed to be used – and employees are no longer pressured to come to work when sick or fear losing their job.”

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OTTAWA––As we mark the first 100 days of this government tomorrow, Canada’s unions welcome progress made on a number of important issues. But with families reeling from rising prices and the pandemic still running through our communities, too many people are being left without help when they need it most.

“We saw the parties work together to make welcome progress over the past 100 days, including passing bills to ban conversion therapy; establish 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers and protect health care workers from harassment,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

“Now we are asking the government and parliament over the next 100 weeks to deliver on stronger and more comprehensive public health care, permanent improvements to EI, help for families struggling with rising prices, and action on fighting climate change, including Just Transition legislation and investments in public transit, clean energy and green manufacturing.”

Bruske also pointed to the government’s promise to bring together the provinces and territories behind a national plan to legislate paid sick leave across the country and the need to better help workers affected by the Omicron wave.

“Despite the pandemic raging now for almost two years, workers are still fighting for the right to stay home when they’re sick and emergency support for when they can’t work. That’s just wrong,” said Bruske. “Every worker, in every province and territory, must have access to critical paid sick leave and emergency help when they’re forced out of work. This is vital for keeping our families and communities safe.”

Bruske added that all political parties have a responsibility to put workers and their families at the centre of Parliament’s work.

“Too often we are seeing heightened political rhetoric when people are looking for their elected representatives to just roll up their sleeves and get down to work for them,” concluded Bruske. “Canada’s unions will continue to actively engage MPs on behalf of millions of working families in this country looking for real progress on the issues that matter.”

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OTTAWA––With our public health systems facing a crisis point, Canada’s unions are demanding that increases to federal health transfers must be tied to delivering better health care to Canadian families.

“We see dire shortages of health workers across the country. Long-term care residents and workers struggle while private owners extract large profits. Mental health care for people to access when they need help most. Families struggle to pay for needed medicine. People want their governments to now work together on practical solutions,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “With the future of our cherished public health system at stake, a no-strings-attached approach just doesn’t cut it.”

Bruske noted that whether it was Jason Kenney in Alberta, Doug Ford in Ontario, or recent governments in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Conservative governments have a pattern of cutting health care while spending more on tax giveaways to people who didn’t need it.

“The simple reality is, handing out blank cheques to Conservative premiers won’t fix nursing shortages, repair long-term care, provide better mental health services or implement pharmacare,” said Bruske. “Provinces are facing a health funding crisis and the answer must include increased transfers. But we cannot afford for some provinces to take this money and use if for tax giveaways instead of stronger public health care.”

Bruske added that after almost two years of COVID-19 straining our health care system, it is vital that governments learn the right lessons from the pandemic.

“The pandemic showed us the hard way how our health care system has been underfunded for years. It must be bolstered now to handle the next crisis,” concluded Bruske. “Canada’s unions will keep pushing for new investments to be tied to achieving real improvement to our public health care systems.”

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I think almost everyone can agree 2021 was a rough year. The pandemic we hoped was ending now rolls on with new variants and new disruptions.

But in 2021 we also saw some hopeful signs of what’s possible when people work together in common cause. Workers with newfound confidence demanding better. People seeking out jobs that offered regular schedules, better wages, and less precarity. Increased unionization rates in the middle of a pandemic.

That’s the energy Canada’s unions are bringing into 2022. So as everyone gets going on their New Year’s resolutions, we’ve got a few of our own. And we intend to keep them.

This is our time to build and our time to demand better. By lunchtime on January 4, Canada’s highest paid CEOs had already made the same pay that an average worker will take home for the year. Which is why Canada’s unions have resolved that 2022 is the year that the country’s top earners will pay their fair share.

Enough of these $10 million pay days for high-ranking executives. Enough of tax loopholes and bailout programs that support millionaires and billionaires. Frontline workers have been the ones to keep us all afloat through the last 22 months. It’s unconscionable that they’ve struggled to make ends meet while Canada’s top earners had one of their most profitable years ever in 2020.

In 2022 we must also resolve to permanently fix Employment Insurance and stop letting so many workers and their families fall through the cracks in hard times. As Omicron is teaching us, we can’t keep lurching from wave to wave; we must instead get ready for the next crisis. Supports for people thrown out of work were inadequate before the pandemic and the federal government’s new Lockdown Benefit is falling far short of the mark.

Our public health care has struggled under the strain of the pandemic and chronic staffing shortages. Health care workers are overextended and underpaid, and burnout rates among health care workers are at an all-time high. We must resolve to strengthen public health care, starting with investments in more nurses and health professionals. And we can save lives and improve living conditions by taking profits out of long-term care.

With so many drowning under the rising costs of essentials, we must resolve to make life more affordable in 2022. We can save families thousands through investments in affordable housing, making child care available and accessible to every parent, and actually implementing pharmacare.

Positive change is within our grasp – if we in the labour movement can work together with governments, civil society, and business. But we must learn the right lessons from the past 22 months of pandemic and make the right investments – so our communities are ready when the next crisis hits.

2021 showed us the road may be hard at times. We must resolve, together, to respond with resilience, determination, and real ambition to do better in 2022.

Bea Bruske is the president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow her on Twitter @PresidentCLC

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The recent state of emergency in British Columbia (BC) is the latest example of the clear and increasingly disastrous impacts of our global climate crisis. Communities across the province experienced flooding, mudslides and extreme weather, leaving residents displaced or stranded. This extreme weather came after a summer of catastrophic forest fires in BC, causing untold distress for residents, including migrant workers living and working temporarily in the province.

“These events further exposed the magnitude of the climate emergency upon us. But they also underscored just how vulnerable migrant workers are in Canada, most without access to proper protections and supports” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Like other workers, migrant workers in Canada should have social protections, labour rights and full access to healthcare services.”

Furthermore, Canada’s unions continue to urge the federal government to provide a pathway to permanent residency for those workers who want it, and to end the closed work permit system which ties migrant workers to one employer and replace it with open work permits.

Climate change continues to be a considerable driver of migration worldwide, and as our global climate crisis worsens, the number of climate migrants – people who are displaced from their homes due to the effects of climate change – will only increase.

During the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Lancet Migration urged all nations to make community-led interventions addressing the issue of migration as a result of climate change a priority, and to urgently strengthen services and systems for migrants.

In Canada, migrant workers are already a particularly vulnerable population when it comes to navigating major social and economic crises – like the climate crisis or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They face barriers to accessing critical social services, including health care and employment insurance, as well as worker protections, all due to immigration status. Their precarious status may also affect their ability to find employment if displaced or if these workers lose their jobs.

A new report from Canada’s Auditor General also demonstrates that the government checks and balances meant to protect the wellbeing of these workers are not working. The report, which reviewed inspections carried out by the department responsible for assessing the pandemic protections for temporary foreign workers, shows government failure to protect migrant workers in Canada’s agricultural sector. The report showed problems in almost three quarters of quarantine inspections assessed during the course of the study.

“Without comprehensive worker and social protections to safeguard against employer exploitation, mistreatment, abuse and discriminatory workplace policies, the safety and lives of migrant workers are being repeatedly put a risk,” said Bruske. “Migrant workers have played an essential part in keeping our communities cared for throughout the pandemic, and like all workers, deserve justice and a fair future.”

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OTTAWA – Canada’s unions, civil society groups, business and academics wrote to the prime minister today urging the government to use the upcoming Economic and Fiscal Update to take the next step forwards on implementing universal public pharmacare.

The letter, from Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske and other concerned groups, outlined how the government is falling behind the recommendations of their own Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare.

“We should be poised to celebrate the next step towards universal pharmacare, instead we continue to see millions of Canadians unable to afford the medicines they need,” said Bea Bruske. “We have experienced too many missed opportunities and are witnessing too many people being left behind. With family budgets stretched so thin, more and more Canadians are being forced to make impossible choices between buying groceries or paying for their medication.”

Bruske noted that despite the government’s repeated commitment to be guided by the Advisory Council’s recommendations, 2021 is shaping up to be another year where little to no progress has been made towards making medicines accessible to all Canadians.

“Canada is the only country with universal public health care that hasn’t implemented national drug coverage. With bold leadership from the federal government, as we have seen on child care, we can make pharmacare happen in 2022,” concluded Bruske. “The upcoming Economic and Fiscal Update and next spring’s Budget are critical opportunities for the government and Parliament to make concrete progress on implementing universal pharmacare – and finally give all Canadians equal access to the medications they require.”

Bruske added that the Advisory Council had called for the government to invest $3.5 billion for coverage of the most common medicines by January 1, 2022 as the first step in implementing universal public pharmacare. A full universal pharmacare plan would lead to $5 billion a year in savings on prescription drug spending each year.

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Hundreds of workers have been engaging MPs about the need for swift action to help struggling seniors and better support care workers as Parliament works to end the pandemic and start Canada along the long road towards an equitable economic recovery.

“Hundreds of union members reached out to over 140 MPs and sent over 1,700 letters, sharing powerful stories explaining the urgent need for Parliament to make sure people are not left behind,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “A critical first step would be for the government to use the upcoming Economic and Fiscal Update to immediately end the unfair GIS clawbacks tens of thousands of low-income seniors are now facing.”

Canada’s unions’ Action Week also involved 265 union members reaching out to meet their MP, almost 10,000 peer-to-peer text conversations, and 574 people engaged in training and webinars.

“With rising inflation and so many Canadians still struggling, union members are delivering a clear message to Parliamentarians that it is vital they remain focussed on helping people,” said Bruske. “MPs heard from care workers who have spent the past 20 months working around the clock on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 about their need for better support. Care workers have had our backs, now it’s time MPs have theirs.”

Bruske added that energy workers also engaged MPs with a clear message that action against climate change is imperative – and this must include investments in green infrastructure, green jobs and a just transition so no worker is left behind.

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“Workers are raising their voices to make sure our elected representatives hear, loud and clear, about the need for concrete action to make life more affordable and an economic recovery plan that puts workers and their families at its heart,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “This is an opportunity for MPs to better understand the real challenges facing the people they were elected to represent.”

The CLC has been working with hundreds of workers from across the country to help them get ready to meet virtually with MPs and tell their stories.

Canada’s unions will continue to push the government and MPs from all parties to work together on a fair, progressive and worker-centred economic recovery. This includes action to:

• Bolster our social safety net through programs and services workers rely on, like child care, paid sick days and a permanent fix to employment insurance.
• Strengthen our public health care system, including through universal pharmacare, public long-term care and investments in mental health care.
• Invest in the care economy and replace lost jobs with better ones that keep workers safe and supported.
• Act on climate change through investments in green infrastructure and a just transition that makes sure no worker is left behind.

“It is vital MPs hear from workers as they move forward on the economic recovery. The reality is, there is no recovery without workers,” said Bruske. “We will make sure that every MP hears how workers kept this country running during the pandemic, and it’s long past time we build a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable economy.”

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OTTAWA – Canada’s unions are welcoming today’s announcement of new legislation making 10 days of paid sick leave available for all workers in federally-regulated workplaces as a positive step forward for public health and worker protection.

“Paid sick leave saves lives. We thank the federal government for taking this important step forward to better protect workers and create safer workplaces,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “We have seen throughout the pandemic that if workers can’t stay home when sick, our communities pay a price with more COVID outbreaks and worse public health outcomes. We call on all parties to work together to quickly pass this bill.”

Bruske added that protecting workers must also include protecting their right to access sick leave when they need it, pointing to how some of the provincial programs have been underutilized, especially for non-unionized staff, because of pressure from employers. This has been particularly true for the people tasked with caring for others, including health care workers, child care workers and long-term care workers.

“Many unionized workers have already won hard-fought access to paid sick leave,” said Bruske. “Now we need to make sure this new sick leave program is designed to be used – and employees are no longer pressured to come to work when sick or fear losing their job.”

Bruske also said Canada’s unions welcome new measures to protect health care workers from harassment but cautioned that the right to strike and organize must be explicitly protected in any new law.

“The Charter of Rights protects workers’ rights to organize, unionize and, when necessary, go out on picket lines,” said Bruske. “Through unions, workers have achieved so much – from the 5-day work week to things like paid sick leave. It is vital that any new law protects the rights of workers.”

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“The reality is, each and every one of us has needed and will need to be cared for.”

“Today, Canada’s unions join workers and organizations around the world marking the Global Day of Action for Care.”

“We have all seen how COVID-19 has devastated families and communities and how care work has been exploited and undervalued. Canada’s unions join the International Trade Union Confederation in calling for increased investment in better jobs for care workers and immediate action to build a more resilient and robust care system. We must learn from this crisis and repair our tattered social safety net.”

“We saw the failures of our long-term care system during this pandemic, the ongoing strain on our nurses and health care workers, and the additional stresses and risk put on domestic workers, child care providers and others who could not work from home. We saw the increased burden of unpaid care work that led so many women to leave the workforce altogether. No one can deny our care systems are broken.”

“If governments are serious about building an inclusive and equitable recovery, they must invest in better, safer jobs and quality public health and care services.”

“Care work includes health care and mental health, child care, early childhood education, care for the elderly and people with disabilities, domestic work, and other vital social and health care services that support our families and communities. It is a sector dominated by low-wage and often precarious workers who are predominantly women. Racialized, immigrant and migrant women are disproportionately represented in these jobs.”

“Public investments in the care economy would begin addressing the pandemic’s impact on women’s labour force participation by reducing and redistributing the unfair distribution of unpaid care work, creating high-quality green jobs and helping meet current and rising care needs – creating a more equitable and resilient care system.”

“This is vital work that deserves dignity, respect, social protection, and fair compensation. Only through policies and programs that strengthen our social infrastructure and recognize the value of this work will we achieve an equitable and inclusive economic recovery – and be prepared to deal with future disasters.”

Canada’s unions call on the Government of Canada to:

• Prioritize the signing of child care agreements with the remaining provinces and territories and increase investment in early learning and child care workers;
• Form a Care Economy Commission to study, design and implement a comprehensive Canadian care strategy;
• Ratify the International Labour Organization’s Convention 189 on decent work for domestic workers;
• Offer a pathway to permanent residency to all migrant workers and ensure migrant workers have comprehensive worker protections to prevent exploitation and abuse;
• Invest in public social infrastructure and care work as part of Canada’s commitment to green jobs amid the climate crisis.

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“With women so disproportionately impacted by the economic crisis that accompanied the pandemic, it is not enough that Mr. Trudeau appoints a cabinet based on gender parity. The new cabinet must take concrete action to address the significant setbacks to women’s labour force participation over the last 18 months. This includes immediately implementing child care agreements in every province and territory.

“Canada’s unions look forward to working with Prime Minister Trudeau and the new federal cabinet on the pressing issues facing workers and their families.

“With the high cost of housing and growing affordability challenges plaguing so many essentials families rely on, we welcome the new creation of a Minister of Housing. This must be a top priority for the government, and we look forward to working closely with Minister Ahmed Hussen.

“We also welcome the creation of the position of Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and look to Carolyn Bennett to urgently address the opioid crisis, which has caused so much pain across Canada.

“We look forward to working with the new Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan. His first priorities should be making sure that basic employment standards are extended to all workers in Canada, implementing a permanent fix for our broken EI system and ensuring all workers have a path to unionization.

“Now that the new cabinet is in place, the government must now demonstrate it is serious about building an inclusive and equitable recovery by investing in better, safer jobs and strengthening quality public health and our country’s care services.”

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With a new First Ministers’ Meeting date not yet set, Canada’s unions are calling on the Premiers and the Prime Minister to listen to the millions of Canadians demanding that new health care funding actually invests in strengthening our public health care systems.

The fall meeting of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial Premiers at the Council of Federation was scheduled for today, October 5^th, but was cancelled following the federal election.

“With the future of Canada’s cherished public health care hanging in the balance, a no-strings-attached approach is simply a non-starter for Canadians looking for quality care. People want governments to work together and invest in real solutions,” said Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Canadians know you can’t just cut a blank cheque and then close your eyes and wish for an end to the devastating crisis in long-term care, better primary care access, an end to nursing shortages, or make much-needed medicines affordable for everyone.”

The Canadian Labour Congress campaigned during the recent election for an economic recovery that includes stronger, publicly delivered health care. For that to happen, all levels of government must work with health care workers and advocates to deliver improvements to existing public health care, implement universal pharmacare and take profits out of long-term care delivery.

“Canadians want LTC residents to be properly cared for. They want nurses and doctors in their community. They want faster access to testing and diagnostics,” said Bruske. “What they don’t want are governments being handed tens of billions in new funding that are then used for things like tax giveaways.”

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The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and provincial nurses’ unions across Canada are holding a National Day of Action today, making sure our health care system is top of mind when voters go to vote on Monday.

“We’ve seen a pandemic with devastating consequences on frontline health workers after more than a decade of chronic nursing shortages,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “It’s long past time nurses receive basic respect, safety and fairness. Canada’s unions are proud to stand in solidarity today with nurses across the country.”

Overworked, underpaid and suffering under the pressure of the pandemic on their work and life, hospital staff are leaving their jobs at an alarming rate. Overtime is up almost 80% on average, and almost 140% in Ontario and Quebec. For Black, Indigenous, and racialized nurses, they also can face daily discrimination.

Nursing unions have been warning about the crisis and the urgent need for governments to invest in nursing.

“The pandemic has made clear to everyone how years of health care cuts, started by Stephen Harper and Erin O’Toole, left a tattered health care system. Mr. O’Toole says he’ll restore the cuts, but only years down the road. The crisis is right now,” said Bruske. “Nurses are right to say they’re done waiting. I urge voters to reject Mr. O’Toole’s empty words and vote to strengthen our public health care system.”

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media@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

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OTTAWA – Health care systems are on the brink. Alberta is witnessing 1,500 new cases a day and rising while their health care system is on the verge of collapse. Saskatchewan saw a record 506 new cases. Cases are spiking in New Brunswick.

To make matters worse, Statistics Canada reported that nearly one-in-five job vacancies in Canada was in health care and social assistance. Many workers in the care economy are underpaid and working under poor conditions – most are women, and many are Black, Indigenous, racialized or recent immigrants and migrants.

“From coast-to-coast-to-coast, our health care systems are strained to the breaking point,” said Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske. “Erin O’Toole talks like he supports public health care but when you look at his policies, he’s just another Conservative opening the door to privatization and leaving care workers behind. The bulk of his promised new health funding – if it ever actually happened – would be years down the road.”

While Alberta’s health care system is buckling under premier Jason Kenney’s mishandling of the fourth wave, his Conservative government is still planning cuts. In Ontario yesterday, the independent Financial Accountability Office revealed that the Doug Ford Conservative government spent $2.6 billion less than planned in the fiscal first quarter.

“From Ontario to Alberta to Saskatchewan, we have seen health cuts and health care systems on the brink. Conservative mismanagement is putting our public health care system at risk,” concluded Bruske. “And Mr. O’Toole already has a track record of cutting health care. In power now, he would make things even worse.”

-30-

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

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“Hospital staff across Canada have been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic, providing essential care and helping to keep our communities safe. Protesting vaccine mandates in front of hospitals where workers are providing life-saving care and some patients are fighting for their lives is not only thoughtless and ignorant, it could also be considered harassment,” said CLC President Bea Bruske.

As the Delta variant gains momentum in communities across Canada, health care workers and public health experts have raised the alarm about the potential strain the fourth wave could place on our hospital system. The COVID-19 crisis is not over and Canada’s unions strongly support vaccination against COVID-19 for every Canadian who can be vaccinated.

“Healthcare workers have been through enough over the last 18 months. Between the physical, mental and emotional toll of the pandemic, equipment and staffing shortages and rising rates of violence and harassment at work, they deserve our respect and support for the incredible work they continue to do. We stand with healthcare workers across Canada,” said Bruske.

The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions and provincial nurses’ unions across Canada are holding a National Day of Action on September 17 to demand that governments fix the country’s nursing crisis. Learn more about the day of action here.

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“Mr. O’Toole’s message discipline is admirable, but experts are lining up to say his promises simply don’t add up,” said Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Erin O’Toole is trying to hide his future cuts behind pleasant rhetoric.”

Columnist Stephen Maher asked in this weeks’ Maclean’s: “Now that he is the front runner, O’Toole has a lot of questions to answer, about the economy, climate, race, gun control, private health care…”

In the Hill Times, Michael Harris wrote: “The Conservative leader’s commitments to gun control, women’s empowerment, and fiscal responsibility don’t stand up to scrutiny.”

A few days before that, when asked on CTV’s Power Play, “Do you buy Erin O’Toole’s numbers in terms of economic growth?”, former Deputy Parliamentary Budget Officer Mostafa Askari replied: “No. Absolutely not. We have not had 3% sustained growth in Canada for the past 25-30 years.”

Bruske also noted that when he was in Stephen Harper’s Conservative cabinet, O’Toole cut billions from health care while slashing taxes for profitable corporations. Harper had also promised not to cut health care during an election campaign, and then broke his promise once elected.

“If you examine Mr. O’Toole’s plan closely, you find that his priorities are all wrong,” concluded Bruske. “Conservatives have no plan for alleviating inequality, strengthening public health care or bolstering our social safety net so it’s ready for the next crisis – whether health or climate related.”

The post What O’Toole isn’t telling you: Conservative health care promises made to be broken appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Erin O’Toole is now scaremongering about debt and deficits – a page right out of the classic Conservative playbook. This always leads to healthcare cuts, longer wait times, and fewer nurses and doctors,” said Bruske. “The fact is, Conservatives Jason Kenney, Doug Ford and Brian Pallister all broke their promises and cut health care when elected. It’s clear O’Toole plans to be just another Conservative cutter.”

O’Toole went further, making the contradictory and unfounded claim that spending on emergency help for people threatens our social safety net. Today’s inflation is the result of pent-up consumer demand and supply disruptions, not a consequence of investing in people. In fact, stimulus spending during the last fiscal crisis did not lead to inflation.

“Retreating from needed support programs and reducing investments in the care economy won’t help rebuild our social safety net and ensure a strong recovery, it puts them at greater risk,” said Bruske. “Either Mr. O’Toole doesn’t understand basic economics or he’s trying to fool Canadians into giving him a mandate to cut help for people.”

With the lowest net debt in the G7 and gaping holes in our care system, Canada’s unions have been calling on the parties to put working families at the centre of their recovery plans. Where lost jobs are replaced with better ones; Canada’s social safety is disaster-proofed through investments in housing and childcare; and public health care is strengthened through pharmacare and removing profit from long-term care.

“Last time O’Toole and the Conservatives were in power they put Canada on a path of tax cuts to the wealthy and austerity for everyone else. This meant a decade of health cuts, slow economic growth, and rising inequality,” concluded Bruske. “Erin O’Toole’s priorities are all wrong. His dangerous economics would leave working families behind, just when they need help the most.”

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“We have seen his rhetoric around supporting working people. But when you look at his record, you start seeing the real O’Toole,’ said Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “While he clearly will now say anything for votes, the fact is Erin O’Toole is a former Bay St. lawyer for giant corporations. And it shows.”

O’Toole’s anti-worker record includes:

• Voting against extending emergency pandemic help for workers;
• Saying the government should have given less to working families and more to businesses instead;
• Proposing a law, making it easier for corporations to walk away from pension obligations;
• Voting in support of Bill C-377, which attacked workers and tried to weaken Canada’s labour movement;
• Attacking a union for standing up against his Conservative government’s cuts to services for vets;
• Voting to make it harder for workers to refuse dangerous work; and
• Supporting unfair trade deals that lost Canada thousands of good manufacturing jobs.

“Sadly, Mr. O’Toole cannot be counted on to stand up for workers. This election, he’s proposing policies that fail to protect workers’ pensions during commercial bankruptcies and start privatizing EI and public pensions,” said Bruske. “And during the pandemic, while Alberta premier Jason Kenney made it easier to bust unions and attacked nurses, Erin O’Toole was silent.”

During election 2021, Canada’s unions are engaging voters, supporting candidates who put workers at the centre of their recovery plan, and holding parties accountable for policies that would hurt working people.

“Our message to hard-working people is simple: Conservatives are dangerous for working Canadians. Don’t risk our future on Erin O’Toole,” concluded Bruske.

Contact information:
Chantal St-Denis
Cell 613-355-1962
media@clcctc.ca

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Many of Canada’s largest companies have continued paying out dividends to their shareholders, despite receiving government aid and five of Canada’s six largest banks cut their workforces by 4.4% in the past year, while simultaneously increasing their customer fees.

“It’s clear that the pandemic has had winners and losers. While large corporations and banks, and their CEOs and shareholders, profiteer off the pandemic, they freely layoff workers and keep wages low,” said Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske.

“In this election, parties must propose a recovery plan that doesn’t leave working families behind, with meaningful new investments to disaster-proof our social safety net.”

Rather than allowing this pandemic to further entrench existing inequalities and allow the gap between the rich and poor to widen, Bruske said Canada should make sure wealthy individuals and the big businesses that made record profits in the pandemic now pay their fair share. That money should be used to help Canada recover and keep us safe.

Canadians for Tax Fairness calculates that the federal government could generate over $90 billion annually and reduce inequalities by:

• Closing tax loopholes: $26 billion;
• Taxing the rich fairly: $24 billion;
• Making corporations pay their fair share: $25 billion
• Tackling tax havens: $14 billion; and
• Making polluters pay: $3 billion.

“Greater tax fairness could generate billions that could be re-invested into the social safety net and programs that so many Canadians need and depend on – like universal child care, long-term care, pharmacare, and job-training programs that will help workers transition to low-carbon and green jobs,” concluded Bruske.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

The post Record bank profits reveals pandemic’s economic winners and losers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Decades of cuts and privatization in the long-term care sector have had tragic consequences during this crisis.

“Early in the pandemic, long-term care homes accounted for four out of every five COVID-19 related deaths in Canada. In Ontario, the Commission into long-term care said for-profit companies should no longer be in charge of care.

“The for-profit model has clearly failed seniors and their families. We welcome Jagmeet Singh and the New Democrats’ commitment to take profit out of long-term care.

“For years, long-term care workers, unions and advocates for senor’s health care have demanded systemic change to a broken system.

“Canada’s unions have been fighting for long-term care to be offered as a public service. This means making major changes to Canada’s long-term care sector, including regulating long-term care under the Canada Health Act.”

Canada’s unions have been calling on governments to address the failings COVID-19 exposed in long-term care by:

• Bringing long-term care into the public system and regulating it under the Canada Health Act;
• Removing private, for-profit businesses from the sector;
• Requiring proper staffing and health and safety protections for workers; and
• Permanently raising wages and benefits for long-term care workers to match the value of the work.

Full recommendations on Long-term care can be found here.

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May Day is an annual celebration held every May 1^st during which workers from around the world celebrate the achievements made by trade unions. This year, the pandemic remains a focal point for the concerns of workers and their families.

“Millions of workers around the world have lost their jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “Here in Canada, the federal government recently promised significant investments to help with our recovery. Canada’s political leaders must now work together to pass the budget implementation bill and turn these promises into action.”

The government’s recently announced investments in child care, training and skills development and a $15 federal minimum wage, in addition to a further expansion of emergency benefits would bring much needed relief to workers and their families.

Workers in Canada – and around the world – continue to struggle under the weight of the year-long pandemic. Developed countries have a responsibility to ensure that all workers in developing and under developing nations have access to vaccines to help put an end to this global health crisis.

In the meantime, gaps in the social safety net, both at home and abroad, have become painfully clear. Those gaps include a shameful lack of paid sick leave in most provinces.

“Workers and advocates have been calling for paid sick leave since before the pandemic,” said Yussuff.

“However, COVID-19 has highlighted just how dangerous a lack of paid sick time can be. Being able to stay home when you are sick is fundamental to reducing workplace exposures and illness. Essential workers being forced to choose between going to work sick and putting food on the table puts us all at risk and is prolonging and deepening the impacts of the pandemic. Provincial and territorial governments must act immediately.”

Canada’s unions further remind all levels of government to respect and uphold the collective bargaining rights of workers, even during times of crisis.

“Upholding workers’ rights is integral to the functioning of a free and fair democracy in which there is a counterweight to the unfettered power of employers and monied interests. Collective bargaining ensures a more fair, equitable present and future for all.”

To learn more about what unions are calling for, visit canadianplan.ca.

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Now, with more contagious and deadly variants surging in most regions of the country, this third wave threatens to be the most-deadly phase of the pandemic that we have endured to date.

Without key measures to facilitate the most at-risk people getting the vaccine, including paid leave to get the vaccine, this pandemic will get much worse before it gets better.

Canada is in a race to get enough vaccines into arms to reach herd immunity. This is not an easy task.

CLC President Hassan Yussuff co-chairs a broad task group working to promote vaccine acceptance under the banner “Faster. Together”.

Earlier this month, as part of the work of that task force, Abacus Data published public opinion research on vaccine hesitancy in Canada.

Today, 64 percent of Canadian adults have either received their shot or would take one as soon as one is available to them. Eight percent have said they will never take a vaccine for COVID-19. That leaves 28 percent who currently say they would “prefer to wait a bit to see how the vaccine works out as others take it” or “would prefer not to take one but could be persuaded to”.

Of those vaccine-hesitant Canadians, most cite reasons like not knowing the long-term impacts of the vaccines or fear of blood clots – unsurprising, given some of the public challenges with certain vaccines – as reasons to hold off on getting their shot. Carefully crafted public health approaches will be key to resolving those concerns.

A significant number of those who are hesitant about getting the vaccine cite reasons that can be connected to the workplace. Including both major and minor reasons for being hesitant, 37 percent indicate that they are worried about missing work due to potential side effects. Twenty-three percent indicate they can’t afford to take time off to get a shot. An additional 27 percent indicate that getting vaccinated seems too complicated. This no doubt includes people who have concerns about how to get the vaccine while juggling work and family responsibilities. These work-connected reasons for hesitancy could be relatively easily addressed with smart public policy.

We know the virus is spreading at work, both in health care and care settings but also in factories, farm work and food processing, warehouses, schools, offices, transportation among others. We must do everything possible to remove the barriers to those most at risk, having access to these life-saving vaccines. That includes paid leave and prioritizing those essential workers who cannot stay home to get their shot.

Saskatchewan has updated its Occupational Health and Safety Regulations to ensure a minimum of three consecutive hours of paid leave for workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. British Columbia also introduced job-protected, paid leave for workers to get the vaccine, so their jobs and paycheque are protected. Alberta also updated its employment standards code to provide three hours of job-protected leave for workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Public health officials and others in the medical community have been clear that with more contagious and deadly variants surging, the vaccine rollout alone will not be enough to stem this wave of the pandemic. Fifty-eight percent of Canadian workers have no access to paid sick days. That number jumps to 70 percent for low-wage workers. This is forcing workers to choose between going to work sick or not putting food on their own table. This failure is putting us all at risk and is prolonging and deepening the impacts of the pandemic.

There is no silver bullet to beating this virus. Addressing the ways in which the workplace is contributing to the pandemic is critical.

Prioritizing essential workers who cannot stay home to get the shot, along with paid leave to do so, while making sure workers have adequate paid sick leave to stem workplace transmission are critical steps that will help us come back together healthy, faster.

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Among the top priorities for Canada’s unions are:

• fully containing the public health crisis and implementing national pharmacare;
• investing in the care economy; and
• and getting Canadians back to work and fully-employed in safe, decently-paid, productive and sustainable jobs.

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“Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights” is the United Nations theme for this year’s International Human Rights Day, which is observed December 10.

“It is critical that Canada’s COVID-19 recovery efforts tackle the human rights failures that have been exposed by the pandemic. Significant government investments in the care sector will help level the playing field for those most affected by this virus,” said CLC Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau.

“We welcome the federal government’s recent commitments to invest in public care systems. Canada must focus on creating better jobs, improving working conditions, and addressing the deep disparities within our economy,” he added.

The pandemic has demonstrated how our communities rely on precarious, low-wage work and unpaid labour in critical care sectors. This includes child care, early childhood education, elderly care, mental health, and other social care services that serve the health and safety of our communities.

Many of the workers in these sectors are Black, Indigenous, women of colour and recent immigrants. While this work is deemed “essential”, it is undervalued and workers face poor working conditions, violence, harassment and numerous other risks to their health and safety. They also face a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 and a lack of job security and access to benefits.

“This global crisis has laid bare what we’ve been saying for years: systemic discrimination and marginalization have put certain groups at a disadvantage. Entire communities are having a much harder time recovering due to unequal access to opportunities and services such as employment, health care and housing,” said Rousseau. “Long-term investment in care is crucial to disaster-proofing our economy, safeguarding our social safety net against future crises, and ensuring our collective well-being.”

Sign our petition urging the government to increase investments in our public care systems so we can move forward together and build a more sustainable and inclusive economy.

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The latest figures from this morning’s release of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey demonstrates a weakening jobs rebound. The survey showed a slowing recovery, with employment rising just 0.5 percent in October, a dramatic slowdown compared to summer months. The unemployment rate currently sits at 8.9 percent, and long-term unemployment rose sharply in September and October.

“Growing long-term joblessness means more workers risk disconnection from the job market, causing lasting harm to skills, incomes and opportunities,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The federal government assured Canadians it is committed to creating one million new jobs and that will be crucial. Time is running out for hundreds of thousands of workers who are seeing job prospects deteriorate in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic which shows no signs of slowing,”

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to provide details on its commitments when it tables the next fiscal update.

Nearly 50,000 people working in the already hard-hit accommodation and hospitality sector lost their jobs in October. The job recovery in various industries including construction, transportation and warehousing remains stalled.

The latest survey also shows that workers of colour struggle with a higher unemployment rate (11.7%) than Canadians who were not Indigenous or racialized.

Women of various backgrounds also continue to experience disproportionately lower rates of employment than men; racialized women are even more disadvantaged.

To read more about the direct investments the CLC is calling for, visit canadianplan.ca.

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

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On any given day of a normal year, Parliament Hill is buzzing with people lobbying elected representatives. According to the federal government’s lobbying commissioner, there were 18,728 monthly communications reports submitted in 2019 20.

Those communications reports were generated in large part by paid, registered lobbyists working with large corporations.

This year, there are far fewer meetings on the Hill but that doesn’t mean that elected representatives aren’t hearing from anyone. They are. And we want to make sure they’re hearing from workers, too. We know that pressing issues are mounting for many workers and communities across the country. In the past six months, people have seen their livelihoods disappear or they are staving off disaster, all while worrying about their health and the health of their families.

Workers want to see governments make decisions that will improve their lives and move Canada forward. They want to trust the government will make decisions based on the needs of everyday working people and of their communities. We only need to look South to see what can go wrong when governments let down their citizens.

In 2019, a study done by the OECD showed trust in government is falling worldwide. In 2019, only 38 per cent of Canadians said they had confidence in the government. The good news is that it has gone up since the pandemic made government more central to our lives than ever, according to a report from Samara Canada. Trust in government now stands at 59 per cent. This should not be taken for granted.

One of the best ways to maintain trust is to encourage citizen engagement in decision making.

This is why we are organizing the first-ever virtual lobbying effort, National Action Week. It’s an opportunity for workers from across the country to participate in our democracy, even in the midst of a pandemic. We are helping them reach out to their elected representatives to tell decision-makers what needs to happen in their communities.

Our hope is that our week of action will not only allow for conversations that will build trust in our democracy, but that these meetings will open the door for further conversations. Knowledge sharing is also essential for trust in democracy, meaning elected representatives should provide information and answer questions from their constituents – and constituents should know to ask questions.

After all, so much has changed and Members of Parliament need to hear from their constituents on what they need to focus on. Millions of people who were employed in March are now dependent on the government for support. As we continue to respond and as we move towards a recovery stage, the Minister of Finance has indicated the government is willing to make more and longer-term investments to provide economic stimulus, given historically low interest rates.

The most important thing right now is to move government investment into those sectors that will offer the most benefit to the most people across the country. The Prime Minister talks about building back better, and there are priorities that can’t be ignored if this government plans to improve the lives of those most affected by this pandemic.

The government made clear in September’s Speech from the Throne that it is listening to the concerns of workers and their families. The speech promised investments to create new jobs, accelerate the implementation of universal national pharmacare and focus on child care and long-term care. Workers across Canada are trusting that the government will include all these investments in the next federal budget and go even further, including raising the federal minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour as promised in the last federal election.

Those who have been working on the front lines without proper protective equipment, those who have watched their loved ones suffer in for-profit long-term care homes, parents who have been stuck with no options for child care, women forced to choose between career and family after all these years of progress deserve support. These workers know where investments need to go and so should their representatives.

They are ready to bring their stories and experiences directly to policy-makers. It’s up to those making decisions to listen carefully and act accordingly in the best interests of the nation’s workers and their families.

Hassan Yussuff is the president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow him on Twitter @Hassan_Yussuff

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Participants will be calling on elected representatives to push for federal investments towards job creation, health care and child care, among other necessary programs. Over 200 meetings are scheduled.

“The pandemic continues to disrupt our lives in a myriad of ways. Our governments have an integral role in making sure that workers and their families get through this ongoing crisis,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Workers know they have to advocate for solutions that centre their experiences and which address the systemic gaps this pandemic has revealed. Right now, the only way to do that is virtually and workers are stepping up in a significant way to do what it takes to be heard,” said Yussuff.

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to disaster-proof the economy.  This includes committing to shovel-ready projects that create stable, well-paying jobs, as well as investing in job training for workers, particularly those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including racialized workers, women, and people with disabilities. Unions are urging the government to start by implementing its promised $15 minimum wage in federally regulated workplaces.

The pandemic has also demonstrated the need for a more resilient and comprehensive public health care system. Canada’s unions have long called for the implementation of single-payer, universal pharmacare, particularly urgent now considering that millions of people in Canada have lost access to drug benefits and are struggling to pay for their prescription medications.

“There is no going back to business as usual,” said Yussuff. “On the contrary, we’ve managed to weather this pandemic better than some countries by working together and taking care of one another. MPs will be hearing directly from their own constituents this week on how they can continue to support working people and their families going forward.”

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

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Forward Together: A Canadian Plan is a new campaign centred on ensuring that Canada is ready to disaster-proof our nation so that no one is left behind when crisis hits. The campaign will roll out digitally on various social media platforms and will encourage Canadians to engage with their elected representatives on key issues.

“There are important lessons to be learned from this pandemic and we have a real opportunity to strengthen our communities and to better protect one another,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “We have been able to withstand this pandemic by supporting each other, and that is the only way to move forward.”

Learning from the chaos seen in the United States, Canada’s unions will be pushing for a plan that focuses on:

• Replacing lost jobs with better ones
• Strengthening Canadian public health care
• Disaster-proofing our social safety net

“We need the government to reject calls for austerity and make real investments in our future. The only way to fix what’s broken is to invest,” said Yussuff. “Workers are key to the recovery. The federal government can help alleviate a lot of anxiety by investing in jobs, making long-term care part of public health care, supporting a child care strategy, and implementing national pharmacare.”

Canada’s unions are looking for targeted investments in green infrastructure, education and training, and care work.

“A strong economy is inextricably linked with strong social services that support workers and their families through bad times,” said Yussuff. “The United States is showing us what happens when we act like everyone is in it for themselves. We can and must do better.”

Go to www.canadianplan.ca to learn more about the campaign.

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

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“As we face the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of the public sector has never been more evident,” said Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President Hassan Yussuff. “Public sector workers have kept our communities running day-to-day, ensuring that Canadians can rely on the services they need. It is critical that governments safeguard these services against bids towards privatization.”

The CLC Task Force on New Forms of Privatization report, For the Public Good: The growing threat of privatization and workers’ proposals to protect our future, calls on governments to:

• Strengthen and expand public services and infrastructure for all;
• Expand public revenue;
• Expand and enhance public services;
• End the financialization of and the facilitation of privatization globally; and
• Expand public control over infrastructure development.

“As important as public services have been during this pandemic, they will be even more important as we re-open and re-build our economy,” said Yussuff.

The report’s recommendations on strengthening and expanding public services and infrastructure are especially relevant in the post-COVID-19 era. The report contains immediate actions to address threats and provides a long-term vision to build a sustainable and equitable public sector.

Read the Summary Statement here.

Read the Full Report here.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“We as a movement are raising our voices to express alarm and outrage over recent incidents of police brutality, including the deaths of Chantal Moore and Rodney Levi,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “We can no longer ignore the systemic racism in this country.”

In light of these tragedies, Canada’s unions reiterate their support for all calls to action calling for reforms of policing and the criminal justice system found within the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, as well as the final report of the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

These incidents also come in the midst of a global health crisis that has, again, exposed inequities faced by Indigenous peoples and communities.

“The CLC supports the calls from the Assembly of First Nations for a dedicated plan in response to the unique realities that have made Indigenous communities vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19,” said Rousseau. “This day is one occasion to celebrate the history and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples across this northern part of Turtle Island, also known as Canada, but they cannot be ignored for the other 364 days.”

The Assembly of First Nations has pointed to the remoteness of many First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, inadequate housing that is often over-crowded, a lack of safe drinking water and more.

“Continued inaction is not an option. We must cement our solidarity as trade unionists in the struggle for justice that Indigenous communities face every day across Canada,” concluded Rousseau.

You can mark National Indigenous People’s Day 2020 with us by reading and reviewing the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as the final report of the Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. In both reports, you will find specific calls to action and calls to justice for organizations, individuals and governments. Do what you can in your communities to support these calls to action and pressure all levels of government to take immediate action to implement them.

Check out the links below to find out about virtual events and calls to action being organized by Indigenous organizations across Canada to mark National Indigenous People’s Day 2020:

Assembly of First Nations
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Metis National Council
Native Women’s Association of Canada
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada

For further reading on Indigenous history and racism in Canada:

• Children of the Broken Treaty : Canada’s Lost Promise of One Girl’s Dream by Charlie Angus
• #IdleNoMore by Ken Coates
• Clearing the Plains by James W. Daschuk
• Peace Pipe Dreams by Darrell Dennis
• Surviving Canada: Indigenous Peoples Celebrate 150 Years of Betrayal, Edited by Myra Tait and Kiera Ladner
• Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips & Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality by Bob Joseph
• Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga

Find more resources here.

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The fight against anti-Black racism and police brutality is based in the long, despicable history of slavery, oppression and colonization of Indigenous communities and Black people in North America. The impact of which continues to be felt today.

There is no reason that Black people in Canada should die at the hands of our police services. Yet the deaths of Black Canadians, Abdirahman Abdi, Bony Jean-Pierre, D’Andre Campbell and most recently under investigation, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, demonstrate that anti-Black racism continues to be a leading cause for the loss of Black lives.

“Anti-Black racism is a destructive force in our society afflicting families and communities,” said Hassan Yussuff, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) president. “Canada’s unions are committed to fighting all forms of discrimination and are urgently calling for accountability and systemic change.”

It’s important to highlight the severe lack of mental health supports, the lack of access to prescription medication and poor working conditions facing many workers who are often Black and racialized. Research clearly shows that Black communities have diminished health outcomes compared to the broader population as a result of historic neglect on the part of our system. This is playing out in this current pandemic, with early indications of a disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities.

“It’s time to hold some very uncomfortable conversations and reflect on the policy decisions and choices that have led us here,” continued Yussuff. “The whole country is looking to our government for leadership and immediate action that will lead to real and meaningful changes in the way Black communities are treated.”

The CLC is committed to raising awareness on the role of Canada’s labour movement to combat anti-Black racism, including providing educational opportunities to union members, as well as to the broader public, and publicly advocating for accountability and systemic change at the policy level.

For further reading related to anti-Black racism in Canada:

Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole

BlackLife: Post-BLM and the Struggle for Freedom by Rinaldo Walcott and Idil Abdillahi

There’s Something In The Water by Ingrid R. G. Waldron

Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada edited by Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson, and Syrus Marcus Ware

Find more resources here.

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The current pandemic presents a monumental challenge in the fight to prevent workplace injury, illness and death. As Canadian jurisdictions begin to open up sectors of their economy, it is critical that working people have the protections they need to be able to do their jobs safely and to get home to their loved ones at the end of each day.

Workers are on the front lines of this pandemic and yet do not always have the protections they need to stay safe.

The first priority is to prevent worker exposures, illness and deaths from COVID-19. However, workers also need to know that their workers’ compensation system will provide adequate benefits and supports if they become ill as a result of their work.

This requires broadening coverage to include all workers – including those in workplaces currently exempt from mandatory compensation coverage, as well as precarious and gig economy workers.

It also requires ensuring coverage for workers who must be quarantined or have to self-isolate as a result of a workplace exposure but may not yet have symptoms of the illness. This will require streamlining processes for workers and protecting the right to appeal decisions. This will further require the removal of systemic financial incentives for employer claims suppression related to COVID-19 infections.

Governments should also implement presumptive compensation coverage for COVID-19 related illness, so that workers are not denied access to supports, waiting for their claims to be accepted.

So far, only the province of British Columbia has moved towards implementing presumptive compensation coverage for some frontline workers, recognizing that streamlining the process for accessing supports will result in better health outcomes and safer return to work for workers at higher risk of COVID-19 infection.

Other Canadian jurisdictions must move quickly to do the same in order to ensure that workers have the supports and compensation they need when their work makes them sick.

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“This pandemic has laid bare the consequences of decades of funding cuts and privatization in the long-term care sector,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The tragedy we’re seeing is a direct result of the move to a for-profit model. Long-term care must be offered as a public service.”

As of mid-April, the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in Canada’s long-term care homes account for four out of every five pandemic-related deaths in the country.

For years Long-term care workers, unions and advocates for health care and seniors have been demanding systemic change.

“The current system is broken,” said Yussuff. “We need to see funding cuts reversed, and an end to the dangerous profiteering in the sector. What we have seen during this crisis was preventable.”

Canada’s unions are calling on the government to immediately address the failings COVID-19 exposed in long-term care by:

• Bringing long-term care into the public system and regulating it under the Canada Health Act;
• Removing private, for-profit businesses from the sector;
• Requiring proper staffing and health and safety protections for workers; and
• Permanently raising wages and benefits for long-term care workers to match the value of the work.

The full recommendations can be found here.

To arrange an interview, please contact:

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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We need to advocate for better mental health resources and supports for workers. This can help prevent mental illnesses from occurring in the first place. That’s why the Canadian Labour Congress offers a Mental Health At Work online portal.

The post Mental Health Resource Centre appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

This is a monumental challenge in the era of COVID-19, but it is a challenge that we must meet. There are numerous Canadian and international examples of inadequate workplace health and safety protections leading to worker exposures and deaths and in some cases widespread community transmission of the virus. Workers are on the frontlines of this pandemic, and yet references to worker health and safety in public health guidance are rare and often insufficient.

As Canadian jurisdictions begin to re-start sectors of the economy, governments and employers must take steps to protect workers’ health and safety from COVID-19 exposure.

Before opening, employers must have in place a safety plan that keeps workers healthy and safe and ensures that workplaces don’t contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the community. Specifically, employers must have an infection prevention and control plan, developed with the participation of workplace health and safety committees, or worker health and safety representatives. This plan must be in place before an employer is allowed to re-open. This plan must include a detailed health and safety response in the event of a workplace COVID-19 outbreak. Governments must have the capacity and commitment to enforcing occupational health and safety laws. If we are to avoid a dangerous second wave of COVID-19 infections, governments must also ramp up research and staffing capacity for rapid, effective COVID-19 testing and contact tracing to stem the spread of infections.

Health and Safety Rights at Work:

Canadian health and safety law is based on three basic rights at work, including:

1. The right to know about the dangers in their workplace;
2. The right to participate in decisions that affect their health and safety; and
3. The right to refuse unsafe work.

Employers have a duty to remove workplace hazards that put the health and the lives of workers at risk.

These health and safety rights at work are enshrined in law in every jurisdiction in this country. Canada’s unions are clear: we will not relinquish those rights, risking workers’ lives as governments and employers make decisions to re-open sectors of the economy. We will not accept employers or our governments prioritising profits over people, putting workers in harm’s way without the appropriate safeguards and protective equipment. Employers must fulfill their duty to ensure a safe workplace, even in the face of this pandemic. Governments must protect a workers’ right to refuse unsafe work, and not ask workers to put their lives on the line without ensuring that every possible step is taken to allow them to do their jobs safely.

When a worker invokes their right to refuse unsafe work, they are deploying the last tool available to them to protect themselves from grave danger. It is not a step that anyone takes lightly. Accounts of government regulators ruling against all but a handful of refusals are extremely troubling. Reports indicating that there have been over 200 work refusals in Ontario with not a single one being upheld after the provincial government quietly set-up an internal committee to oversee the inspectors’ enforcement efforts, and inspectors reporting a chill on their ability to do their jobs is unacceptable to workers. Unions having to file complaints with the provincial labour relations board for employers to fulfill their health and safety obligations and the government to enforce the law is unacceptable. Workers deserve better than this. Ensuring that workers can exercise their basic health and safety right to safe work is non-negotiable.

Paid Sick Leave and Job Protection:

Although certain provinces have instituted COVID-19-specific measures to allow for quarantine or self-isolation, many of those sanctioned sick days are unpaid. No jurisdiction in Canada provides adequate, job-protected paid sick leave, leaving workers in the impossible situation of having to choose between paying the bills and protecting their health and that of their coworkers and community. Further, access to the protections that do exist often depends on where a person lives and what job they do. This is a recipe for a public health catastrophe.

Governments must ensure that every worker has access to at minimum, 14 paid, job-protected sick days so that they can take time off work when they are sick and need to quarantine or self-isolate.

Key to preventing a second, more severe wave of COVID-19 infections is ensuring that every worker in the country has access to sufficient paid, job-protected sick leave, regardless of where they live in Canada.

Worker Engagement:

Before re-opening, employers must make a COVID-19 safety plan that demonstrates how they will operate safely. This safety planning is key to ensuring that the workplace is effectively implementing COVID-19 controls and that the health and safety of workers and others aren’t put at risk as a result of their work arrangement.

It is important that employers consult with workers, their unions and their health and safety representatives about how to make sure these safety plans and COVID-19 controls will work. Engaging joint health and safety committees early on, and in an ongoing way is crucial to ensuring safe workplaces. Engaging workers, through their health and safety committees to participate in assessing COVID-19 related hazards and developing responses is an important part of good health and safety practice and must be included in workplace COVID-19 safety planning.

It is also the law. Canadian law and international labour conventions to which Canada is party require employers to involve workers in decisions that affect workplace health and safety. Employers cannot ignore workers’ concerns, making decisions unilaterally. Governments must commit to robust enforcement of these statutes.

Hazard Prevention and Control:

Hazard prevention planning and the hierarchy of controls are common workplace health and safety prevention tools. While there will be COVID-19 related hazards in the workplace for the foreseeable future, certainly until an effective vaccine is widely available, those hazards must be controlled to protect worker safety. Employers can play a role in preventing COVID-19 being transmitted to workers and the wider community by putting in controls to minimize the risk of infection, including:

• Supporting people with flu-like symptoms to self-isolate;
• Ensuring separation distances in the workplace;
• Disinfecting surfaces;
• Maintaining good hygiene, particularly good hand hygiene and cough/sneeze protocols.

Other controls to minimize exposure:

The workplace hazard prevention/control program and the hierarchy of controls must be deployed to reduce the likelihood of exposure. This includes:

• Eliminating hazards and Substituting higher risk procedures with lower risk activities, including allowing ongoing increased flexible working from home/telework arrangements to facilitate greater physical distancing within workplaces;
• Implementing engineering controls, including workplace design, equipment and ventilation system changes to reduce exposure;
• Using administrative controls such as staggered scheduling, controlling or restricting access to common spaces, more frequent cleaning/disinfecting of the workplace, preparing and training for emergency situations, as well as training and communication on COVID-related health and safety procedures and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Assessing work schedules and the potential need for additional health breaks to accommodate for fatigue related to the use of PPE, or increased workload related to COVID-19 protocols.
• Ensuring that workers have access to appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when the hazard cannot be eliminated through substitution, engineering or administrative controls. As it will be impossible to completely eliminate COVID-19 hazards in some workplace contexts through the use of substitution, engineering and administrative controls, an adequate supply of appropriate PPE will be critical to any strategy to re-open the economy. Workers will also require training and opportunities to practice in order to use PPE effectively. PPE must be provided at no cost to the worker.

The Precautionary Principle and Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment

As a new coronavirus, our knowledge of this virus, how it is transmitted and how infection presents with symptoms of COVID-19 is far from settled. As with any new hazard, a health and safety approach requires that we use the precautionary principle when making decisions on how to eliminate or control for this hazard. That means, implementing the higher level of protection, and not waiting for scientific certainty before taking precautions. Otherwise, individual workers are left to bear the burden of new hazards while our knowledge evolves. Just as knowledge about how COVID-19 symptoms presents in different populations is evolving, so is the evidence of how this virus is transmitted. There remains a lack of consensus on potential transmission pathways for COVID-19. Workers at elevated risk of exposure as a result of the populations they work with must be protected from all potential, not only the most common, routes of transmission.

Personal protective equipment is the last line of defence in the hierarchy of controls. If it fails, the worker is exposed to the hazard without any protection at all. This is why the precautionary principle is at the core of the labour movement’s argument for providing the higher levels of protection for workers.

Governments and employers would do well to remember the lessons of earlier outbreaks with this observation from the author of the SARS Commission Report:

“Scientific uncertainty and scientific debate can go on forever,” wrote Justice Archie Campbell at the conclusion of a public inquiry he led into Ontario’s handling of the SARS outbreak that killed dozens and sickened hundreds nearly two decades ago.

“What we need to do is to follow the precautionary approach that reasonable steps to reduce risk need not await scientific certainty … There is no longer any excuse for governments and hospitals to be caught off guard and no longer any excuse for health-care workers not to have the maximum level of protection through appropriate equipment and training.”

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is making all of its pandemic planning and mental health resources available at no charge. Those resources can be found here.

CCOHS has also prepared a series of COVID-19 tip sheets for a variety of workplace sectors, which can be found at no cost here.

Worker Safety Data Collection and Transparency:

Some workers are at increased risk for workplace COVID-19 infections. Healthcare workers represent a disproportionately high percentage of those infected in Canada. Workers in food processing, transport, essential retail and all public-facing positions are also at increased risk for infection. To date, there is insufficient tracking and reporting on workplace exposures, illnesses and deaths of workers in these and other sectors. There is also a need for greater tracking and transparency on how this pandemic is affecting populations differently. We see in other countries that the number of exposures, illness and poorer outcomes varies significantly across equity-seeking groups and income levels. Canadian jurisdictions must collect and report on this data. Public health agencies can assist by supporting public exposure and infection registries to collect and report on this data. There is also a need for greater tracking and transparency on the state of supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). Fears of shortages without sufficient data lead to decisions that are putting frontline workers in harm’s way.

Protect Workers from Reprisals:

Just as the burden of the pandemic is not being experienced equally, neither will workers’ ability to return to the workplace as jurisdictions begin to re-open sectors of their economy. Workers with responsibilities to care for children or vulnerable adults, or who are at elevated risk for poor outcomes if they are exposed to the virus must be protected from reprisals if they cannot return to work when their workplace re-opens.

Employers must also accommodate, or implement specific controls to protect workers with elevated individual risk factors such as chronic medical conditions, pregnancy or older age when they return to the workplace.

Workers’ Compensation Systems:

Our first priority must be preventing worker exposures, illness and deaths from COVID-19. However, workers need to know that their workers’ compensation system will provide the benefits and supports that they need if they become ill as a result of their work. This is especially true in this pandemic. That means, broadening coverage to include all workers – including those in workplaces currently exempt from mandatory compensation coverage, as well as precarious and gig economy workers. It also means ensuring coverage for workers who must be quarantined or self-isolate as a result of a workplace exposure but may not yet have symptoms of COVID-19. It means streamlining adjudication processes for workers and protecting injured workers’ right to appeal decisions. It also means removing systemic financial incentives for employer claims suppression related to COVID-19 infections.

Finally, it also means moving to presumptive coverage for COVID-19 related illness, so that workers are not denied access to supports, waiting for their claim to be accepted. Certain international jurisdictions have implemented presumptive compensation coverage for some frontline workers, recognizing that streamlining the process for accessing supports will result in better health outcomes and safer return to work pathways for workers at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. We are encouraged to see that WorkSafe BC has begun the process to include COVID-19 for presumptive compensation coverage. Other jurisdictions must move in the same direction, to ensure that workers have the supports and compensation they need when their work makes them sick.

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The impact of COVID-19 on workplaces, communities and families across Canada is unprecedented. Many workers have lost their jobs or contracts, or have been recalled after layoffs. Other workers are on the front lines and putting their health and their families’ health at risk every day. Others are working remotely for the first time.

In the midst of all of this social distancing and the increased economic precarity felt throughout this crisis, workloads have now doubled or tripled for those caring for children, elders and persons with disabilities as schools, community centres and other planned daily activities cease to operate.

“Our lives have significantly changed as a result of this pandemic and this has already negatively impacted the mental health of many in workplaces across Canada,” explained Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau. “It’s critical that workplaces are equipped with the resources and training necessary to provide accommodations and supports for mental health wellness of their workers.”

Even before the pandemic, mental illness accounted for about a third of all disability claims. With the added stressors of the current crisis, workers are feeling the negative impacts on their mental well-being even more than before.

Fighting for better mental health resources and supports can help to keep workers in their jobs and prevent mental illnesses from occurring in the first place. The Canadian Labour Congress offers a Mental Health at Work online portal. 

This online catalogue provides a series of resources, including how to bargain for better mental health supports in the workplace, geared towards workers and trade union activists who want to ensure their workplaces prioritize mental health outcomes for all.

“Mental Health Week is an opportunity for every workplace to recognize that better mental health care, an end to discrimination against people with mental illness and equitable work opportunities are human rights issues that must be prioritized.

“This week we want to say to workers who are struggling:  it’s okay to not be okay.  You are not alone.  Use the resources and get the help you need, and together we’ll get through this extraordinary challenge,” said Rousseau.

List of Useful Resources:

CLC Mental Health Resource Centre:
https://canadianlabour.ca/uncategorized/mental-health-resources/

Canadian Mental Health Association 
https://mentalhealthweek.ca/toolkit/

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: Free mental health e-courses
https://www.ccohs.ca/topics/wellness/mentalhealth/

National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/what-we-do/workplace/national-standard

Kids help phone
https://kidshelpphone.ca/

Distress Centres
https://ca.edubirdie.com/blog/worldwide-and-canadian-crisis-centres

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“There are 4.9 million workers across the country who have been deemed essential, and many of them have been struggling to make a decent living for years,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The current pandemic has shown that these workers are the backbone of our society. Yet, society has failed to value them adequately, which is reflected through inadequate wages, the lack of supports and the precarious nature of temporary, part-time employment. That must end now.”

Since the start of the public health crisis, Canada’s unions have brought attention to the issues workers have been facing, including a lack of paid sick leave, the low wages of many frontline workers, and the lack of proper protective equipment and inadequate safety measures across the country.

The campaign is titled; “Heroes Deserve Better” and it will put a spotlight on the struggles frontline workers are facing, while at the same time giving Canadians a way to show gratitude for the critical services these workers provide.

“Heroes deserve paid sick leave and heroes deserve a living wage. They deserve jobs with benefits and proper health and safety measures,” said Yussuff. “Canada’s unions will ensure that they are not forgotten in the recovery.”

The online campaign launches today, May Day. Frontline workers are invited to share their experiences and to express what they hope happens as the crisis goes on, and once it is over.

Canadians across the country are also invited to share stories of a frontline worker they know and would want to see profiled in this special series. Share a story here.

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Although there is still much we do not know about this tragedy, now the deadliest massacre in Canadian history, it has come to light that the killer began his shooting spree by assaulting his intimate partner.

Women’s shelters in Nova Scotia and across the country have called on the media and police to call the recent massacre what it is: an act of gender-based violence.

“We must acknowledge that these murders were rooted in misogyny,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. “They are not ‘senseless,’ ‘random’ or ‘isolated’. They are part of the nationwide crisis of violence against women. It is the same crisis that sees a woman or girl killed every three days in this country.”

Research shows that in the majority of mass shootings there is a history of domestic violence. Misogyny was also at the root of Canada’s other deadliest killings: the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal and the 2018 Toronto van attack.

While misogynist violence can touch any woman, some groups of women are impacted disproportionately: Indigenous women, young women, women with disabilities, and trans women and non-binary folk all experience higher rates of domestic violence.

Other groups of women face barriers to support and to accessing justice. Black and Indigenous women, refugees and migrant women, and trans women may be reluctant to seek the support of police or social services because these systems may expose them to other forms of structural violence and discrimination. Accessible services are difficult to find for deaf women and women with disabilities. Few such services exist in rural and remote communities.

“This pandemic, along with the public health recommendation to stay at home has put women further at risk,” said Clarke Walker. “Canada’s unions applaud governments’ efforts to ensure that shelters and other support providers have the resources they need to manage an increase in demand and to assist women whose homes are not safe.”

Over the last five years, the Canadian labour movement successfully fought for and won paid domestic violence leave both federally and in the vast majority of provinces and territories. Now, we must go further.

Canada needs a National Action Plan on Violence Against Women and Girls. A Plan would help plug the gaps in anti-violence services while establishing clear targets for progress and ensuring consistency across and within jurisdictions. Although the federal government has signaled its intent to develop a Plan, it needs to establish the funding and the process to see it through.

The federal government needs to step up and accelerate these efforts. Women and non-binary people – especially those who are marginalized – are literally dying while we wait.

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With unanimous consent of all parties, Bill C-14: A second Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19 passed during a special sitting at the House of Commons. The bill will now pass the Senate and receive Royal Assent by the end of the day.

The wage subsidy aims to make it easier for employers to retain staff during the COVID-19 crisis. Not only will it ease the financial strain on employers, it aims to help expedite the eventual economic recovery.

“Parliamentarians are clearly sensing the need to act decisively to protect jobs and to help keep Canadian households afloat,” said Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President Hassan Yussuff. “This bill ensures that workers will continue to receive wages and also have access to workplace benefits in the short term.”

This subsidy will be made available to eligible companies, non-profits and charities, providing a benefit of up to $847 per week or 75 per cent of the employee’s prior weekly paycheque, whichever is less. The CLC is urging the government to enforce the expectation that employers make every effort to top up wages so that workers receive 100% of their pre-crisis pay.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will also provide employers with a refund for certain contributions to Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, the Quebec Pension Plan, and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.

The CLC has been urging employers who have laid off workers to quickly reinstate them using this subsidy. Air Canada, for instance, is already working to rehire 16,500 employees.

“The next step is stronger support for essential workers, part-time employees and gig workers, so no one falls through the cracks,” said Yussuff.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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Health care workers are working overtime, playing a critical role for their patients across the country and around the world, often without access to adequate personal protective equipment.

“These essential health care workers are making unimaginable sacrifices, losing time with their loved ones, and risking their own health,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff. “At a time when these workers are being asked to go above and beyond – sometimes acting as the only support for patients because of quarantine – we need to make sure they have every piece of equipment they need to reduce their own risk and any risk to their families.”

Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with all health care workers. These jobs are always challenging – with a lack of funding, threat of violence in the workplace, the trauma and stress faced by many, and an ongoing shortage of professionals ­– but more challenging now than perhaps ever before.

“We need to pay tribute to these workers, and demonstrate our thanks by following the best advice of public health officials – washing our hands, not touching our faces, and staying home whenever possible,” said Yussuff. “We owe it to all essential workers to do everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

At the end of this crisis, when the recovery starts, Canada’s unions will continue to press for adequate funding to ensure health care workers always have what they need to provide Canadians with the best possible care. This includes funding for national, public pharmacare, which would reduce hospital visits from those who can’t afford to take their medications as prescribed.

The post Canada’s unions support nurses, midwives and all health care workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“The Bank of Canada has reduced its lending rate to historically low levels and that means it’s cheaper for financial institutions to borrow money,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “Passing those saving on to help struggling families weather this storm is the right thing to do.”

The CLC is calling on all financial institutions to reducing interest rates on all purchases made after March 15th, and all balances carried forward from prior to that date, for the duration of the COVID-19 health crisis.

“This is a defining moment in our country’s history, and I am urging CEOs to step up and take action to support the common good,” said Yussuff.

The CLC is collecting signatures to put more pressure on the banks and credit card companies to respond to this call, you can sign on here.

A letter has also been sent from CLC to the CEOs of financial institutions asking them to take steps to reduce the debt families are facing.

The post Credit card relief now appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions have called on the provincial, territorial and federal governments to provide immediate income supports to workers affected by COVID-19 quarantine and closures. We have also called for employers to permit flexible working arrangements and provide paid sick leave while maintaining drug coverage.

Nationally, under the Canada Labour Code: 5 days of leave in a calendar year for sick leave or related to the health or care of any of their family members, includes 3 paid days after 3 months of continuous employment.

Yukon, under the Yukon Employment Standards Act: 1 unpaid day of sick leave every month the employee has been employed by that employer, less the number of days on which the employee has previously been absent due to illness or injury, up to a maximum of 12 days.

Northwest Territories: 5 unpaid days in each 12-month period for sick leave or family responsibility leave in a year after 30 continuous days of employment with the same employer.

Nunavut: Unclear.

British Columbia: 5 unpaid days of leave relating to the care or health of a child in the employee’s care or another member of the employee’s immediate family.

Alberta: 5 unpaid days of leave in a calendar year for sick leave, or for family care responsibilities after 90 days of employment with the same employer.

For COVID-19: 14 unpaid days of leave with no requirement of a specific term of employment or doctor’s note, retroactive to March 5, 2020. This applies to part-time and full-time workers but does not apply to the self-employed or contractors.

Saskatchewan: Under the Saskatchewan Employment Act, 0 days of paid leave and 12 days of unpaid sick leave or for the care of family members.

For COVID-19, an unspecified number of unpaid days of leave for isolation, quarantine or to care for dependents with no requirement for a medical note or for a specific employment period, and retroactive to March 6, 2020.

Manitoba: Under the Manitoba Employment Standards Code, 3 unpaid days of leave in a year for sick leave or for family care responsibilities after 30 days of employment with the same employer.

Ontario: Under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 3 unpaid days of leave in a calendar year for a personal illness, injury or medical emergency after two consecutive weeks of employment with the same employer; 3 unpaid days of leave for illness, injury or medical emergency of a family member after two consecutive weeks with the same employer; and, 8 weeks of unpaid leave to provide care or support to a family member that has a serious medical condition.

For COVID-19, an unspecified number of unpaid days for those who are in isolation or quarantine, or those who need to be away from work to care for family and children because of school or daycare closures. These measures are retroactive to January 25, 2020, with no requirement for a specific period of employment or for a medical note.

Quebec: Under an Act Respecting Labour Standards, 2 paid days of leave to take care of a relative or person with whom they act as an informal caregiver or in the case of sickness after 3 months of employment; 10 days per year to fulfil obligations relating to the care, health or education of the employee’s child or the child of the employee’s spouse, or because of the state of health of a relative or a person for whom the employee acts as a caregiver and the first 2 days shall be paid according to a formula, and after 3 months of continuous employment.

For COVID-19: Residents of Quebec 18 and over who are isolating because they have symptoms or have tested positive, have been in contact with an infected person; or, have travelled outside of the country may be granted $573 per week for a period of 14 days of isolation or up to 28 days if justified, if they are not receiving compensation from their employer, private insurance or another government program. The order to self-isolate must be given by the Government of Canada, the Gouvernement du Quebec or another responsible authority. To apply, residents must register here.

New Brunswick: Under the New Brunswick Employment Standards Act, 5 unpaid days of leave in a calendar year for sick leave after 90 days of employment and 3 unpaid days of leave in a calendar year for family care responsibility leave.

Nova Scotia: Under the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Code, 3 unpaid days of leave in a year for leave due to the sickness of a child, parent or family member; or for medical, dental or other similar appointments during working hours.

Prince Edward Island: Under the Prince Edward Island Employment Standards Act, 3 unpaid days of leave in a calendar year for sick leave after 3 months of continuous employment; 1 paid day of leave in a calendar year, in addition to any unpaid leave that the worker is entitled to, after five continuous years of employment; and, 3 unpaid days of leave in a calendar year for family care responsibility leave after six continuous months with the same employer.

Newfoundland and Labrador: Under the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Standards Act, 7 unpaid days of leave for sick leave or family responsibility leave in a year after 30 continuous days of employment with the same employer.

The post Sick Leave Across Canada appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

While we are all struggling to make sense of the current crisis, we have to consider the most marginalized among us, who are always facing threats to their safety and security that the rest of us are now experiencing.

Trans folks are among our health care workers, they are re-stocking the shelves in our grocery stores, they are helping to deliver municipal services, all while facing uncertainty about their own access to much needed medications and gender-affirming surgeries. 

Being an ally means ensuring that trans people are not forgotten in our priorities as we look to rebuild after this crisis. 

“Trans people are part of our movement. We all have a role to play to better protect the rights of our trans members and ensure they have the support they need in our workplaces, in our unions and in our communities,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. 

Canada’s Unions are proud to mark the International Transgender Day of Visibility 2020 with the launch of a newly updated resource: Workers in Transition: A Practical Guide for Union Representatives and Trans Union Members. This revised version of the popular handbook includes a refreshed glossary of terms related to trans, Two Spirit and non-binary peoples’ experiences, as well as tools and strategies for workers, union representatives and activists to implement trans-inclusive policies and advocacy in all workplaces in Canada.

The labour movement will be a major part of Canada’s economic recovery, and we have the opportunity now to build awareness of the many barriers facing trans workers, and help trade union leaders, union staff representatives, local executives, committee members and shop stewards become better allies.

You can take action today by downloading your copy of the new Workers in Transition handbook now and becoming a trans ally in your workplace and in your community. 

To learn more about the International Transgender Day of Visibility, click here.

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The recommendation that people stay in their homes, along with added financial pressure and stress, can elevate the risk of violence and further entrenches isolation, which increases opportunities for abusers to exert power and control.

Women’s shelters and transition houses across the country are doing their best to remain open for those fleeing domestic violence, despite the current challenges. Federal and provincial governments have announced some new spending to support these necessary services during this critical time.

We all have a role to play.

How to help someone you know or those suffering in your community

What should you do if you are concerned about a co-worker, friend or family member that you believe is experiencing abuse?

• Remind them that you care about their health and well-being.
• Encourage them to reach out to their local shelter to get support and to develop a safety plan.
• Keep the lines of communication open to reduce isolation.
• Union representatives who have been assisting members with workplace safety planning can work with them and a shelter worker to adapt it to the new context.

How can you help in your community?

• Consider donating to local shelters so they can continue to offer services during this crisis. Contact your local organization to find out how you can help.

What to do if you need help

• Reach out to any women’s shelter or helpline, which will provide information, support and referrals to other services. You do not need to seek shelter to get help.
• Even if leaving does not feel like an option, shelter workers can provide assistance with developing a safety plan, offer a listening ear and help you better understand your situation.
• If you belong to a union, create or adapt a workplace safety plan with your union representative. If you don’t belong to one, work with your employer and a shelter worker.
• If you are in immediate danger, call 911. You do not need to tell the 911 operator why you are calling if you are afraid of your partner’s reaction. Even if you just say “I would like to order a pizza”, police will come to your home.

Useful links

Sheltersafe provides information and can help identify a shelter in your community. Crisis and distress lines are available in most provinces and territories, and 211 can identify local sources of support in many communities.

Remember, employers must ensure that Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) remain accessible during the pandemic. These may be useful for those experiencing violence right now.

The post Home is not safe for everyone: Domestic violence during a pandemic appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Migrant workers, undocumented people, people living on low-incomes, international students, racialized workers and refugees are particularly vulnerable to the health fallout of the current pandemic, as well as the economic impacts of the crisis.

“It is critical that the strategies around containing the virus and supporting workers includes these vulnerable populations,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President at the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “This includes upholding the human rights of asylum seekers who present at irregular crossings along Canada’s border. No one should be turned away but screened for the virus while being provided with the support guaranteed under our international obligations to refugees and migrants.”

The CLC echoes the Migrant Rights Network call for immediate government action to ensure:

• healthcare for all, including those without status;
• comprehensive worker protections, including paid emergency leave;
• a stop on detentions and deportations;
• increased funding for community supports, including food banks; and
• emergency shelters.

Furthermore, the CLC is calling on everyone to be vigilant against anti-Asian racism due to the unfair linkages being made with Chinese communities and the virus.

“We know there will be those who take advantage of a global crisis to unfairly scapegoat certain groups. This is absolutely unacceptable. Racism, xenophobia, and expressions of hate have no place in our communities. Canada’s unions will continue to promote inclusive communities.

“This global pandemic must bring about the best in all of us. Together, we will get through the immense challenges we are now facing,” said Rousseau.

The post Canada’s unions say marginalized workers must not be forgotten during pandemic appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Income support will be critical to minimizing the economic impact of COVID-19.

In addition, the Canadian Labour Congress is calling on all governments and employers to take every step necessary to protect the health and well-being of workers, including health care workers who are on the frontlines of this public health emergency. These measures include:

1. Permitting flexible work arrangements, telecommuting, video and teleconferencing, ending non-essential travel, and postponing unnecessary meetings and events.
2. Providing paid sick leave under short-term disability and sick leave plans while maintaining drug coverage.
3. Providing 14 days paid sick leave for workers under prevailing federal, provincial and territorial labour standards to cover the quarantine period. 
4. Waiving any requirement for a doctor’s note to permit sick leave.
5. Prohibiting coronavirus testing as a condition of continued employment.
6. Working with Service Canada to take full advantage of the improved EI Work-Sharing Program to minimize layoffs.
7. Working closely with health and safety committees and unions to provide accurate and timely information to employees about accessing benefits and support.
8. Providing compassionate care and bereavement leave support to employees, as well as mental health counselling and support.
   

   Specific to health care workers, employers should, among other things:

    

9.  Provide an adequate supply of appropriate N95 respirators on hand as well as PAPR (for aerosol-generating procedures, e.g. intubation) and other personal protective equipment.
10. Conduct a risk assessment to determine all points of potential entry (and how to restrict them) and other points of potential exposure for workers (e.g. screening, triage, isolation rooms).

The post Supporting workers in a time of crisis: Key steps for governments and employers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“We continue to share our recommendations with the federal government as this situation progresses. While there has been an important move in easing measures around Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, the government will need to go much further to protect the most vulnerable,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

After decades of cuts, Canada’s unemployment safety net is wholly inadequate and paid sick leave policies across the country are insufficient.

In 2018, only 33 per cent of unemployed women and 38 per cent of unemployed men received EI benefits. Seasonal workers, those with precarious employment and the self-employed are most vulnerable and will require urgent support.

“While we acknowledge the important measures all levels of governments are taking to ease the burden on the business community to help save jobs in the private sector, more must be done to assist front-line workers in health care fields who are vital in the fight against COVID-19,” said Yussuff.

Further, CLC urges the federal government to:

• Reduce the entry requirement for EI regular and sickness benefits;
• Immediately increase the current benefit rate from 55 per cent to 60 per cent;
• Establish an emergency benefit with a low minimum contribution requirement to support otherwise ineligible workers;
• Implement regulations to waive the requirement that claimants obtain a doctor’s note if they require quarantine;
• Make additional government funds available to provide special income relief for health sector workers who may be subject to quarantine or who become sick;
• Instruct utilities, banks, landlords, credit card companies and financial institutions to extend and relax mortgage, rent and bill payment requirements, loan servicing obligations, and other responsibilities facing consumers and households;
• Work with First Ministers to declare that no one be fired for self-quarantining or recovering from infection, and that if a worker loses their job for these reasons, they will be reinstated;
• Double the GST/HST credit to provide income support to low-income Canadians; and
• Increase the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) paid to low- and modest-income families.

“Single and vulnerable parents living paycheck to paycheck are going to struggle to pay rent and utilities if they have to scale back hours and turn down shifts to deal with the child care crisis. We know that these measures will disproportionately affect women.

“All across Canada, working people have been listening to public health authorities and doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19—it is now time for Canada to support them.”

Read more: Supporting workers in a time of crisis — Key steps for governments and employers.

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“The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the CLC are uniting our response efforts to ensure all appropriate measures are put in place to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 for Canada’s employers and employees.

“Canada’s economy, and the workers who support it, are set to face an unprecedented test. These challenges must be met with teamwork and coordination among Canadian workers and their families, businesses and governments. We were pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the challenges facing business and labour with Prime Minister Trudeau and look forward to hearing about the government’s response.

“The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the CLC will be united in our efforts to ensure that every sector of the economy receives all necessary stabilizing support. Furthermore, we will develop complimentary policy options to help governments implement timely and meaningful programs to support Canadians through this period.

“At every turn, we will be looking to work collaboratively and assist all levels of government to ensure response programs reach those who need support in a timely and effective manner.”

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Because Business Matters

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that support our families, our communities and our country. We do this by influencing government policy, by providing essential business services and by connecting businesses to information they can use, to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers, businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our great nation.

About the Canadian Labour Congress

The CLC is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

For more information, please contact:

Phil Taylor
ptavlor@chamber.ca

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“Canadian workers are in a very tenuous situation right now. The majority have no paid sick leave and low cash reserves to buffer against unemployment. For many, missing work is not an option,” said Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President Hassan Yussuff. “No one should be fired for self-quarantining or recovering from infection. We need to make sure the needs of all workers are moved to the top of the priority list as we position ourselves to respond to this evolving threat.”

While the Prime Minister acted quickly to form a cabinet committee to respond to the spread of the virus, Canada’s unions are calling on the Minister of Labour to be included in this response unit.

The CLC is also asking the federal government to consider a host of measures, including:

• Additional paid days leave for all sick or self-isolated federally regulated workers, which includes the transportation sector, and encourage the provinces to follow suit.
• That the CLC calls on the federal government and First Ministers meeting this week to declare that no one must be fired for self-quarantining or recovering from infection, and any worker losing their job for these reasons will be reinstated.
• Implement a sharp reduction in Employment Insurance (EI) qualifying hours. The hours threshold prevents a significant proportion of low-income, non-standard workers from qualifying for EI benefits.
• Implement temporary regulations that waive any requirement that claimants obtain a medical certificate if their employer, a public authority or a health care professional recommends or requires their quarantine. A simple declaration or attestation of the claimant could be required in place of a medical certificate.
• Make available additional government funds through the EI program to provide special income relief for vulnerable workers and health sector workers who do not qualify for EI, but who may be subject to quarantine or became sick with COVID-19.

“If we’re going to ask anyone with COVID-19 symptoms to self-quarantine for 14 days, Canadians need to know the government has their backs,” added Yussuff. “We’re confident that our recommendations coupled with a commitment that no one will be fired for self-quarantining, will help limit the spread of this virus.”

CLC letter to the Prime Minister found here.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca 
613-526-7426

The post Support workers to stem the spread of COVID-19 appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“We know that universal, public pharmacare will be less expensive and keep more people healthy and out of the hospital,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “For 7.5 million Canadians that are uninsured or underinsured, pharmacare won’t just change their lives, it can save them.”

Canada’s minority governments have a history of advancing public policies that have significantly improved the lives of millions of families. On top of pharmacare, labour activists are also pressing the need for a $15 federal minimum wage, protections for worker pensions and the ratification of ILO Convention 190 on ending violence and harassment at work.

“On C-190, Canada brought this to the ILO and we have an opportunity to show real leadership by becoming one of the first countries to ratify it,” said Yussuff.

The creation of a federal minimum wage for workers in federally regulated workplaces would lift up more than 70,000 workers. These workers have been without a minimum wage since 1996, it is long overdue.

It has also been too long that workers have been told they have to wait for the creditors to be paid before they get the pensions they are owed. The government needs to protect these workers so they can retire with confidence.

“This government has a historic opportunity, and mandate, to build a more progressive Canada,” added Yussuff. “When Canadian workers come together, our collective voice has real weight with decision-makers. Canada must grasp this opportunity to make pharmacare a reality and improve Canadians’ lives.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is the voice of Canada’s labour movement representing over 3 million union members who work in every industry across the country.

To arrange an interview, please contact:

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“The Hoskins Report is done, the election promises have been made, the Ministers’ mandate letters are clear and the majority of MPs are with us. Canadians are ready. It’s time for pharmacare,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff. “With a critical mass of support, it’s time for this Liberal government to seize this historic opportunity to implement universal, single-payer national pharmacare.”

The Hoskins Report stated that an initial investment of $3.5 billion will be required in Federal Budget 2020 as the first step toward implementing universal pharmacare. The group of advocates emphasised this investment is needed immediately to kick start this process.

“Right now, 7.5 million Canadians have inadequate drug coverage or none at all. In fact, 16 per cent of people in Canada go without medication for heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol because of cost,” added Heart & Stroke CEO Yves Savoie. “We can’t wait any longer.”

Besides Budget 2020, stakeholders identified other milestones to ensure the implementation of this key missing piece of Medicare can be a success. Most importantly, they discussed how to bring pharmacare supporters and Canadians along this historic journey, and where it can lead us into the future.

“The cost savings of a single-payer model has been proven time and again,” added Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions President Linda Silas. “With government and opposition support, we’re closer than ever to making single-payer pharmacare a reality,”

The group of pharmacare advocates is made up of organizations representing civil society, business, labour and patient interest groups.

For more information:

CLC Media
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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With effective treatment and care, many people living with HIV are leading long and healthy lives. In 1990, a 20-year-old diagnosed with HIV was not expected to live past the age of 40—today, that same person could live to age 70. Between 2000 and 2018, HIV-related deaths fell 45 percent worldwide.

Unfortunately, the cost and accessibility of treatment regimes in Canada varies from province to province. In some provinces, access to HIV medication is covered in all cases, while in others, access depends on how a person was exposed to the virus and whether or not they have private insurance. Coupled with drug prices as high as $1,000/month, the inequity of coverage intensifies.

“Provinces with little to no coverage are forcing Canadians to make tough decisions about medications. These inconsistencies stress the issue that no health care system is truly universal without coverage for medications,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Canadians with life-threatening illnesses deserve a universal pharmacare plan that would ensure they can get the medication they need, when they need it, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. We all deserve that peace of mind.”

As part of World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization is calling for universal health coverage around the world. Canada’s unions want to ensure that coverage includes adding prescription medication to our valued public health care system.

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The World Day for Decent Work is a global day of action for trade unions around the world. The theme for 2019, Investing in care for gender equality, recognizes that work in the care sector remains significantly undervalued, despite a growing demand.

The majority of workers who provide care for children, sick or elderly adults or people with disabilities are women. Many care workers are racialized, new to Canada, or working here temporarily.

Canada’s low investment in care, with the expectation that women will care for loved ones, unpaid, is a huge barrier to increasing women’s workforce participation, to tackling the gender pay gap and to achieving equality between women and men at work and in society.

Care work is characterized by poor pay and bad working conditions. These jobs are often precarious, offer little to no benefits or job security, involve long hours and heavy, challenging workloads.

Workers in the care sector experience astonishingly high rates of violence and harassment, including physical and sexual violence. Many care jobs are informal, leaving workers without the protection of employment or health and safety legislation, access to employment insurance or CPP.

A task force on care work would:

• Examine paid and unpaid care work;
• Develop a federal strategy to meet the increasing demands for care;
• Reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care work by improving access to public care services; and
• Create a labour market strategy for care jobs.

Investing in the care economy by providing universal and affordable access to care services would double down on the benefits to gender equality in Canada – by creating good jobs for women with fair compensation and safe, decent working conditions, and by making it possible for more women to get a decent job and support their families.

Without a significant investment in our already-stretched public care services, women will most likely be left to pick up the slack.

It’s time to build and grow the care sector and promote decent work for care workers.

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Its key recommendations begin to address the existing inefficiencies in an unfair system that leaves millions of Canadians unable to afford their prescriptions and grappling with the third highest drug prices in the world.

“The recommendations in today’s report have the potential to increase access and move to lower costs if implemented alongside a universal, national, public pharmacare program,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The Advisory Council undertook extensive consultations with Canadians. Their findings confirm what studies and polls have clearly shown: the current system is broken and leaves too many Canadians without the coverage they need. More than 3.6 million Canadians cannot afford to fill their prescriptions, according to government estimates.

“The creation of a national drug agency and the development of a comprehensive, evidence-based national drug formulary are significant changes that will move Canada in the right direction,” said Yussuff. “Delivering this through a pharmacare model designed similarly to Medicare will ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, has access to the medications they need, as they do right now with hospitals and doctors,” he continued.

Over the past two years, the Canadian Labour Congress has been campaigning for a universal pharmacare plan. Over that time, 108,000 people have signed a petition, 26,000 emailed their Member of Parliament and nearly 14,000 made submissions to the Advisory Council urging for the adoption of a universal single-payer public model. This campaign is supported by recent public opinion polls that show 88% of Canadians support a single-payer universal pharmacare program.

“Canadians need a universal pharmacare system and Canada’s unions will be looking to the final report for a comprehensive blueprint for the implementation of a public universal model of pharmacare,” he continued.

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Within ten days, about 2,500 workers in six hospitals and nine nursing homes were on wildcat strikes and hundreds of other health care workers joined work-to-rule and other worker solidarity efforts. Premier Ralph Klein could only watch in horror as his budget cuts backfired.

Alberta’s Conservative government eliminated tens of thousands of public sector jobs between 1993 and 1994 while cutting the wages and benefits of the workers who remained. The 1994 budget delivered a 20% cut in health care, a 21% cut in post secondary education and a 12.4% cut in K-12 education. Welfare rolls were cut in half over one year. Within two years, Alberta program spending declined by over 21%. Homelessness climbed 740% during the Klein years in office.

The labour movement, overwhelmed by the ferocity of the government’s attack on people to delivered essential services, was left struggling to respond. So, when the Klein-appointed Calgary Health Authority moved to further the province’s privatization agenda by contracting out the jobs of Calgary hospital laundry workers, it expected little resistance. They were wrong.

The workers had already taken a 28% cut in the previous round of bargaining in order to keep their jobs. They had given enough to “King Ralph” and were determined not to become pawns in the Conservative’s game plan to destroy the public sector.

The first to respond were 60 laundry workers at the Calgary General Hospital, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. When they learned that their jobs would be handed over to K-Bro Linens in Edmonton, they all called in sick. Workers at the Foothills Hospital where the laundry workers were members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, followed suit the following day.

Within ten days, about 2,500 workers in six hospitals and nine nursing homes were on wildcat strikes and hundreds of other health care workers joined work-to-rule and other worker solidarity efforts. Trade unionists from outside the health sector as well as many members of the general public demonstrated solidarity with the strikers on their picket line and in public rallies.

Premier Klein watched in horror as his carefully orchestrated dismantling of public services in Alberta seemed to crumble. The Calgary Health Authority, under pressure from the government, offered the unions a delay in contracting out of 18 months, long enough for most of the affected workers to find other jobs. The “tough guy” government of Ralph Klein had blinked and it was a group of mainly immigrant women workers who had caused it to blink.

The courage displayed by the laundry workers inspired a wave of strikes and job actions by other health care workers; licensed practical nurses and general support service workers repeatedly took part in some of the largest walk outs in Alberta’s history during the closing years of that decade.

While the laundry workers’ victory was a partial one, the events that they set in motion marked a victory for all Alberta working people. The cuts and privatizations largely stopped for several years and the government began reinvesting in public services however modestly.

“I would just like to add to that, and that is that after the laundry workers’ strike the Klein government was a different animal than before the laundry workers’ strike. Before that, as Tom said, they were ideologically driven, they refused to discuss. There was no discussion of any of their policies, they were simply enacted. After that they became much more of a kind of populist government. Yes, they still had their ideological conditioning, but they looked before they leapt. They compromised, they backed off of things. If it looked like people were ready to make a fight out of things, they backed off. They did not come in and take people on directly that way again I don’t think, and I think that was a victory for the labour movement.”

Jim Selby interview.

– – – – – – – – – –

Source: Alberta Labour History Institute

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Often called the father of universal healthcare, “Tommy” Thomas Clement Douglas, was a Canadian immigrant from Scotland. He was ill as a boy and was saved from losing a leg thanks to the charity of a doctor who operated for free to save the limb.

Years later, Douglas became active in the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a political party formed in reaction to the social and economic conditions of the early 20^th century that culminated in the Great Depression. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1935, where he served before going on to lead the CCF to election victory in Saskatchewan in 1944. As Premier of Saskatchewan, Douglas led North America’s first social-democratic government.

Over the next two decades, Douglas oversaw the formation of social programs that continue today. He established the publicly-owned Saskatchewan Power Corporation , Canada’s first public automobile insurance program, and a number of Crown Corporations to deliver essential services. He passed laws that allowed government workers to unionize and adopted a Saskatchewan Bill of Rights 18 months before the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But he is most remembered for establishing Canada’s first publicly run Medicare system in Saskatchewan in 1961. In doing so he became the father of universal health care in Canada.

In 1962, Douglas left Saskatchewan politics to become the first leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP), created by a merger of the CCF and the labour movement, led by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). He served as the party’s leader until 1971 and retired from elected politics in 1979.

In 1981 Douglas was appointed to the Order of Canada and in 1985 was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. He died on February 24, 1986 in Ottawa. In a 2004, CBC viewers voted to crown Tommy Douglas the “Greatest Canadian“.

Happy Birthday Tommy! And thanks for making sure all Canadian’s have affordable healthcare!

This is a great legacy for Canada and one many of us are proud of. But there is still work to do. The work of leaders like Tommy Douglas, groups like the Canadian Health Coalition, political parties like the NDP, and Canadian workers through their unions and the labour movement continues with today’s drive to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers all Canadians regardless of their income, age, or where they live.

The post Happy birthday to the “greatest Canadian” appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Our coalition believes that National Pharmacare should be a seamless extension of the existing universal health care system in Canada, which covers medically necessary physician and hospital services, and therefore operate in harmony with the principles of the Canada Health Act.

National Pharmacare should be governed by the following principles:

Universality

Coverage for all residents of Canada on equal terms and conditions.

Public, Single-Payer Administration

A publicly administered and delivered program that is integrated with the Medicare systems in which it operates, directly accountable to the public it serves, and leverages single-payer procurement to maximize purchasing power for the entire Canadian population.

Accessibility

Access to covered medications without financial barriers or other impediments.

Comprehensiveness

Coverage for as many medications as judged safe and effective by scientific evidence and based on the best value for money.

Ensure the public servant experts who select medications for coverage are appropriately insulated from political pressures and marketing campaigns.

Portable Coverage

Continuous and consistent coverage for residents who move within Canada.

In addition to the five principles above, our coalition believes that the federal government must offer leadership in order to achieve National Pharmacare. This must include substantial funding commitments, sufficient to induce provincial and territorial governments to opt-in to the national program.

Add your voice now www.aplanforeveryone.ca

Consensus principles signatories

National organizations

Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
Canada Without Poverty
Canadian Association of Community Health Centres
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Canadian Association of Retired Persons
Canadian Association of Retired Teachers
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Canadian Doctors for Medicare
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions
Canadian Health Coalition
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Nurses Association
Canadian Nursing Students’ Association
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Canadian Women’s Foundation
Citizens for Public Justice
College of Family Physicians of Canada
Community Food Centres Canada
Congress of Union Retirees of Canada
Council of Canadians
InterPares
LeadNow
National Farmers Union
National Pensioners Federation
National Union of Public and General Employees
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
SEIU Healthcare
Seniors’ Voice
United Food & Commercial Workers
Unifor
United Steelworkers of Canada
Women’s Shelters Canada / Hébergement femmes Canada

Provincial & territorial organizations

Alberta Association of Community Health Centres
Alberta Federation of Labour
Alberta Federation of Union Retirees
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
Alternatives North
Alliance for Healthier Communities – Ontario
British Columbia Association of Community Health Centres
British Columbia College of Family Physicians
British Columbia Federation of Retired Union Members
British Columbia Nurses’ Union
Centrale des syndicats du Québec
Coalition solidarité santé
Friends of Medicare
Health Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador
Manitoba Association of Community Health
Manitoba Federation of Labour
Manitoba Health Coalition
Manitoba Nurses Union
Médecins québécois pour le régime public
New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice Inc. / Front commun pour la justice social du Nouveau Brunswick Inc.
New Brunswick Health Coalition
New Brunswick Nurses Union
Northern Territories Federation of Labour
Nova Scotia Association of Community Health Centres
Nova Scotia Federation of Labour
Nova Scotia Health Coalition
Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union
Ontario Federation of Labour
Ontario Nurses’ Association
PEI Federation of Labour
PEI Health Coalition
PEI Nurses’ Union
Planned Parenthood – Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Health Centre
Public Health Association of British Columbia
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario
Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland and Labrador
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses
Sexual Health Nova Scotia
Union des consommateurs
United Nurses of Alberta
Yukon Federation of Labour

This list was last updated on October 18, 2018.

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Labour Day offers Canadians an important opportunity to reflect on the legacy of unions, to take stock of our progress and to commit ourselves to working together for a fairer future. Canada’s unions work to raise the standards for every worker, from higher wages and pensions, to better safety standards. This year, unions are working to improve the health of everyone in Canada by campaigning for universal pharmacare.

Since launching a national campaign on pharmacare last year, the Canadian Labour Congress has seen significant progress, including the creation of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare by the federal government last spring.

“We’ve gained incredible momentum on pharmacare,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “We’ve been working closely with health coalitions, nurses unions, business groups, and a variety of medical professionals to start this overdue conversation in cities and towns right across the country. What we’ve heard time and again from Canadians is that pharmacare is the unfinished business of health care and it’s about time we get this done.”

Yussuff said that proposals by the insurance industry and Big Pharma won’t save Canadians, businesses or government money, but they will help increase those companies’ already high profits.

“More than 100,000 people across Canada have taken action to support universal pharmacare, and those numbers are growing daily,” said Yussuff. “We’ve said all along that patchwork coverage that varies from one province to another isn’t working for people in Canada, and a fill-in-the-gaps approach to pharmacare just isn’t good enough.”

The Advisory Council has launched both online and public consultations on pharmacare, and Canadians should take the opportunity to send their feedback to the government. Studies have consistently shown a majority of Canadians are struggling to afford to pay for their prescription medications, or worry about being able to afford it in the future.

“We’ve made great strides towards universal pharmacare in Canada. The government is listening, so now is our chance to get it right,” said Yussuff. “The right way forward – the only way that pharmacare will really work in Canada – is with a single-payer, universal program that covers everyone with a health card and delivers savings through bulk-buying.”

National pharmacare is both sound economic and social policy, that will have a positive impact on our communities,” Yussuff added.

For more information on the campaign visit aplanforeveryone.ca.

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“I am excited to welcome the six appointees to Canada’s newly minted pharmacare advisory council. They have an important job ahead of them and Canada’s unions are ready and willing to work with Dr. Eric Hoskins and the Council to make sure that we get pharmacare right for everyone,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Advisory Council Chair Eric Hoskins unveiled the team the government has assembled to develop a plan to implement a national pharmacare program earlier today. Details of the Advisory Council’s plans for public consultations have yet to be revealed, however the government has launched online consultations.

“Pharmacare is the unfinished business of medicare and Canadians have been waiting since 1966 for publicly administered universal prescription drug coverage,” said Yussuff. “As I travelled the country, I heard from Canadians who are struggling with insufficient coverage, increasing co-payments, restrictions and limitations that make every day a struggle. We hope this Council will give voice to those people and inspire confidence that the health of their families will no longer be a financial burden.”

In fall 2017, the CLC launched “Pharmacare: A Plan for Everyone”, a national campaign that included a cross-country tour to highlight the failures of Canada’s inefficient patchwork system of prescription drug coverage. Studies show that 3.5 million people are unable to afford to fill their prescriptions. Many are splitting their pills or skipping days to stretch the prescriptions they do fill.

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The LGBTQ2SI community can often face more barriers than their straight and cisgender peers in accessing adequate health care. Yet, access to health care – including medication – is a fundamental human right.

“Universal pharmacare is about health equity. Everyone in Canada with a health card – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation – should have access to the medications they need,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Roughly one third of working people in Canada don’t have employer-funded prescription drug coverage. Many members of LGBTQ2SI communities face discrimination in the job market, which can restrict their access to meaningful employment with access to comprehensive drug benefits. Even those who do have workplace health benefits can find co-pays or deductibles prohibitive, preventing them from taking necessary medications as prescribed.

“Too many people in Canada must choose between paying for their prescription medications or buying groceries. For the LGBTQ2SI community, the barriers are even greater,” said Yussuff.

HIV prevention treatment, gender-affirming hormones, medication to treat anxiety or depression, and treatments in support of reproductive and sexual health and fertility – just to name a few – can be prohibitively expensive. Lack of access to some of these medications can have disastrous consequences.

“Universal pharmacare would improve the lives of so many by ensuring equal access to prescription medications for everyone. Here at home, Canada is making great strides in ensuring equality for LGBTQ2SI communities, but there is still a lot to be done,” added Yussuff.

The federal government has committed to addressing systemic discrimination experienced by LGBTQ2SI people. Canada’s unions have called on the government to do more, including ending the discriminatory ban on blood donation for all men who have sex with men. It’s past time to end this homophobic and transphobic policy once and for all.

Internationally, Canada has also become more engaged on LGBTQ2SI issues. Later this year, Canada will host Leaving No One Behind: the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) Global Conference on LGBTI Human Rights and Inclusive Development in Vancouver. Co-chaired by Canada and Chile, the ERC is the first-ever intergovernmental coalition dedicated to the protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people around the world.

To learn more about the CLC’s pharmacare campaign, visit aplanforeveryone.ca.

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Nearly 100 expert witnesses presented to the Committee, with the majority arguing that Canada needs universal, comprehensive, and publicly-administered prescription drug coverage.

“This announcement reinforces what we’ve heard at town hall meetings across the country: the current patchwork prescription drug system isn’t working. This is a great first step that will hopefully lay the groundwork for implementation of universal pharmacare in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Last fall, the CLC launched a national campaign calling for universal pharmacare. Its pan-Canadian pharmacare town hall tour has so far visited 23 communities and garnered nearly 30,000 petition signatures and 7,000 emails to Members of Parliament.

“Over 3 million Canadians can’t afford their prescriptions and many people have reported skipping doses or splitting pills to stretch out their prescriptions,” said Yussuff. “Everyone knows someone who can’t afford to take their medication as directed.”

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Coverage in Canada vastly differs depending on where you live. Earlier this year, the government committed to a pathway to establishing universal pharmacare in its federal budget.

“Nobody should have to choose between paying for groceries and paying for the medication they need. That’s why we need a pharmacare plan that covers all Canadians, regardless of their age, income or where they live or work,” he said.

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In a joint letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today, the three organizations express dismay over comments made today by Morneau about pharmacare and say he should recuse himself from the pharmacare file given his perceived conflict of interest.

Download the letter

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

Re: Minister Morneau should recuse himself from the pharmacare file given his perceived conflict of interest

We write to express our dismay at comments made today by Finance Minister Bill Morneau before the Economic Club of Canada regarding pharmacare. In the absence of any terms of reference for the newlyannounced Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare (ACINP), Minister Morneau has already presupposed the outcome. His comments today suggest a sharp turn away from the evidence-based pharmacare recommendations that every commission ever convened on the topic has made, as well as the commitments of Morneau’s own Liberal Party at their most recent convention.

In his comments before the Economic Club of Canada regarding the ACINP, Minister Morneau differentiated between a “national pharmacare strategy” and a “national pharmacare plan,” calling them “two very different things.” He went on to say, “we recognize that we need a strategy to deal with the fact that not everyone has access and we need to do it in a way that’s responsive – that deals with the gaps and that doesn’t throw out the system we currently have.”

Minister Morneau’s comments are incorrect: Canadians have witnessed decades of research, consultations, Royal Commissions and parliamentary studies which have overwhelmingly recommended a national pharmacare plan, not piecemeal coverage. Moreover, after receiving testimony from 99 expert witnesses, the Commons health committee is on the verge of unveiling a landmark report to Parliament which is expected to recommend the same: a universal pharmacare plan.

Minister Morneau’s comments contradict the overwhelming evidence and threaten to undermine the work of the ACINP before it even begins. We request that he retract these statements and recuse himself from involvement with the ACINP. This is a vital step to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest. To ensure its legitimacy, the ACINP must be guided exclusively by evidence and public interest. In his speech, the Minister also stated “my firm [Morneau Shepell] was the largest provider of benefits consultancy services in Canada.” With these deep ties to the private firm Morneau Shepell, we are concerned that the Finance Minister may not be approaching the issue of fundamental change in national drug insurance policies with an exclusive focus on evidence in the public interest.

As health professionals and labour leaders, we are committed to the wellbeing of patients and the effectiveness of our health care services, it is our hope that insurance industry and pharmaceutical industry interests will not play a role in the implementation of universal public pharmacare. Canada must join the rest of the industrialized world and establish what the evidence shows works best – a universal, public pharmacare system similar to our universal health care system.

We remain optimistic about the appointment of Dr. Eric Hoskins to chair the ACINP. With his track record in Ontario, as a public official committed to the wellbeing of patients, he is the right person for the job. We look forward to working collaboratively with Dr. Hoskins and the ACINP to assemble a blueprint for the implementation of a national pharmacare plan by early 2019. Thank you for your consideration of this letter.

Signed,

Linda Silas, RN, BScN
President, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

Dr. Danyaal Raza, MD MPH CCFP
Chair, Canadian Doctors for Medicare

Hassan Yussuff
President, Canadian Labour Congress

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The same message is being highlighted in meetings today between over 300 union representatives from across Canada and more than 175 ministers, Members of Parliament and Senators.

“Nobody should have to choose between buying groceries and paying for the medication they need,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “But today 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford their prescriptions.”

“That’s why Canada’s unions are campaigning for pharmacare, here with our lobby day on Parliament Hill today, and over the next few months with town hall meetings across the country,” he added.

Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, emphasized why employers are out front in the push for universal pharmacare.

“The burden of Canada’s incomplete and inefficient system of public drug coverage falls heavily on businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises that comprise the backbone of Canada’s economy,” she added. “With rising costs of medications, many businesses are seeing their bottom lines erode and some find they simply cannot afford to provide insurance plans for their employees.”

Dr. Monika Dutt, a family physician and Canadian Doctors for Medicare board member, emphasized the cost of health outcomes when patients fail to take their medications as prescribed.

“As a doctor, it’s hard to come up with an effective care plan for a patient when you’re uncertain if they can afford to fill their prescriptions or take their medications as prescribed,” said Dr. Dutt.

A recent study by Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives highlights why pharmacare makes economic sense too.

“Our research found that a universal pharmacare plan will save billions of dollars a year by eliminating current federal, provincial and territorial programs, private insurance and out-of-pocket expenses paid by individual Canadians,” she added.

Marissa Semkiw, Director of Policy and Government Relations for CARP, highlighted support for pharmacare among her organization’s membership.

“Ten percent of CARP members have admitted to skipping prescription medications because of costs, and 87 percent support consistent drug coverage across all of Canada,” said Semkiw. “Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. It’s time we recognize that the two go hand in hand.”

Almost 30,000 Canadians have signed on to the CLC’s petition calling for universal pharmacare since its campaign launched on Labour Day. Over the next few months, the CLC will host town hall meetings in more than 25 communities across the country, featuring Canada’s foremost pharmacare experts and advocates.

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A cancer-fighting medication had kept Judy Pope alive for five years, but when her husband Gary’s health insurance switched to a new provider, a cap on coverage meant the Popes were faced with medication costs of more than $3,000 a month.

Judy Pope’s painful choice is chronicled in a new CLC video launched online on November 16. The video is meant to encourage Canadians to share the Popes’ story and to add their voice to an online petition that has so far garnered thousands of signatures from across Canada.

“Canadians know it is simply unacceptable that anyone should have to choose between bankrupting their family and saying no to a life-saving drug,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “It’s time our governments took action.”

Canada is the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. Our patchwork prescription drug system is inefficient and expensive, and has resulted in the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States.

Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions. For many, that has meant serious consequences for their health. And for some, like Judy Pope, it has meant giving up the chance at a longer life.

• About one third of working Canadians don’t have employer-funded prescription drug coverage.
• The less someone earns at work, the less likely they are to have prescription drug coverage.
• Women and young workers are less likely to have the coverage they need.
• Half of Canadians worry that some day they’ll have trouble paying for medication they need. That includes almost half of those with prescription drug coverage today.

“Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members, but we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medication they need,” said Yussuff.

“That’s why we’re working to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age, or where they work or live,” he added.

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“Today, 3.5 million Canadians can’t afford to fill their prescriptions,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Nobody should have to choose between paying for groceries or the medication they need,” he added.

Currently one in five people pay out of pocket for their medication, either because they don’t have a prescription drug plan, or because they have a plan that doesn’t cover the full cost of the medications they need.

“Canada’s unions are proud that we’ve won health insurance coverage for many of our members. But we believe anyone with a health card should have coverage for the medication they need,” said Yussuff.

Canada has the second highest prescription drug costs in the world next to the United States, and is also the only developed country in the world with a universal health care program that doesn’t include a universal prescription drug plan. 

A strong majority of Canadians want universal prescription drug coverage. A 2015 Angus Reid poll found that 91 percent of Canadians believe our public health care system should include a universal prescription drug plan.

“This is why we’re working to win a universal prescription drug plan that covers everyone in Canada, regardless of their income, age or where they work or live,” said Yussuff.

Visit aplanforeveryone.ca to learn more. 

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“Canadians have soundly rejected the Conservatives’ politics of fear and division and have voted for change, and we look forward to working to ensure the Trudeau government delivers on the real change it has promised for working Canadians,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff.

Yussuff highlighted key Liberal campaign promises he hopes the new government will act upon swiftly. Those included:

• Providing Canadians with a more secure retirement by enhancing the Canada Pension Plan, restoring the eligibility age for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement to 65, and increasing the GIS by 10 percent;
• Expanding training and apprenticeship opportunities to help Canadians – particularly young Canadians – find and keep good jobs;
• Significantly increasing infrastructure funding, including new, dedicated funding for public transit, social infrastructure like seniors and child care facilities, and green infrastructure;
• Beginning to turn back more than $36 billion in Conservative cuts to health care by investing $3 billion over the next four years to improve home care, mental health services and access to prescription drugs;
• Repealing the Conservatives’ fundamentally flawed, ideological anti-labour bills C-377 and C-525; and
• Immediately launching a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

Yussuff also raised significant concerns about the Liberals’ position on C-51 and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“The Conservatives’ so-called anti-terror legislation C-51 is an affront to Canadian values and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” said Yussuff. “Repealing the legislation, not just tinkering with it, is the only way to adequately safeguard Canadians’ rights and freedoms.” On the TPP, Yussuff urged the incoming government to make the full agreement details public, and added: “The new government must take action to protect our supply management system and Canadian jobs – including auto sector jobs – that are under serious threat from the TPP as it stands.”

Yussuff also encouraged the government to strengthen its position on child care by implementing an affordable child care system for all families.Yussuff concluded: “We encourage the incoming government to work constructively with the labour movement, to ensure Canadians see positive change.”

The Canadian Labour Congress represents over 3.3 million union members who work in every industry and live in every province and territory. We are the voice of Canada’s labour movement.

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The TPP locks in high drug prices by increasing copyright protection and allowing corporations to sue governments for lost profits. Worse, the deal prevents governments from being able to store citizens’ health information in their own country.

Patent protection: The agreement extends the patent protection for a class of drugs called “biologics”. Biologics can be composed of sugars, proteins, or nucleic acids or complex combinations of these, or may be living cells or tissues taken from natural sources such as human, animal, or microorganism. These kinds of drugs are often the only treatment to some diseases. Longer copyright stops a drug from being produced by the generic drug industry, which provides the same product for less money.

Corporations can sue: The TPP’s investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) process allows drug manufacturers and other multinational corporations to take governments to court for any measure that negatively impacts their profits. This TPP mechanism would deter a government from taking actions such as creating a national drug program for fear that it might trigger lawsuits from drug manufacturers and other multinational corporations.

•    In fact, it’s already happening. Right now, the Government of Canada is being sued by a United States pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly for $500 million under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)’s ISDS provisions.

Health privacy: The TPP may also pose risks to Canadian health records and patient privacy under the intellectual property (IP) provisions by preventing governments from storing confidential health information only on local servers.

This means Canadian health records will be available to authorities in other TPP countries. But other governments might have varying and lower privacy protections and restrictions on use. Under the TPP, limitations are placed on government powers to restrict the flow of internet data such as personal information across borders to other countries.

Bad medicine

The TPP’s high prescription drug prices and its low level of protection for Canadians’ health information will have a drastic impact on health care. Every developed country in the world with a universal health care system provides a universal coverage for prescription drugs to its citizens—except for Canada. A universal program would cover all Canadians and will cost less. The TPP makes this almost impossible.

Big Pharma corporations pushed hard for the TPP. Just follow the money: In 2013, Canadians filled 500 million prescriptions for pharmaceuticals drugs at a cost of $30 billion. Spending on prescriptions drugs is the fastest growing health care cost in the last 20 years.

Already one in ten Canadians do not take their prescription drugs because they cannot afford to. To take one example: A year’s supply of the brand name drug Lipitor in Canada costs around $811. The generic version costs around $140.  In New Zealand, where there is a national public agency that negotiates prescription drug prices, a year’s supply of the brand name Lipitor drug for the year is $15.

We can’t afford the TPP

The TPP is bad medicine. It’s a major hurdle that will make it much more difficult for the federal government to bring down drug prices and establish a national drug program for all Canadians.

See what others are saying about the TPP

•    Doctors without Borders (MSF): “The negative impact on public health will be enormous.”
•    Health advocates & academics: “TPP deal could drive up the cost of medicine worldwide.”
•    Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: “A minefield for efforts to control drug costs.”

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