“Forced labour is a fundamental violation of workers’ rights,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Workers in Canada should not be forced to compete against exploitation, and workers anywhere in the world should not be subjected to forced labour so corporations can increase their profits.”

The Canadian Labour Congress supports measures to strengthen enforcement against forced labour imports in Bill C-35. However, stronger enforcement of an import ban alone is not enough. Canada also needs mandatory human rights due diligence requirements, meaningful penalties for corporations that profit from forced labour, and real remedies for workers harmed by abuse in global supply chains.

Bruske said Canada should strengthen its laws because it is the right thing to do for workers, not because Donald Trump is looking for a new excuse to attack Canadian jobs and industries through trade and tariffs. She added that workers know the difference between a genuine commitment to labour rights and a trade strategy dressed up as one.

“Workers deserve more than a response designed to avoid Donald Trump’s latest trade and tariff threats,” said Bruske. “Canada should use this moment to build a real forced labour regime that tackles exploitation and holds corporations accountable.”

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

The post Canada’s unions support stronger action on forced labour, reject Trump’s tariff pretext appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Addressing delegates from governments, employers, and workers from around the world, Chang said that workers must be partners in the decisions that will shape the future of work.

“Artificial intelligence is already transforming workplaces and industries around the world,” said Chang. “Workers see the potential, but many are also worried about what it means for their jobs, their privacy, and their futures.”

Chang warned that too many governments and employers view technological change as an opportunity to reduce their workforce, intensify work, and increase surveillance. Instead, she argued innovation must be accompanied by strong labour protections and meaningful worker participation.

Chang’s intervention builds on the Canadian Labour Congress’s recent call for a worker-centred approach to artificial intelligence. Canada’s unions have stressed that workers and their unions must be involved in shaping how AI is introduced and governed in workplaces across the country and called for stronger protections against workplace surveillance and discrimination, as well as independent oversight.

Canada’s unions are also calling for updates to the Canada Labour Code to address the growing use of artificial intelligence in federally regulated workplaces. The proposed changes would ensure workers have a voice in decisions about the use of AI, and strengthen protections for workers whose jobs, working conditions, or rights might be affected by new technologies.

“Workers cannot be expected to carry the burden of economic uncertainty by giving up fundamental rights,” said Chang. “The right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike are essential to ensuring workers have a meaningful voice in the economy and in their workplaces.”

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

The post Canada’s unions take concerns over AI and labour rights to global stage appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“This is a victory for workers everywhere,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The world’s highest court has made it clear: workers do have the right to strike under international law. That clarity matters enormously for workers, unions, governments, and employers alike. And we’re proud of the role that CLC played in securing this decision.”

The Landmark ruling confirms that the right to strike is protected under International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, ending a decades-long dispute over one of the most fundamental rights workers possess.

The Canadian Labour Congress helped advance the case before the ICJ by pushing for the referral of the dispute through the International Labour Organization, contributing the Canadian labour context to the international union submissions before the Court, and supporting the legal effort financially.

“The Stakes for workers around the world were enormous,” said Lily Chang, the CLC’s Secretary Treasurer and Governing Body Member of the International Labour Organization. “Workers cannot have meaningful freedom of association or collective bargaining without the right to strike, and this ruling makes that crystal clear.”

The ruling comes at a critical moment as workers in Canada face growing pressure on collective bargaining rights and job action.

In Alberta, Danielle Smith’s provincial government used the notwithstanding clause to override Charter-protected rights of striking teachers. Federally, the government has increasingly used section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to break legal strikes and weaken workers’ bargaining power. Unions in federally-regulated industries are warning that the government’s broad and rushed consultations on changes to the Labour Code could further restrict the ability of workers to take job action.

The CLC says the ICJ ruling should serve as a clear warning to governments considering changes to labour laws in Canada.

“This ruling must be a line in the sand,” said Bruske. “The Canadian Labour Code cannot become a tool to erode one of the most fundamental democratic rights workers possess. The right to strike must be protected, respected, and upheld.”

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

The post Canada’s unions helped secure a historic ICJ ruling affirming the right to strike, warn against weakening Canada Labour Code appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The collapse was due to a failure in the building structure, which did not meet safety codes and expanded without a permit. The day before the collapse, workers observed large cracks in the walls and pillars of the building. Despite warnings and evidence of structural failure, workers were pressured, threatened with wage cuts, or forced by management to enter the building. 

The search for survivors lasted for 19 days with a confirmed death toll of 1,134 and 2,500 injured. It is considered one of the most lethal structural failures in modern history and is the deadliest industrial accident in Bangladesh. 

Three weeks after the collapse, the Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety was created by more than 200 global brands and trade unions to ensure safety in Bangladesh’s garment industry through mandatory, independent inspections, repairs of more than 1,500 factories. 

In 2021, the agreement expanded to cover Pakistan with the formation of the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, a legally binding agreement on building and fire safety between 140 brands, South Asian garment unions, and the global trade union federations IndustriALL and UNI Global Union. 

Workers and unions are supporting the renewal of the global accord to 2029 and are calling to expand its reach further to include garment workers in the MENA region, a rapidly growing manufacturing hub. Garment workers in the MENA region experience violations including wage theft, gender-based violence, unsafe working conditions, and restricted freedom of association. 

Workers are also calling to expand the Accord’s coverage beyond the garment sector to include furniture and informal sectors. 

Thirteen years after Rana Plaza, health and safety conditions in Bangladesh factories remain a top concern, as evidenced by the devastating fire on April 4 at a gas lighter factory near Dhaka that killed 5 workers. 

In November 2025, Bangladesh became the first Asian country to ratify all 11 ILO fundamental instruments. Workers and unions are calling for the implementation of these standards, in particular the core conventions on health and safety C187, C155, as well as C121, the Employment and Injury Benefits Convention and C190, the Violence and Harassment Convention. 

Trade unions are also waiting to see if anticipated labour reform will address and improve issues of inspections, minimum wages, freedom of association and the registration of trade unions. 

Canada’s unions mark this sad anniversary with the commitment to continue working to improve worker rights and to call on the government of Canada to create mandatory due diligence legislation to ensure Canadian companies uphold worker rights in their supply chains. 

We stand in solidarity with Bangladesh workers and trade unions in marking this solemn day.

The post Rana Plaza: 13 years on—remembering the workers, renewing the fight for safety  appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

 The CLC is deeply concerned by and strongly condemns the escalating cycle of violence launched by the United States and Israel against Iran and by Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the region. Continued hostilities will only deepen instability and insecurity across the Middle East and will not bring peace or democracy to the region.

The actions taken by the United States and Israel reflect a frightening and reckless pattern of relying on unilateral military force and coercive measures to exert political influence – a pattern we have seen in places such as Venezuela and Ukraine. Our position is clear: the United States and Israel are violating international law by committing the crime of aggression against a sovereign state. The UN Charter explicitly prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. International law must be respected.

Regime change cannot be imposed by force, and the people of Iran have the right to determine their own future, free from external aggression and internal repression. The right to self-determination is universal.

We welcome Prime Minister Carney’s clarification of his position regarding the US and Israel’s aggression against Iran and support his call for a “rapid de-escalation of hostilities” in the region. Canada must stand firmly on the side of international law, diplomacy, and respect for the sovereignty of nations. We call for an urgent return to diplomacy and peaceful negotiations in the Middle East, including:

• An immediate ceasefire and full de-escalation by all parties;

• Strict respect for international law and the UN Charter;
• A renewed commitment to nuclear disarmament and regional security arrangements based on dialogue; and
• Full respect for freedom of expression, freedom of association, and democratic rights across the region.

In times of war and uncertainty, the labour movement’s role is clear: to stand with working people, to defend international solidarity, and to insist that peace, justice, and democracy cannot be built through violence.

The post Statement from Bea Bruske: Canada’s unions call for de-escalation and diplomacy in Iran appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The U.S. declaration of Cuba as an “Unusual and Extraordinary Threat to the Security of the U.S.” and the imposition of a fuel blockade are bullying tactics that violate the UN Charter and the rights of Cuba to national sovereignty and self-determination.

Victim of the decades-long economic sanctions by the United States, Cuba now faces extensive hardship under Trump’s fuel blockade. Prior to the U.S. takeover, Venezuela provided a significant portion of Cuba’s fuel needs. That source has been cut off, and the U.S. further threatens to sanction any country that provides fuel to Cuba. The consequences are severe. The country’s health and hospitals, electricity generation, sanitation and water systems, transportation, and food production and distribution are all impacted.

“Trump’s action to impose collective punishment against the people of Cuba is cruel and inhumane and a violation of basic human decency,” says CLC President Bea Bruske.

The CLC calls on the Government of Canada to stand with Cuba and defend the Cuban people’s rights to sovereignty and self-determination.

We call on the Government of Canada to vigorously denounce U.S. aggression and defend the principles of international law. The U.S. must remove the fuel blockade and end the economic embargo against Cuba.

We further demand that the Government of Canada act swiftly to provide immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Cuba.

The CLC is a member of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, please see their statement, Urgent Solidarity with the Cuban People.

The post Solidarity with Cuba appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In our view, the CORE’s final report on our complaint reflects an approach that undermines this would-be watchdog’s mandate to such a degree, it is difficult to conceive of any human rights abuse it would deem to have jurisdiction to investigate. This is why the USW and the CLC sought a judicial review of this decision.

On Oct. 6, 2025, the federal court dismissed our application for judicial review of the CORE’s final report, ruling that the ombudsperson’s findings are advisory in nature and therefore not justiciable. In his determination, the Honourable Justice Gleason wrote “[…] the CORE has no authority to compel participation in a review or to impose consequences that will impact upon any individual, organization, or community. The CORE is essentially an advisor […]”

Our overall experience with this complaint, including the result of the judicial review, has exposed the ineffectiveness of this office and further strengthens our position that the office of the CORE desperately needs genuine independence and legal powers to fulfil its mandate. Ongoing failure to act in this regard will continue to exhibit the limited intentions of the government to ensure real corporate accountability for Canadian companies operating abroad.

As the Government of Canada considers its financial priorities, we will remind it of the commitment made to Canadians when the creation of the CORE was first announced in 2018. The CORE is a critical component of the government’s commitment to responsible business conduct and to human rights as it is Canada’s only non-judicial mechanism that independently investigates complaints of human rights abuses related to the activity of Canadian companies operating overseas and reports publicly on its findings.

Many Canadian civil society groups called for an ombudsperson office in reaction to the weak grievance mechanism under the National Contact Point (NCP) to handle specific instances where companies may have failed to comply with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprise and the UN Guiding Principles. The process under the NCP is voluntary and non-binding, which highlighted the need for an independent CORE with the power to compel evidence.

With no ombudsperson in place since May 2025, we are urging the government to honour its commitment to Canadians, to human rights and to those affected by the operations of Canadian companies overseas to ensure the CORE soon will be staffed with a new ombudsperson so that it can continue to do its vital work. Secondly, the CORE needs to be empowered with the independence and essential powers needed to effectively investigate allegations of abuse by Canadian corporations and to demand accountability.

The post Result of judicial review further strengthens the need for an empowered CORE to ensure corporate accountability of Canadian companies appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Bea Bruske, together with Veronica Nilsson, General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, intervened in the virtual Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting, where both called for greater commitments from the G7 to a labour and employment agenda, including the adoption of concrete and measurable targets.

“G7 Labour and Employment Ministers must redouble their commitment and efforts to ensure respect for labour rights and promote decent work for everyone by following up on previous G7 commitments, specifically through robust engagement in the EWG and high-level political stewardship in the context of the LEMM,” said President Bruske to the G7 labour ministers at the virtual LEMM on December 3.

France will assume the G7 presidency in 2026, and the CLC will continue to work with L7 counterparts in calling for the centrality of labour issues to G7 priorities.

See the Statement: L7 demands G7 restore labour agenda amid concerns over future of employment track

The post 2025 Labour 7 continues to raise concerns about the G7 labour and employment agenda appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Canada has an opportunity and a responsibility to be a voice for peace. In times of conflict, our commitment to diplomacy, international law, and human rights must guide our actions toward a just and lasting resolution,” said CLC President Bea Bruske in a letter to the Prime Minister in June, which also called for a complete stop to military operations in Gaza and the immediate facilitation of humanitarian aid.

See statement from the ITUC and Global Unions: Global unions demand recognition of Palestine

The post Canada has an opportunity and a responsibility to be a voice for peace appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Time and time again, he’s targeted our industries, our livelihoods, and the communities that keep this country running. The mere instability caused by his unpredictable attacks has made investment decisions impossible—hurting both workers and our industries.

Let me be clear: Canada does not cave. We do not retreat. And we will not be intimidated.

To our governments:

Appeasement does not work. In response to Trump’s demands, Canada has spent millions to address border issues, we rescinded our digital services tax, and scaled back counter-tariffs. Like a bully, Trump’s only response to Canada’s good-faith efforts is nothing but escalation.

This is a moment for strength. A moment to meet Trump’s aggression with the full force of Canada’s resolve. We need urgent action now:

• Impose counter-tariffs in response to the latest tariff attacks from Trump.
• Introduce export taxes on Canadian energy sold to the U.S.
• Mandate that all national infrastructure projects use Canadian steel, aluminum, and lumber.
• Invest directly in affected workers and communities by enhancing Employment Insurance, expanding Work-Sharing, and providing emergency income supports.
• Launch ambitious, nation-building projects like affordable housing, clean energy, and public transit that create union jobs and build Canadian resilience.

We must stop reacting and start leading. Canada’s workers are ready to stand up for this country. It’s time our governments stood with them, with boldness and with urgency.

To every worker in Canada:

This won’t be easy. There will be disruptions. Some of us will face layoffs. And there will be those who try to divide us.

But Canadian workers are not strangers to hard times. We know how to fight—and we know how to win. So, let’s hold strong. Buy union-made. Support local. Stand with your union. Get involved in your community. Reject division and stand together, shoulder to shoulder. Because when Canadian workers rise together, no one can take us down.

Donald Trump may think he can rattle us. But what he doesn’t understand is that Canadians don’t back down, we rise up. We fight for our jobs, our families, and our future.

The post Statement from Bea Bruske: Trump’s 35% Tariffs Demand a Bold Response appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Dear Prime Minister: 

On behalf of Canada’s unions, I am writing about the unspeakable situation in Gaza and what can only be described as genocide. The October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas was an atrocity. The collective punishment being inflicted on millions of Palestinians in response is a crime of historic scale. 

In June, Canada’s unions called on your government to take several actions to address the horror of what is unfolding in Gaza. The first of which was recognizing Palestinian statehood. 

On behalf of the Canadian Labour Congress, and the more than three million workers we represent, I want to commend you for your recent announcement that Canada will recognize Palestinian statehood. Recognizing Palestine cannot be a reward at the end of negotiations. It is a precondition to the start of a real peace process. In the face of immense human suffering, it is important to see Canada recommit itself to the principles of international law, human dignity and peace. Thank you. 

Recognition of Palestinian statehood is a critical first step, but it alone will not stop the suffering in Gaza. 

Nearly 22 months into this war, more than 60,000 Palestinian people are dead, including more than 15,000 children. The 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza face starvation and indiscriminate bombardment. Three million more in the West Bank suffer daily humiliation, violence, and a systemic campaign of land confiscation and settlement expansion. 

Canada must take further steps to build on the recognition of Palestinian statehood to end the suffering in Gaza and bring a peaceful resolution. Canada’s unions outlined these steps in our June Letter. 

Finally, Canada must work to strengthen democracy to deliver peace now. Hamas will not be defeated by Netanyahu. Hamas will be defeated by the Palestinian people if they have hope for a free and peaceful future with decent jobs and social and economic security. 

Palestinians need autonomy. They need rights. They need recognition. Israel rightly demands security guarantees, and that demand must be met. But peace cannot be built on subjugation. 

I also share this open letter from Luc Triangle, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), released earlier this week. The ITUC is the global voice of working people and includes both Israel’s Histadrut and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) amongst its affiliates. The CLC is a member of the ITUC and supports the calls to action in this letter. 

Prime Minister, Canada has an opportunity and a responsibility to be a force for peace. Thank you for your commitment to recognizing Palestinian statehood. There are those who will seek to weaken the growing international consensus that the horror of what is occurring in Gaza must stop. It is important to remain resolute in the face of that pressure. Our commitment to diplomacy, international law, and human rights must guide our actions towards a just and lasting resolution. 

The full letter is available here.

The post Canada’s unions applaud recognition of Palestinian statehood and urge further action to end the crisis in Gaza appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The Handala, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was carrying vital humanitarian aid to Gaza, along with 21 peaceful activists committed to human rights and international solidarity.

Among those unlawfully detained are several trade unionists:

• Hatem Laouini, Tunisian trade unionist from the UGTT and representative of UNI Global Union in the Arab region.
• Christian Smalls, founder of the Amazon Labor Union in the United States.
• Santiago González Vallejo, Spanish economist and retired trade unionist attached to the USO International Action Secretariat.

This unjustified detention constitutes a grave violation of international law, an assault on the peaceful defence of human rights, and a direct threat to trade unionists’ right to engage in international solidarity.

The presence of respected union leaders on this mission underscores the global labour movement’s unwavering commitment to peace, human rights and solidarity with the Palestinian people.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “We are witnessing ever-escalating series of atrocities in Gaza. Since late May, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed trying to access food. The entire population in Gaza is facing starvation under Israel’s illegal blockade.”

“While the international community is knowingly standing by and watching the mass killing and starvation unfold, these courageous activists undertook brave action to deliver critical humanitarian aid directly to Palestinians in Gaza, including baby milk formula, nappies, food and medicine. The world is in a moral crisis. These people should not be arrested but immediately released. Humanitarian aid should not be blocked, but allowed to reach Gaza without obstruction, and the people of Gaza must be able to peacefully access these supplies.”

The ITUC urgently calls for:

• The immediate and unconditional release of all those detained, including our trade union colleagues.
• International condemnation of Israel’s obstruction of a peaceful, humanitarian mission.
• Robust protection for trade unionists and other activists engaging in solidarity action to uphold fundamental human rights and international law.

The ITUC stands in full solidarity with the Handala mission and all those on board. We reaffirm our unwavering support for the Palestinian people and the right of workers everywhere to engage in peaceful activism.

The Canadian Labour Congress is a member of the ITUC.

The post Gaza: ITUC condemns Israeli interception of Handala solidarity boat and arrest of trade unionists appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s premiers are meeting to discuss the impact of Trump’s trade war on Canada. Workers should be front and centre for Canada’s leaders.

This trade war has already taken a major toll on Canada’s workers. We are losing jobs or working reduced hours. The cost of living keeps increasing. The unemployment rate is at 7% nationally, and in the regions most directly impacted by steel and auto tariffs, it’s in the double digits. We have not seen any progress on the EI enhancements promised in the Liberal platform, but we’re seeing deeper-than-promised cuts to the public services we rely on. Nation-building projects have yet to be announced, and the government has been silent on any plans to build affordable housing.

The government has taken significant steps in quickly changing laws, spending new money on border control and defence, and hastily acting on Trump’s demands against Canada’s Digital Services Tax. But the same vigour is nowhere to be found when it comes to support for workers. Worse still, workers are only finding out about the state of negotiations through Truth Social posts or Trump’s press secretary.

As we approach the August 1^st deadline, workers are rightfully worried. We are worried about whether there will be a deal or whether we will face a 35% tariff. We are worried that the government appears to be preparing us so that even with a deal, we will continue to see tariffs on our products. We are worried about the concessions that the government has already given to Trump and what else they might be willing to give up to appease the American president.

We welcome the government’s recent extension of the temporary adjustment to Employment Insurance regional unemployment and the training support for steel workers. But more needs to be done. To date, government support for workers pales in comparison to its robust support for industry.

Canada’s unions are demanding urgent action from the government to:

• Include workers and their unions in discussions about the trade war. We are the backbone of the economy, and we should be included in these important discussions.
• Invest directly in affected workers and communities by robustly and immediately enhancing Employment Insurance, expanding Work-Sharing, and providing emergency income supports.
• Launch a new wage with job guarantees subsidy for businesses in affected sectors to protect workers affected by tariffs.
• Launch ambitious, nation-building projects and public infrastructure using Canadian materials to create good union jobs and build Canadian resilience.
• Impose counter-tariffs in response to the latest tariff attacks from Trump and use every dollar collected to support Canadian workers and businesses affected by the trade war, and;
• Ensure that new trade deals uphold Canadian values, including labour and environmental standards.

Defending Canada against Trump’s trade war is not a solo mission. It requires a Team Canada approach with workers and their unions playing a central role on the team.

The post Council of the Federation must focus on the impact of the trade war on workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Tomorrow, Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, is joining Liz Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and Yasmin Fahimi, President of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB), to discuss strategies in defending workers and their jobs in the face of economic turmoil.

The meetings bring together senior union leaders and policy experts to discuss a worker-centred approach to trade, industrial policy, and supply chain resilience in the face of growing geopolitical and economic threats.

Bea Bruske is available for media interviews to speak about:

• The impact of Trump’s tariff threat on Canadian and North American workers;
• Why global labour solidarity is critical in resisting austerity;
• How unions are building a transatlantic agenda to protect jobs and industries;

Quote:

“In a time of growing uncertainty and division, workers are showing what real global leadership looks like. Together with our union allies in the U.S. and Germany, we’re advancing a shared vision for an economy built on dignity, fairness, and international solidarity.” Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

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

The post CLC President Bea Bruske in Washington for labour meetings amidst trade war  appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

We welcome the recent joint statement by our heads of state calling for an immediate halt to Israel’s assault in Gaza and for unimpeded access to humanitarian aid.

These are critical first steps toward alleviating the suffering of civilians caught in the conflict.

Our governments rightly acknowledged that permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law, and we welcome their opposition to settlement expansion and the recognition that it is illegal and undermines the viability of a Palestinian state.

However, words must be matched by action.

Given the urgency and scale of the crisis, we call on our governments to use every diplomatic, legal, and economic lever available to:

• Demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire;
• Ensure the Israeli government meets its obligations under international humanitarian law;
• Initiate a credible political process aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace

It’s time for our leaders to formally recognise the State of Palestine immediately.

As members of the G7, doing so would send a powerful signal, particularly in the lead-up to the UN conference co-chaired by France in mid-June.

The time for decisive action is now. The need for justice, peace, and recognition has never been more urgent.

Link to the official letter sent to the Prime Minister here

The post Joint statement from French, British, and Canadian unions appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In this moment of deep economic anxiety, Canadians deserve leadership that listens to working people and puts their priorities first. Instead, the federal government is choosing to host a G7 Summit that’s out of step with the real struggles people are facing.

Inviting Donald Trump—whose track record includes open hostility toward workers and unions—is a slap in the face to the thousands of Canadians still waiting to hear whether they’ll have a job next week. At a time when our country is battling wildfires, rising inequality, and runaway housing costs, this move sends all the wrong signals.

We are also deeply concerned by the invitation extended to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the face of ongoing concerns about foreign interference and political violence targeting diasporic communities in Canada, this decision is not only inappropriate, it’s dangerous. Canada must send a clear message: political violence and foreign interference have no place on Canadian soil.

While millions in taxpayer dollars are being spent on this summit, workers are being told to tighten their belts. But we can’t build a just economy by cutting corners for communities while rolling out the red carpet for controversial world leaders.

The Canadian Labour Congress calls on the federal government to redirect its focus toward the people who build this country, keep it running, and deserve a future they can count on.

Now is the time to invest in good jobs, strong public services, and resilient communities—not empty pageantry.

The post Statement from Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, on the G7 Summit appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada has a responsibility to stand up for international law, human rights, and the dignity of all people. That means recognizing Palestinian statehood, supporting a two-way arms embargo, ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid, and ending trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

Workers in Canada expect their government to show leadership rooted in justice, accountability, and peace.

Read the full letter below:

Dear Prime Minister Carney,

Re: Gaza

On behalf of the Canadian Labour Congress and the more than three million workers we represent, I want to commend you for your recent joint statement with the leaders of France and the United Kingdom calling for a complete stop to military operations in Gaza and the immediate facilitation of humanitarian aid. In a moment of immense human suffering and growing global instability, it is good to see Canada recommit itself to the principles of international law, human dignity, and peace.

Words matter, and your statement was an important signal. But words must be followed by concrete action.

We urge your government to build on this moment by taking the following steps:

• Recognize Palestinian statehood: Canada has long supported a two-state solution, and recognition of Palestinian statehood is a necessary step toward making that vision a reality.
• Support a two-way arms embargo: The violence and suffering will not end if weapons continue to flow into the region. Canada must support an immediate two-way arms embargo to stop fueling the conflict. We urge the government to work with trade unions representing workers in the impacted arms and technology industries to develop a just transition plan to secure their livelihoods.
• Continue funding UN agencies, including UNRWA: Humanitarian agencies need immediate, unrestricted access to Gaza. Canada should encourage allies to renew and increase support to UNRWA and other UN bodies to deliver life-saving aid to civilians who are facing starvation, displacement, and disease.
• Impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for violations of international law and human rights. Canada must apply a consistent and principled approach to accountability, no matter the actor.
• Cancel the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) and prohibit all trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The CLC has long called for a ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements and for mandatory labeling to distinguish such goods from those made within Israel’s internationally recognized borders.

Beyond these urgent measures, we call on you to coordinate international leadership to:

• Secure a permanent ceasefire;
• Ensure the immediate release of all remaining Israeli hostages, and the bodies of those that have tragically passed away;
• Reaffirm unwavering support for a negotiated two-state solution as the only path to lasting peace and stability; and
• Reopen the Israeli labour market to Palestinian workers, and advocate that back wages be paid to the more than 200,000 affected workers.

Prime Minister, Canada has an opportunity and a responsibility to be a voice for peace. In times of conflict, our commitment to diplomacy, international law, and human rights must guide our actions toward a just and lasting resolution.

Yours sincerely,

Bea Bruske
President

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This decision will shut us out of the  U.S. market completely, devastating Canada’s steel & aluminum industry and threatening thousands of good-paying, unionized Canadian jobs. 

In light of this escalating threat, Canada’s unions call for immediate government action to protect workers.  

This includes: 

• Emergency reforms to Employment Insurance (EI) that actually support laid-off workers when they need it most, 

• The immediate expansion of Section 53 measures to give the government the flexibility to act swiftly in protecting key sectors. 

• A clear commitment that nation-building projects under the upcoming One Canadian Economy legislation prioritize Canadian steel as a condition for fast-tracking approval, and 

• Wage subsidies and other targeted measures to keep workers on the job and businesses operating. 

Canada must respond with strength and urgency.  Workers cannot be left to face the fallout alone.  

We need a government that is prepared to stand  up for Canadian industries, invest in good union jobs, and protect our economic sovereignty in the face of growing international uncertainty. 

The post Statement from Bea Bruske in Reaction to Trump’s Plan to Double Tariffs appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

OTTAWA –– Workers expected an ambitious plan to strengthen our economy, create jobs, and defend communities against Trump’s agenda, however, today’s throne speech provided none of this.

Workers need the federal government to have a plan, backed by bold investment and action, to deliver good union jobs, stronger public services, and economic security for all.

Canadian families continue to bear the brunt of a continued affordability crisis and Trump’s economic chaos. For far too many workers, wages are not keeping up with rising costs. Families are facing an increasingly unattainable housing market, and many are being left behind by a strained Employment Insurance system and an under-resourced public health care system. At the same time, a rising unemployment rate is making it even harder for workers to find stable, secure jobs and support their families.

Prioritizing tax cuts for the wealthy over support for those who need it most signals a step away from the bold action needed to tackle the trade war, housing crisis, strained health care, and the climate emergency.

While we welcome the government’s intention to “bring down costs for Canadians”, we are deeply concerned by a Throne Speech that emphasizes deregulation, cost-cutting, and fiscal restraint over meaningful investment in people and the services they rely on.

The Throne Speech’s proposals to eliminate internal trade barriers fail to raise the bar for workers across the board and instead risk weakening standards and protections and undermining provincial autonomy. Unions must have a seat at the table in these conversations because workers cannot be an afterthought when shaping Canada’s future.

The government must prioritize the creation of good jobs and a globally competitive industrial strategy, but not if it comes at the cost of public oversight or by shortchanging the workers who build our economy. It must begin with investments in infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing, and care services that create good union jobs and support communities.

Tinkering with regulations or shrinking government operations is no substitute for the real, sustained investment that working families need.

On housing, we urge the government to go beyond incentives for private developers and commit to building publicly funded, truly affordable housing. Every Canadian deserves a safe place to call home, not just market-driven promises of “affordability.”

The government’s commitment to attracting global talent is important, but it must go hand-in-hand with strong labour protections, fair wages, and a renewed focus on training and retaining workers already here. Immigration policy must be grounded in equity and sustainability, not as a cover for suppressing wages or undercutting working conditions.

Lastly, we are particularly alarmed by the suggestion of cutting public services at a time when Canadians, reeling from Trump’s trade war, need more support, not less.

Limiting investments now would only deepen inequality and strain already overburdened systems like health care and EI. Similarly, vague promises to use AI to boost productivity must be met with clear commitments to job protection, quality public services, and strong regulations to ensure technology works for and with workers, not against them.

Workers are watching. This moment calls for courageous leadership, not cost-cutting or complacency. The government must work with Canada’s unions to raise wages, strengthen public health care, implement universal, publicly funded Pharmacare, modernize Employment Insurance, and ensure that no worker is left behind.

It’s time for this government to choose: bold leadership, or missed opportunity.

Workers were front and centre during the election, but left out of the Throne Speech.

We’re ready to work with this government, but make no mistake: if it fails workers, we won’t hesitate to hold it to account.

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

The post Throne Speech misses the mark for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Workers in the Crossfire: Inflation, Austerity, Precarious Jobs and Rising Insecurity

Workers in G7 countries have faced a series of compounding shocks in recent years that have significantly strained household incomes and undermined job security. The 2022- 2023 surge in inflation led to a pronounced cost-of-living crisis that remains ongoing. As prices for essential goods and services soared, wages failed to keep pace, sharply eroding the purchasing power of working families. In response, central banks raised interest rates aggressively in an effort to rein in inflation, which subsequently increased borrowing costs and dampened both business investment and household consumption. In many countries, high interest rates have fuelled increases in capital income, widening income and wealth inequality as well as social polarisation.

While easing inflation has seen interest rates lowered over the past year, previous rate hikes continue to weigh down the credit supply. A significant share of corporate and mortgage debt taken out during a period of low interest rates is yet to mature and will need to be refinanced in the near future. This will come at a higher cost, leading to increased interest payments and additional strain on household and corporate finances. Restrictive monetary policy, coupled with austerity policies or overly cautious fiscal policy, have also had profound effects on the labour market. Unemployment rates have increased in several G7 countries, particularly in sectors such as construction and manufacturing, which are acutely sensitive to higher interest rates and rely heavily on sustained consumer demand and public and private investment. Many firms have postponed or cancelled projects, leading to restructuring and layoffs, hiring and wage

freezes, and weakened employment prospects. Meanwhile, the share of precarious, part- time, and non-standard forms of work has grown in many countries, reflecting a broader shift toward poor quality and more insecure employment — an issue that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, including women, youth and migrants, who are overrepresented in these forms of work.

Widespread uncertainty, driven not only by high living and borrowing costs and weak employment prospects, but also exacerbated by the changing geopolitical landscape, conflicts and trade disruptions, continues to cast a shadow over the global economy. The recent introduction of highly disruptive trade tariffs has already unsettled supply chains and increased financial pressure on producers, investors and consumers. While the current global trading system has led to a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions, the use of trade tariffs as an aggressive political tool will disproportionately affect low-income groups, due to their heightened vulnerability to rising prices and increased risk of job losses.

As a result of these and other external pressures, economic activity has slowed across most G7 economies and beyond. This deceleration is feeding into the labour market, where employment growth is losing momentum and hiring plans have become increasingly cautious. It is therefore critical to adopt concerted economic, trade and labour market policies that take into account the evolution of the labour market and prioritise the rights and needs of workers, including the creation of quality jobs.

A Path Forward: Supporting Inclusive and Employment-rich Economic Growth

While inflation has been the primary concern in recent years, the greater threat now lies in prolonged economic stagnation and labour market deterioration. The Labour 7 is concerned that the continuation of restrictive monetary policy risks stalling economic activity, suppressing demand, and even pushing inflation below target in several G7 countries, including Canada, Germany, France and Italy. Excessively tight monetary policy may also exacerbate existing labour market weaknesses, potentially triggering a cycle of employment restructuring. To avoid such a scenario, the Labour 7 calls upon central banks in G7 countries to reduce interest rates at an accelerated pace. To minimise the risk of sharp inflationary spikes in the future and prevent firms from marking up prices and widening margins, it is essential to expand the policy toolkit with measures that address monopsonic or oligopolistic markets, strengthen appropriate rent and price controls, expand strategic commodity reserves and shore up labour market institutions, including collective bargaining, to coordinate wage and price setting.

Moreover, fiscal policy plays a key role in stimulating aggregate demand and supporting job creation. In many countries, however, restrictive fiscal policy and austerity measures have delayed necessary investment and led to cuts in social investment. Strategic public investment combined with a strong public sector, with sufficient human, financial and material resources, is essential — not only for boosting consumption, fostering employment and advancing a just transition, but also for cushioning against economic

downturns and counteracting the adverse effects of rising trade protectionism ensuing from the current trade war. With inflation now largely under control, the Labour 7 calls for a shift towards expansionary fiscal policy. Governments must prioritise recovery, economic and social resilience, climate action and long-term stability, ensuring that workers’ rights and livelihoods are protected.

This can best be supported by fairer and more progressive tax policies, including progressive taxation of wealth and capital income, increased corporate income effective tax rates, a financial transaction tax and a clear and stable legal framework for taxation of windfall profits realised in a context of economic recessions at the expense of workers. These must be accompanied by increased investment in health, social protection, education and other essential public services, active labour market policy, skilling and lifelong learning programmes, affordable housing, clean and affordable energy, and green infrastructure and technologies. Governments need to invest in social policy and guarantee universal access to public services and welfare for all. This would increase the resilience of economies in a time of uncertainty and turmoil. Public investments must be conditional on respect for workers’ rights, first and foremost collective bargaining and freedom of association, as well as compliance with Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. Despite limited fiscal space and increases in military spending, the Labour 7 urges G7 members to meet their commitment to dedicate at least 0.7% of GNI to official development assistance to address the dramatic development setbacks and emerging debt crises in developing countries.

Last year, G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors agreed “that countries’ policy mix for a just transition should be designed in a way that encourages innovation, finance and investment in green technologies, reflects equity considerations, and promotes social and political support for climate action” (Stresa, May 2024). It is now time to take further steps by implementing policies that advance climate action while fostering green and decent job creation and upholding fundamental labour rights — particularly the right to collective bargaining, in line with the ILO 2015 Guidelines on Just Transition.

The Labour 7 call upon G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to:

• Reduce interest rates at a faster pace and implement expansionary fiscal policies to stimulate demand and quality employment and to avoid stalling economic recovery.
• Coordinate fiscal and monetary policy to stabilise prices and preserve long-term affordability, including through measures that address monopsonic and oligopolistic markets, strengthen appropriate rent and price controls, expand strategic commodity reserves and shore up labour market institutions, including collective bargaining.
• Implement fairer and more progressive tax policies to enhance fiscal space and reduce inequality, including progressive taxation of wealth and capital income, higher corporate income effective tax rates, a legal framework for windfall profits taxation and a financial transaction tax.
• Reinforce active labour market policies, skilling and lifelong learning programmes to reduce unemployment and improve labour market adaptability.
• Increase investment in health, social protection, education and affordable housing to safeguard livelihoods, improve mobility and tackle poverty and segregation.
• Expand investment in clean and affordable energy, green infrastructure and technologies to stimulate green and quality job creation and advance a just transition.
• Uphold fundamental labour rights, particularly the right to collective bargaining, including as a tool to promote real-wage growth, as recognized by G7 Leaders in the 2023 Hiroshima Communiqué.
• Comply with the internationally agreed UN target of dedicating 0.7 percent of GNI to official development assistance.

The post Labour 7 Statement to G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The Rana Plaza industrial disaster, which killed 1,134 workers and injured thousands more, shone a spotlight on the lack of accountability of transnational corporations in providing safe and decent conditions for workers in source factories across their global supply chains. 

It inspired a global movement to demand that corporations take responsibility and provide safe workplaces, pay fair wages, allow workers to organize and join democratic unions and to bargain collectively. 

There have been some improvements to working conditions and to the development of national and global mechanisms to ensure the advancement of rights and protections. With global support, there were quick and effective responses to assess and address structural and safety conditions in thousands of factories following the Rana Plaza collapse, but today Bangladeshi workers are still languishing in conditions of poverty wages and unfair workplace conditions.  

Unions in Canada have worked on many fronts to ensure better working conditions for garment sector workers, including with partners in Bangladesh and with global and national allies. We have advocated for corporate accountability legislation and for mechanisms to bring complaints against Canadian companies for human and labour rights violations and environmental abuse in their overseas operations.  

In 2018, unions celebrated the launch of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), an office we had long called for to provide a pathway for people and communities affected negatively by the actions of Canadian companies to seek justice. Unfortunately, this office was never given what it needed to function as a powerful mechanism to address human and labour rights violations in the operations of Canadian companies abroad. We have also long advocated for mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that requires Canadian companies to prevent and address harms to people and the environment throughout their supply chain. 

Since 2016, workers have been loudly calling for global supply chain instruments at the International Labour Organization (ILO), where governments must comply with ratified labour standards in law and practice. We welcome the ILO’s 2024 guidance on living wages, which establishes global principles for defining, calculating and implementing living wages across diverse economic contexts. Trade unions continue to hold the Bangladeshi government to account at the ILO for not registering free and independent unions, for the ongoing harassment and violence against trade union leaders and activists, for the detention of workers trying to form unions, and for the failure to pay fair wages and provide employment injury insurance.  

Twelve years after Rana Plaza, Canada’s unions remain committed to supporting Bangladeshi workers and their demands for the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, the basics to allow workers to be heard, to be safe, and to be active social partners in improving living and working conditions for everyone. 

On the eve of the Federal elections, we call on the incoming administration to do all in its power to hold Canadian companies accountable and to ensure the respect of human and labour rights and the environment in their overseas operations, including: 

• To equip and empower the CORE with the investigatory powers, resources, and independence from government needed to effectively serve impacted people;  

• To adopt mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that requires companies to prevent the risk of harm to people and the environment throughout their supply chains and to put in place adequate procedures to minimize the risk, remedy any existing harm, and do everything in their power to prevent future harm; and 

• To support a United Nations Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises in international human rights law. 

The post Rana Plaza: 12 years of fighting for corporate accountability  appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Windsor, ON – The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) stands in solidarity with workers as they face the devastating consequences of new U.S. tariffs on the Canadian auto industry.

Following the announcement of the tariffs, Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant workers were informed that the plant would shut down for two weeks beginning April 7, with further schedule changes anticipated.

This disruption creates significant uncertainty for workers and the broader industry, threatening livelihoods and economic stability.

To address these urgent concerns, CLC President Bea Bruske and CLC Executive Vice-President Siobhán Vipond will join workers at a press conference in Windsor to discuss the impact of the tariffs and demand government action to protect Canadian jobs.

What:              Press Conference to address economic disruption caused by Trump’s tariffs

When:            Monday, April 7, at 10:00 a.m. ET

Where:           Assumption North Park – 2400 Riverside Dr W, Windsor, ON or via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87453510904)

Who:               Bea Bruske, President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Siobhán Vipond, Executive Vice President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Bill Pollock, President, United Auto Workers Local 251

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

The post Canadian Labour Congress joins workers in Windsor, Ontario appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Armed conflicts are causing enormous suffering and have devastating spillover effects at a global level. Trade unions of the Labour 7 stand in solidarity with people affected by wars on all continents, fighting for their freedoms, for social justice, for democracy, for their rights and those of future generations. The Labour 7 urges members of the G7 to overcome divisions and to reaffirm their commitment to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as to promote peace and respect for the principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

In recent months, the resources have been found to significantly increase military spending, when for more than a decade, public services have been starved of resources under wrongheaded fiscal consolidation and austerity policies. This armament race must not undermine social spending nor deprive countries and people of necessary investment in health, education, infrastructure, the ecological transition, job creation, skills development, and social protection. In G7 countries and beyond, inequalities are rising, essential public services are deteriorating, and the cost-of-living crisis, just like in-work poverty, remains a reality for millions of workers and their families. G7 members should commit to pursuing economic, employment and fiscal policies that promote collective bargaining and real-wage growth, decent job creation, the reduction of inequalities and a just transition to net zero economies. Urgent policies must be adopted to tackle all forms of discrimination, including those against women and vulnerable groups, LGBTQI+, ethnic minorities or people with disabilities.

The year 2024 was the warmest ever recorded and environmental disruptions are multiplying, with severe humanitarian, social, and economic consequences, including in G7 countries. Workers are on the frontline of the crisis, being exposed to both environmental degradation and worsening working conditions, as well as to the radical transformation of the labour market. The G7 and its members cannot look the other way—they must commit to net zero pathways based on science and must adopt Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that put a just transition founded on the protection and promotion of fundamental labour rights, including collective bargaining, at the centre. Gathering some of the biggest historic greenhouse gas emitters, as well as fossil fuel producers and consumers, the G7 must live up to its responsibility and commit to enhancing climate finance and advancing a just transition for the workforce, in line with the Paris Agreement and the ILO Guidelines of 2015.

As labour markets are profoundly affected by climate change, the advancement of artificial intelligence and demographic shifts, social dialogue is needed to make sure that the costs and benefits associated with these shifts are shared fairly across societies. Furthermore, as fundamental enabling rights, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining play an essential role in ensuring decent working conditions, including in enforcing living wages and non-discrimination, enhancing social cohesion, and boosting inclusive economic development. The Labour 7 urges G7 members to support workers’ efforts to organize and bargain collectively, both within G7 countries and beyond, as key enablers of sustainable development. The G7 must effectively follow up on previous commitments made, including those contained in the G7 Action Plan on artificial intelligence adopted in 2024.

At global level, however, evidence indicates that violations of labour rights are rising, as illustrated by the ITUC Global Rights Index. Countries are experiencing dramatic setbacks in development, with increases in poverty preventing access to education, health and the realization of other basic human rights, including gender equality. Most people living in extreme poverty have a job but do not earn a living wage. The majority of workers work in the informal economy, with almost one in two not benefitting from any form of social protection. This situation could be further exacerbated by trade wars. The G7 should promote a global level playing field, putting international labour standards at its core. In particular, G7 members must uphold ILO fundamental principles and rights at work, advance WTO trade rules that encourage the ratification and effective implementation of fundamental ILO conventions, and secure policy space for governments to promote decent work and enforce sustainable development commitments in trade agreements.

The global SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) financing gap continues to widen, despite alarming situations of underdevelopment and decent work deficits. If it continues to grow at its 2015–2023 rate, it will reach USD 6.4 trillion by 2030, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The politicization of, and severe cuts in, Official Development Assistance (ODA) are likely to accelerate this trend. Meanwhile the debt crisis intensifies, as 92 countries are projected to have spent more on external public debt service than on SDG investments in 2024. In this context, ahead of the 4^th UN Conference on Financing for Development (30 June–3 July 2025), the Labour 7 urges the G7 to deliver a clear commitment to reform the international financial architecture and to meet their commitment to dedicate 0.7% of their GNI to ODA. The Labour 7 calls upon the G7 to upscale both climate and development finance, including through increased public finance support and additional macroprudential tools on private finance, as well as through measures to lower the cost of capital for developing countries. For the L7, the 2025 Jubilee is an opportunity to advance and reach consensus on debt cancellation and sustainable restructuring of public debts.

This climate and development finance crisis is taking place despite the world growing richer and having the resources to meet internationally agreed objectives. However, global wealth has never been so unequally distributed. Today, the world’s richest 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity. The concentration of wealth and increased corporate power have allowed large corporations to play an increasingly important—and destabilizing—role in the shaping of global rules and agendas. The Labour 7 urges the G7 to put the reduction of inequality, both between and within countries, at the centre of its work—including through fair and progressive taxation and the promotion of responsible business conduct. G7 members should endorse work undertaken by the G20 towards the adoption of a global wealth tax on the ultra-rich and promote a financial transactions tax as well as a windfall tax on multinational enterprises. They should also actively support the ongoing negotiations for the development of a UN Framework Convention on Tax, building on existing G20/OECD initiatives for tax coordination. The G7 should also scale up its work to ensure corporate transparency and accountability through the ongoing UN negotiations on a binding treaty on business and human rights.

The Labour 7 reiterates its willingness to work closely with the G7 to strengthen multilateralism. In these challenging times, transparent and meaningful engagement with G7 social partners, the Labour 7 and the Business 7, is more important than ever. We expect the G7 to stand by its principles and reaffirm its commitment to the values of international cooperation, democracy and human rights.

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To our governments: 

This is a time for action. Canadians expect a strong and decisive response that meets this attack with the full weight of our country’s power. This is not a moment for half-measures or empty words. We must protect Canadian jobs and industries through retaliation and investments in our future. We must enhance Employment Insurance benefits, expand Work-Sharing programs and provide direct financial support to those at the frontlines of this trade war. This is a moment to rebuild our manufacturing, strengthen our supply chains, and create the good union jobs of tomorrow. We must replace lost economic activity with ambitious nation-building projects—affordable housing, public transit, and industrial development that makes our country stronger and more self-sufficient. We need our governments to match the ambition of Canadians in defence of this country. This war will not be won on the cheap.  

To all workers in Canada:

The road ahead will be tough. We will see job losses, we will see economic pain, and we will see attempts to divide us. But Canada’s workers are strong, smart, and resilient. What makes us Canadian is our unwavering belief in the collective—that we take care of each other, that no one gets left behind. Now more than ever, we must live those values. Already you’ve shown your pride at hockey games and in grocery stores. Now is the time to dig in. Get involved in your union. Stand up for your community. Support local businesses and union-made products. Look out for your neighbours. Reach across political lines and reject the forces of division. Because we are stronger together, and together, we will overcome this.  

Make no mistake: Trump wants to hurt Canadian workers. He wants to shake our confidence and weaken our country. But what he doesn’t understand is that Canadians do not break. We will fight for our jobs, for our families, and for our future—come hell or high water.

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

Link to Backgrounder available here
Link to Letter to Prime Minister available here

The post Statement from Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, on Trump’s tariff attack on Canada appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The meeting will focus on the economic consequences of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and services, emphasizing how these measures threaten jobs, increase costs for businesses and consumers, and weaken the long-standing economic partnership between Canada and the United States.

As part of broader efforts to push back against tariffs, labour leaders will make the case for policies that strengthen the economic ties that support good jobs on both sides of the border.

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

The post CLC President Bea Bruske available after U.S. – Canada trade talks in Washington, D.C. appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Last night, the CLC Executive and key unions representing workers on the front lines of Trump’s trade war held an emergency meeting to discuss the urgent need for action.

Minister Steven MacKinnon and government officials were also in attendance.

“Canada must act decisively to protect workers and push back against these harmful policies. The U.S. needs to feel immediate consequences for targeting our economy and the livelihoods of Canadian workers.” – Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress

Labour leaders made it clear: workers should not pay the price for Trump’s reckless tariffs.

The CLC is calling for a full-scale response that includes:

• Cutting off U.S. access to critical Canadian resources—including electricity, lumber, critical minerals, oil, and gas—until the tariffs are lifted.
• Dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs to ensure the U.S. administration faces the consequences of its actions.
• Immediate support for impacted workers, including financial assistance, job protection measures, and transition programs.
• A long-term strategy to reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S. trade, diversifying markets to protect workers from future foreign policy disruptions.

To arrange an interview with Bea Bruske, please email: media@clcctc.ca.

The post CLC PRESIDENT BEA BRUSKE AVAILABLE TO SPEAK FOLLOWING TRUDEAU-TRUMP MEETING ON TRADE WAR appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Donald Trump’s reckless threats are a direct attack on workers on both sides of the border”, said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Canadians are rightfully alarmed and expect strong leadership from their governments to protect their jobs and defend our industries from these harmful policies.”

Eight in ten Canadians believe American tariffs on Canadian goods will increase the cost of living and nine in ten believe it will have a negative impact on Canada-US relations.

In response to these threats:

• 90% of Canadians support an investment plan to grow our economy, support Canadian industries and create good jobs.
• 77% believe the federal government should retaliate by placing tariffs on American imports and 75% want Canada to cut off American access to Canadian resources like electricity, oil and wood.
• 80% want the government to support people who would be impacted by job losses.
• Two in three Canadians reject an appeasement policy toward Trump.

“This is a moment of unity for Canada,” said Bruske. “Political leaders at all levels of government and from all parties should listen to Canadians and understand that people expect them to stand united for Canada and Canadian workers.”

The post Canadians reject Trump’s tariff threats: New CLC poll appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

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The damage from such tariffs will not stop at the workplace. Families will feel the economic strain, and entire communities will suffer as good jobs disappear and opportunities shrink. This is not just a trade issue; it’s about protecting the future of workers and their families.

The federal government must take this threat seriously and act quickly. Workers are demanding leadership that prioritizes their well-being. We need decisive action to safeguard jobs, defend industries, develop an industrial strategy, and prevent working families from bearing the brunt of reckless and unnecessary trade policies.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Canada and workers must be front and centre of any decision from the government.

Canada’s unions stand ready to fight alongside workers, unions, and communities to defend jobs and protect our shared future. In 2023, Canada imported 277 billion dollars from the United States. If the American government triggers a full-blown trade war, it’s workers on both sides of the border who will pay the price.

In the long term, the government must focus on a new industrial strategy for Canada to protect our workers from the whims of any US administration. 

We call on the government to send a clear message: we will not let our workers and industries become collateral damage, we will stand strong, act boldly, and prioritize Canadian workers.”

The post Statement from Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, on Trump’s tariff threat appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

We are gravely concerned by the continued escalation of hostilities and the expansion of this horrific war in the broader region.

On behalf of Canada’s unions, we renew our call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. The CLC continues to stand with our Palestinian and Israeli labour allies in the pursuit of these urgent goals, and we believe that, through dialogue and solidarity, peace can still be achieved.

In the past year, we have also witnessed a troubling rise in antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobia across our society, including in our workplaces. Canada’s unions unequivocally reject all expressions of hate and discrimination. We are committed to fostering environments that uphold inclusion, respect, and dignity for all.

The catastrophic humanitarian cost of this conflict demands that we never give up. No matter the obstacles and the heartbreak, our humanity demands that we work diligently and tirelessly to build a broader and stronger movement for peace.

We owe it to every peace-loving person in the region to keep working, tirelessly, strategically and always aiming for the goal of peace and justice.

That’s what our fellow workers in Palestine and Israel have asked us to do. And that’s what we’ll keep doing.

The post Statement on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions are pleased with the government’s announcement to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, including a 100% tariff on electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel, matching recent U.S. actions. Coming into force on October 22, this marks one of the most significant shifts in our supply chain in decades and it’s a necessary step in protecting Canada’s economy, our workers, and the investments we’ve already made in the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

This decision is in Canada’s best interest, especially for our workers. By aligning our policy with the U.S., we are standing against unfair Chinese competition, which has long benefited from overcapacity, weak labour protections, and poor environmental standards.

For too long, Canadian industries have been at risk of being undercut by these practices, and today’s announcement signals that Canada will no longer tolerate this unfair advantage.

This is not just about protecting our industries—it’s about protecting Canadian jobs. As the global economy moves toward a low-carbon future, the EV sector represents a massive opportunity for growth, and Canada must be at the forefront of that transition. By leveraging the power of our skilled workforce and making smart decisions like this one, we can ensure that the rise of net-zero industries, like electric vehicles, translates into good, unionized jobs that support Canadian families.

We are particularly encouraged by the emphasis on domestic supply chains. Protecting the EV supply chain here in Canada means more than just keeping out unfair imports; it’s about investing in our own capacity to innovate and manufacture the sustainable technologies of the future. It’s about ensuring that this economic transition creates opportunities for Canadian workers and doesn’t become a backdoor for foreign markets to flood our country with cheaper alternatives.

However, we must remain focused on ensuring that these policies are enforced in ways that truly benefit workers. Tariffs alone aren’t enough—this shift must be part of a broader strategy to build up Canada’s industrial base, foster innovation, and create an environment where good, unionized jobs can thrive. Canada’s unions will continue to advocate for policies that protect our workers, create opportunities in sustainable industries, and ensure that the benefits of this transition are shared fairly across the country.

Together, we can build a stronger, more sustainable economy that provides good jobs and a fair future for all.

The post Protecting Canadian workers: CLC welcomes tariffs on Chinese imports appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The delegation which included the General Secretaries of the ITUC and the Global Union Federations, as well as several top union leaders from across the world, met with representatives of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) as well as union leaders representing workers in the West Bank and Gaza. They also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mustapha, and several government ministers during the mission on 28-30 May 2024. Several global unions are already deeply engaged with their Palestinian colleagues, all committed to supporting and sustaining the struggle of Palestinian workers.

The delegation made clear that “we express our solidarity with Palestinian trade unions and workers in these difficult times. We are deeply concerned by the grave humanitarian crisis faced by the people of Gaza, and we stand with Palestinians, Israelis, and people the world over calling for peace, equality, and justice.”

Immediate priorities must include an immediate and permanent ceasefire with full respect for international humanitarian law, immediate access to humanitarian assistance, the release of all hostages and others held without due judicial process, and enabling the safe return of all workers trapped by the conflict.

The delegation also recalled the ITUC and other global unions’ long-standing policy for a two-state solution, and the call for a just and durable peace through the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 to facilitate a real economic future for an independent Palestine. This involves ending the occupation of the West Bank, dismantling all illegal settlements, and recognizing the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

The delegation urged governments to resume and increase funding to UNRWA. “UNRWA’s role is vital in providing essential services and supporting Palestinians at a time when they are most in need.”

“We came here to reinforce the depth of our commitment to Palestinian workers and their unions – we are all part of the same family. Our goal is a democratic and sovereign Palestine, living in just and lasting peace and security alongside Israel. We know that trade unions are an essential element of any democracy, and that strong and democratic independent unions will be a key building block towards that end in Palestine. “

The delegation reported hearing moving testimony from Palestinians who have paid a terrible price during the current war. On top of the distressing reality of destruction and loss of life in Gaza, we have heard about settler violence and restrictions on human rights such as freedom of movement and economic hardship in the West Bank.

Nevertheless, what shines through is the commitment to trade unionism and its potential to help deliver a just settlement in the broader chaos of this conflict.

Our responsibility as global trade unionists is to nurture that sentiment and we call upon the global labour movement to deliver on its principles of peace, humanity, democracy, and solidarity. This includes continuing to invest in a constructive dialogue with trade unions in both Palestine and Israel which recognizes their critical role in their respective societies”.

“Global unions will neither forget nor forsake our sisters and brothers in Palestine. We will redouble efforts to support your unions and support you. Trade unions have remained a constant – democratically rooted in their communities and well equipped to provide concrete support during the reconstruction which should embed the principles of decent work and quality public services.”

Many of the global unions have already provided significant aid to workers through unions in Gaza and the West Bank. For example, Education International has provided financial assistance for more than 1,000 teachers in Palestine and provides shelter centres for more than 5,000 children in Rafah. The International Federation of Journalists provides direct support for reporters in Gaza and operates a solidarity centre with workspace and equipment in Khan Younis, and the International Transport Workers Federation and PSI have launched a Palestine solidarity fund to provide immediate relief and longer-term support for Palestinian transport and public service workers and their families. BWI provided humanitarian support and shelters for construction workers and their families.

The delegation concluded: ‘Trade unions are part of the global peace movement. We stand for peace alongside such important values as democracy and humanity. That’s why we are here.”

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This tragedy spurred years of global initiatives and campaigns. Echoing the demands of survivors and families of the victims, those efforts sought to bring forward the international fashion brands’ responsibility for the horrendous conditions of work and poverty wages in their supply chains, to call on governments to ensure the application of global labour and health and safety standards and to demand that protections for human and labour rights, including the right to form unions and the right to collective bargaining, are enshrined and protected in trade and investment agreements.

Despite years of globally coordinated efforts to bring improvements to factory safety in the sector, with major success stemming from the collaboration between international brands, global unions and governments, there remain many areas where progress has been far too slow for workers and activists.

To truly improve the situation, worker rights must be addressed globally alongside the ongoing commitments to ensure factory safety, starting with ensuring workers’ ability to organize collectively. Yet, Bangladeshi workers and labour rights activists continue to be killed and criminalized for protesting poverty wages, for trying to join or form unions, and for calling for an end to discrimination against women workers.

One key tool to ensure progress lies in Bangladesh adhering to a 5-year Road Map (2021-2026) at the International Labour Organization to improve its application of key labour standards on Labour Inspection Convention, Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention.

Regular monitoring of the Road Map process indicates that workers in Bangladesh do not have full freedom in terms of joining trade unions. Organized workers have a very limited scope to negotiate collective agreements, workers and trade union organizers continue to be subjected to violence on a regular basis, women workers are victims of discrimination, and the amendment brought to the labour law of Bangladesh is minimal.

Canada’s unions have been working with Bangladesh labour organizations and unions since before the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster to promote better conditions of work in the garment sector. On this grim anniversary, we amplify our calls for:

• Canada to pass mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that requires companies to prevent the risk of harm to people and the environment throughout their supply chain and to put in place adequate procedures to minimize the risk, remedy any existing harm, and do everything in their power to prevent future harm. If a company fails to do any of these things, the law gives people negatively impacted by the company’s actions the power to seek justice in Canadian courts;
• Brands to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, the successor to the successful Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, to promote independent safety inspections and complaint mechanisms to ensure safer factories and prevent mass casualty incidents;
• Brands to immediately require their suppliers to withdraw all criminal complaints against workers stemming from the minimum wage protests of 2023, and reverse any other retaliatory action taken against workers;
• Bangladesh to cease the repression against Bangladeshi garment workers and recognize the fundamental rights to association and the right to organize;
• Bangladesh to investigate and ensure financial compensation consistent with international standards for all Rana Plaza victims and their families;
• Bangladesh to support the call of the families and communities of workers to build a memorial at the Rana Plaza site, to honour the lives lost and forever changed through this tragedy.

Click here to add your voice to the struggle by leaving a message commemorating victims of the Rana Plaza disaster on a virtual memorial, and by calling on major international brands to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, ensure workplace safety and recognize the rights of workers to organize, refuse unsafe work, and raise health and safety concerns.

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Since its inauguration on December 10, the government of President Javier Milei has promoted several measures that generate profound damage to the Argentine people, its workers, its organizations, and social movements.

We support the national strike called by the Argentine trade union federations, CGT, CTA-T and CTA-A on January 24, in rejection of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) and the “omnibus law” project, which violate the principles of division of powers, democratic principles and the correct functioning of institutions and constitutional norms.

Some of the measures of the DNU 70/23 that affect workers in an extremely negative way include: it imposes strong limits to the exercise of the right to strike and to the holding of union assemblies; it extends the trial period from 3 to 8 months; it allows the deregulation of the working day and modifies the regulation of overtime; it facilitates outsourcing and labour intermediation; it reduces severance pay; it weakens the labour contract law by reducing its applicability; it eliminates fines for unregistered employment and for the non-payment of severance pay. For its part, the Omnibus Law includes a modification of the Penal Code that takes the criminalization of social protest to levels not seen since the last military dictatorship, among the measures clearly aimed at limiting union action.

Although the Argentine courts granted the claim made by the CGT by issuing a precautionary measure that paralyzes the implementation of the segment dedicated to labour reforms in the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU), such resolution is not definitive, and the Argentine government has repeatedly announced that it will continue and deepen the measures, while the Argentine Congress debates and defines the approval of the “omnibus law”.

The Canadian Labour Congress, together with TUCA, express our profound rejection of the measures that the government has imposed against the working class and trade unions, in addition to setting a regional precedent in terms of a clear violation of labour, social and trade union rights.

Therefore, we request the Argentine government to urgently prioritize broad and democratic social dialogue to analyze and define the best measures that include and promote the participation of the Argentine people.

We request the Argentine authorities (executive, legislative and judicial branches) review all those measures of the DNU that violate the rights of workers, that contravene constitutional norms and the international norms of the International Labor Organization ratified by Argentina.

Yours sincerely,

Link to official letter here.

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Last May, at the 30th Constitutional Convention of the Canadian Labour Congress, Hong Kong labour leader and activist Christopher Mung (Mung Siu-Tat) spoke to Canadian workers about the complete deterioration of civil rights and democracy in Hong Kong. Mr. Mung, former Executive Director of the now disbanded Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, is forced to work in exile to defend workers and sustain global attention to the criminalization of trade union leaders and pro-democracy activists.

Last week, the Hong Kong authorities issued arrest warrants against Mr. Mung and seven others and placed a bounty of HK$ one million on each of their heads.

“Workers at convention heard firsthand about the terrible situation in Hong Kong and the criminalization of doing the basic work of trade unions there,” says Bea Bruske, CLC President. “We stand in solidarity with all workers in Hong Kong and in defence of trade union and human rights.”

Please see the letter from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region demanding that authorities live up to their international and trade union and human rights obligations. The exercise of trade union rights and civil liberties in Hong Kong must be permitted in a context free of fear, intimidation, arrests, and arbitrary prosecutions.

Canada’s unions call for charges to be dropped, and for the release of imprisoned trade union partners Lee Cheuk-yan and Carol Ng, and of all those arrested and imprisoned for allegations related to the exercise of civil liberties, including freedom of assembly, expression, press and association, and of those participating in pro-democracy activities.

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The attack took place on June 25, 2023, in the context of his work as a union leader seeking to address a wage dispute at the request of workers. Shahidul Islam was with three other BGIWF colleagues at the Prince Jacquard Sweaters factory in Gazipur, where the factory workers are owed over two months’ wages, when they were violently attacked by a group of men. Islam’s injuries were fatal, while 3 other union leaders, Mustafa Kamal, Ahmed Sharif, and Akkas Ali, were severely injured.

Shahidul leaves behind his wife and two children. We express our sincere condolences to Shahidul’s family, as well as to all the members and colleagues of the BGIWF. The Canadian unions and workers’ organizations signing this statement have long-standing relationships with the labour movement in Bangladesh, and we vehemently condemn this attack on the freedom of association and the right to life, showing again how textile workers in Bangladesh are not treated with dignity. This sends a clear message of fear and intimidation to workers who wish to exercise their rights in a context which was already dire for organizers.

This is not the first murder of a union organizer in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi government must fulfill its duties under international law to protect the right to organize.

Echoing the demand of our BGIWF comrades, we want justice for Shahidul Islam’s brutal murder and call on the Bangladeshi government:

• To carry out an immediate and thorough investigation of the crime and for the perpetrators to be arrested and prosecuted.
• To ensure industry representatives stop promoting corrupted company unions. Bangladeshi workers should be free to join unions and bargain for their rights.
• To ensure the safety and human rights of the BGIWF’s team and of labour rights defenders in Bangladesh.
• To provide financial compensation to Shahidul Islam’s family, for which he was the sole breadwinner.

We also call on the Canadian government to put pressure on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure the safety of other BGIWF organizers in this extremely difficult context.

Finally, we call on Canadian and global brands sourcing products from Bangladesh to carry out due diligence in their supply chains and use leverage to ensure respect for labour rights in law and practice. The Canadian government must implement mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in Canada and require global companies to ensure respect for human rights throughout their global supply chains.

Endorsed by:

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Compounding this immense tragedy, is the fact that workers had refused to enter the factory because cracks in the walls had been spotted the day before, but were ordered back to work to avoid costly production delays.

“Rana Plaza exposed the dire conditions for workers in these factories that produce the world’s garments: poor wages, unsafe working conditions, precarious work, and intimidation and harassment in the workplace. Garment workers not only in Bangladesh, but around the world, are still working in absolutely appalling conditions and receiving unfair wages for their labour. It is way past time for things to change,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions, representing 3 million workers, have supported Bangladesh workers in their struggle for decent working conditions and the right to form independent unions to represent workers. We are part of allied networks pushing the government to enact robust legislation to mandate human rights obligations in the supply chains of Canadian companies.

On this grim anniversary, Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with workers in the garment sector in Bangladesh who are demanding respect for their human rights, including freedom of association, healthy and safe working conditions, and a living wage.  

In order to effectively prevent the next Rana Plaza, we call on the Canadian Government to:

• Introduce mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that requires Canadian companies, and companies that import goods into Canada, to respect human rights throughout their supply chains;
• Promote and protect the right to organize and bargain collectively as key enabling rights, without which decent work cannot take place; and
• Make trade preferences dependent on the respect for workers’ right to organize.

We call on Canadian clothing brands to:

• Sign the International Accord, the continuation of the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, which brought massive success in health and safety inspections and repairs to thousands of factories. When the Accord expires, it should be renewed as a legally binding, enforceable agreement, expanded to more countries for the long-term;
• End the race to the bottom borne by workers, by providing living wages and living wage compensation for workers suffering injury or death in the workplace across their supply chains; and
• Take responsibility for financing a permanent Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) in Bangladesh to compensate workers injured at work. 

Click here to add your voice to the struggle by leaving a message commemorating victims of the Rana Plaza disaster on a virtual memorial, and by calling on major international brands to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, ensure workplace safety and recognize the rights of workers to organize, refuse unsafe work and raise health and safety concerns.

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“On Refugee Rights Day, we recognize and celebrate the 1985 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that refugee claimants are entitled to fundamental justice. Today, Canada’s unions urge the federal government to uphold the principles of fundamental justice and fulfill its moral duty and international obligation to protect the well-being of people and families seeking safety, by suspending the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA).

“We are deeply concerned by the recent decision between Canada and the United States to expand the Safe Third Country Agreement. Expanding the Agreement to the entire border, including Roxham Road, means that refugees crossing in both directions will be driven underground, forced to take even more dangerous routes, and put their safety and lives at risk. It will inevitably lead to harm and more deaths.

“Under the STCA, refugee claimants must request refuge in the first safe country they arrive in. Although the United States is the only country that has been designated as a safe country according to the Agreement, the reality is that the U.S. does not guarantee safety for refugees.

“We all want to do what is best for our families. Under international law, people have the right to seek refugee protection and to a fair process that determines whether they should receive it. People seeking refuge in Canada deserve to be treated with compassion and must have their claims processed fairly and efficiently, not be turned back to harm.

“Canada’s unions stand in opposition to the Safe Third Country Agreement, and in solidarity with our allies fighting for migrant and refugee justice.

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A portion of the funds accepted by Visentini were transferred to the ITUC and were used to assist a number of ITUC affiliates to attend the Congress in Melbourne.

On January 13, General Council of the ITUC, of which the CLC is a member, approved an external audit of the conditions that lead to the ITUC accepting this cash donation from a third party, via Visentini. The General Council also struck a Special Commission to investigate the circumstances that preceded this decision, and any potential impact it may have had on the outcome of the election for the position of General Secretary, as well as whether the ITUC’s position on Qatar’s adherence to labour standards had been unduly influenced by external actors connected to the Belgian investigation. The results of the independent external audit and Commission report will be reported to the General Council, along with an interim report of the Special Commission in March 2023.

A strong global voice for workers is critical, just as it is here at home. The CLC will continue to act in its role in ensuring the highest standards of accountability, transparency and integrity needed to ensure that the ITUC can continue to do its important work on behalf of workers around the world.

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The L20 represents trade unions from G20 countries and global unions.

The group called on Ministers to lay the foundation of a new social contract and take action to accelerate the just transition and expand social protections. The recommendations also included a call to focus on decent work, as it is central to recovery and resilience.

You can see the full statement released by the L20 here.

On September 13, the L20 issued a joint statement with the Business 20 (B20). Together, the groups called on the G20 to focus on designing, driving and delivering policies for economic growth with social justice, productive and decent work and a just transition at its centre. 

The joint statement is only available in English.

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BERLIN – Today in Germany, Bea Bruske delivered a strong message from international labour leaders to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President of the G7.

“When it comes to building a plan to decarbonize every sector of our economies, it is critical that workers are at the table. These workers help build the economies of these countries and they must not be left to carry the burden on their own,” said Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Bruske delivered her comments on behalf of the “Labour 7,” a group of representatives from the trade union federations of the G7 countries.

“We, the labour leaders in G7 countries, urge our governments to move from ambition to implementation on climate protection,” Bruske said in her remarks. “These investments should not be diminished by responding to other global crises. As you stated Monday, Chancellor, increased military spending should not affect social cohesion nor diminish commitments to other priorities.”

Bruske argued that G7 leaders should put workers and their families at the centre of their plans when it comes to action on fighting climate change.

“It was an honour to deliver a clear message from workers to Chancellor Scholz and the G7,” Bruske said. “Labour leaders around the world were able to find common ground around protecting our climate, environment and biodiversity, and accelerating the global energy transition, while building a sustainable and fair economic system where workers are not left behind. This is essential for ensuring a better life for all on our planet.”

Bruske stressed the importance for world leaders to take action, working together with the labour movement, around creating jobs that are family supporting and high quality.

“We must not trade good jobs for low-quality, precarious work. The leaders of the wealthiest nations must understand that building a just transition for workers is central for us to successfully tackle climate change,” said Bruske.

Bruske added that international conventions on occupational health and safety, robust social and workplace protections, and investing in health care and social services are all critical elements to achieving a sustainable planet.

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

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In advance of the summit, trade union leaders from G7 countries have issued the joint Labour 7 statement to the G7 Leaders’ Summit 2022: Shaping the Global Common Good Peace and Democracy, Climate Action, Health, Fair Digitalisation.

You can read the full statement here.

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“The world is watching with horror as Russia launches an unjustified attack on Ukraine and its people. Canada’s unions condemn this unprovoked act of aggression and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who now face violence, hardship and an uncertain future.

“Russia’s military assault will mean a terrible loss of life and will destabilize the lives of people throughout the region. Reverberations will be felt around the world.

“We are concerned about civilian casualties and a massive displacement of people trying to flee the violence. As essential public services are disrupted and civil infrastructure destroyed, the urgent need for humanitarian assistance grows. It is vital that international agencies are allowed access so they can provide humanitarian assistance to the people affected.

“We call on Canada’s government to open our country’s doors to those fleeing the conflict, including through visa-free access for Ukrainians, and provide substantial humanitarian aid to these victims of Russian hostility.

“We further urge our government to work with like-minded multilateral organizations to press Russia to end hostilities, adhere to international human rights obligations and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. The international community must stand united in the cause of peace for a free and sovereign Ukraine.”

“This attack reminds us again of the dangers posed by tyrants and autocrats to all of us who value democracy. Ukrainians are now once again being called on to defend their right to self-determination. Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with Ukrainian workers and families who want peace.

“Canada’s unions also reach out in solidarity to our nation’s proud Ukrainian-Canadian community, who fear today for the safety of family and friends tragically caught up in Russia’s armed confrontation.

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“The pandemic has highlighted the existing inequity and precarity in Canada’s job market and shone a light on the pervasiveness of work defined by low wages, unstable hours, and lack of access to basic employment rights,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Without workers, there is no recovery. Workers want to return to good jobs that offer decent pay, benefits and a path to unionization.”

The recovery must also address the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on marginalized workers including women, racialized workers, and workers with a disability. Some of the hardest-hit workers were employed in precarious, low-wage and frontline jobs, in sectors like long-term care, retail, tourism, education, child care and hospitality. Women – particularly racialized women – tend to be overrepresented in these fields.

“Canadian unions demand the new Liberal government develop a robust jobs plan, full employment, and decent work for everyone. The government can address inequality by strengthening our social safety net, through investments in affordable child care and housing, universal pharmacare and improvements to EI,” said Bruske.

Learn more about how Canada’s union are helping to shape the recovery at canadianplan.ca.

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The CTSP has a strong presence in the affected area and received damage updates from regional representatives that more than 500 homes have been destroyed in the area around the southern city of Les Cayes.

The CTSP immediately effected an emergency response by:
• providing impacted communities with tents, hygienic kits and water;
• supporting teachers and nurses for the start of the school year by purchasing school supplies and subsidizing transportation to get children back into school;
• assisting in building temporary shelters for farmers and helping them purchase livestock, poultry and seeds; and
• providing economic stimulus for small merchants and support for informal workers.

The CLC, CUPE, NUPGE, PSAC and USW have responded to this appeal. For more information or to support this work, please contact the CLC at sep@clcctc.ca.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified historical xenophobic, anti-Asian sentiment and rhetoric, which has resulted in increased violence against members of Asian communities. Live data from Fight COVID Racism shows that from March 10, 2020 to mid-April 2021, there were 994 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate crimes across Canada.

“May is Asian Heritage Month, and we’re taking this opportunity to highlight the struggle Asian communities are currently facing,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President. “There is no place for hate in Canada, and Canada’s unions are committed to advancing anti-racism efforts to confront and counter hate, and promote safer workplaces and communities.”

Canada’s unions are marking Asian Heritage Month by honouring the historical struggles of people of Asian descent in Canada and the community activism that challenged this country’s racist and discriminatory laws, practices and policies.

Asian communities helped build this country, yet they have faced exploitation, discrimination and racism, both in their workplaces and broader society. From the internment and property seizure of Japanese Canadians, to Chinese migrant workers who were first brought to Canada to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the Vancouver anti-Asian riots in the early 1900s, to the Continuous Journey Regulation and the Komagata Maru incident, the history of Asian communities in Canada includes experiences of significant adversity, as well as hard-won triumphs.

Members of Asian communities overcame these struggles by coming together and organizing in order to successfully challenge racist and discriminatory immigration laws and practices. Today, Asian community members continue to contribute greatly to the economy and to Canadian society, and provide a rich diversity of heritage, culture and perspectives across all sectors and industries.

In addition to a rise in anti-Asian sentiment, the pandemic has also increased the exploitation of workers in Canada, including migrant workers—many of whom are South Asian and South-East Asian women.

Throughout the pandemic, essential and migrant workers have made critical contributions to the wellbeing and safety of our communities. However, many have been working in dangerous conditions and without adequate protections, leaving them vulnerable and dependant on employers.

“While we welcome the recent federal announcement regarding the introduction of pathways to permanent residency for temporary essential workers, more action is needed for workers,” said Rousseau. “The limited nature of this new policy means that countless workers will continue to fall through the gaps. We urge the federal government to offer these pathways to permanent residency to all migrant workers, which would provide them with access to the government supports and labour protections they need.”

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In the years since, global initiatives, primarily the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, have achieved remarkable improvements to health and safety standards and practices in targeted Bangladesh factories. Much more needs to be done to ensure this progress stays on track and to keep improving the working conditions for the women who make our clothes. Safe factories, workers’ jobs, incomes and benefits remain at risk as the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc on global markets and economies. The people at the bottom rung of the supply chain should not have to bear the brunt of the crisis.

The Pandemic

Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest clothing exporter and during the COVID‑19 crisis, hundreds of factories closed as international and Canadian brands and retailers cancelled orders and refused to pay for orders already in production. Factories fired over a million workers and many refused to pay legally earned severance pay. Workers were left with no savings from subsistence‑level salaries and no access to social protection to support them in times of trouble. The forecast remains dire for garment sector workers as global demand for apparel items remains low.

It is of immense importance to build up social protection systems in Bangladesh and other garment-producing countries. Trade unions and labour rights organizations call for strengthened unemployment protection and the respect for all workers’ rights, including the right to organize. Retailers and brands must take responsibility for issues in their supply chains and contribute to a global wage assurance and severance guarantee fund to help workers survive the crisis.

Workers in Bangladesh have been courageously organizing and fighting for their rights for years but need the support of voices in purchasing countries such as Canada, in order to push Canadian brands to rebuild a just economy after the pandemic by establishing more sustainable and resilient supply chains that respect workers’ rights and ensure suppliers pay workers living wages and social benefits.

To learn more about the global campaign to pay workers: #PayYourWorkers

To learn more about the Bangladeshi garment sector workers’ working and living conditions supplying Canadian brands: usw.to/3q6

Extend the Bangladesh Accord for Health and Safety

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a legally binding agreement between unions and brands and retailers created after the Rana Plaza collapse of 2013, led to real change in making death trap factories safe. Since its establishment, the Bangladesh Accord has provided safer working conditions for over 2 million garment workers by carrying out inspections and overseeing repairs and maintenance in more than 1,600 factories. The current agreement will end in late May and action is needed to safeguard progress in workplace safety.

There are great concerns about the functioning of the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), the body that took over Bangladesh-based operations of the Bangladesh Accord. It is voluntary instead of being legally binding and workers hold less representation in its governing body. To prevent the RSC from becoming yet another industry-led voluntary initiative, the brands and retailers who signed the Accord before, including Loblaws (Joe Fresh), must make sure to lay their commitments down in writing again in a new international legally binding agreement. Now is the time for other Canadian brands, such as Lululemon Athletica, HBC, YM Group Inc, Arc’teryx and Canadian Tire, to also sign on to a new Accord. Brands and retailers must act now to protect progress and ensure an incident like Rana Plaza never happens again.

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence

A company’s responsibility flows through its entire corporate structure, including its business relationships and through its entire supply chain.

The Government of Canada must legislate companies to respect human rights in their global operations and supply chains. Such legislation should require companies to conduct due diligence on their human rights and environmental risks, take appropriate steps to prevent and mitigate such risks and hold companies accountable in the courts if they abuse human rights.

Action:

Support workers in Canadian supply chains by writing to Canadian companies Lululemon Athletica and YM Group to contribute to a Severance Guarantee Fund. Email and/or send a tweet to the CEO of Lululemon and the YM Group.

Endorsed by:
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Centre international de solidarité ouvrière
Inter Pares
Maquila Solidarity Network
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
Oxfam Canada
Public Service Alliance of Canada
United Steelworkers
Workers United Canada Council

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“At last, there is justice for Lula, Brazilian workers and people who have ceaselessly defended his innocence,” says Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, which supported the global Free Lula campaign.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Brazil confirmed lower court decisions to annul criminal convictions attained through the massive anti-corruption investigation known as Operation Car Wash, which many saw as politically motivated. Lula was convicted of taking bribes and spent a year and a half behind bars.

“Workers across the world stood with Lula,” says Yussuff, “and now, at last, we celebrate his innocence and freedom.”

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The Government of Canada should now move to officially recognize the genocide and implement the recommendations of the Subcommittee of International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (SDIR).

Witnesses say the persecution of Muslim groups in Xinjiang has included mass detention and inhumane treatment, forced labour, pervasive state surveillance, population control and the eradication of Uyghur culture and religion.

It is reported that over three million Uyghurs have been interned in concentration camps. Nearly a million Uyghurs have been forced into industrial slavery in manufacturing facilities across mainland China.

Due to the repressive climate, human rights monitoring by international organizations is not possible and due diligence in supply chains cannot be conducted. These forced labour practices are tainting global supply chains.

Canada’s unions support the human rights committee’s recommendations, which call on the Government of Canada to:

• Investigate potentially problematic sources of consumer goods and to take a strong stand against the use of forced labour, particularly when it involves Canadian companies;
• Enhance import control mechanisms, to prevent products made with forced labour from entering the Canadian market;
• Impose sanctions on entities and individuals that benefit from the use of forced labour;
• Empower the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise with independence and the power to investigate human rights abuse allegations and enact a comprehensive human rights due diligence law that compels businesses to respect the most current international human rights standards across their global operations and supply chains and be held accountable for harms caused or on behalf of their operations; and
• Conduct a review of its procurement practices to ensure it is not purchasing products manufactured through forced labour.

Canada’s unions are also calling on the federal government to condemn other human rights violations including mass detention, inhumane population control measures, and to ensure the protection of activists and Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims living in Canada who have experienced harassment and intimidation by the Government of China.

Here at home, Canada’s unions reject the rise in Sinophobia fuelled during the COVID-19 pandemic and underscore that this statement addresses the actions and practices of the Government of China, as represented by the Chinese Communist Party, and not the Chinese people.

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“Deregulating local produce markets will have a devastating impact on farmers, farm workers and food security in India,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “We stand with the international labour movement to support workers who are taking to the streets to protest these reforms and fight for their rights.”

India’s central and local governments passed three farm acts in September. Taken together, these acts threaten to impoverish millions of small farmers and leave millions more farm workers unemployed. Farmers’ unions have been protesting since August, escalating to a national general strike on November 26, 2020.

The government of India has also proposed reforms that undermine unions and violate international labour standards that India has ratified as a member of the International Labour Organization.

“The government’s legislation leaves farmers and workers at the mercy of large multinational corporations and global commodity price swings,” said Yussuff. “We deplore the fact that some states in India are also using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to suspend labour laws and attack workers’ rights. The international community has to stand up.”

The protesting farmers are making several demands, including asking that the new farm laws be repealed; that all repressive measures taken against protesters cease; and that movement leaders who have been arrested be released. Other workers’ unions in the country have joined the protests in support of the farmers.

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Earlier today, the American government reversed the highly contentious tariffs just hours before the Canadian government was set to impose its own retaliatory actions. Those actions would have had significant repercussions in the U.S. and would have impacted jobs.

“The American government had no business imposing these tariffs to begin with. Canadian workers cannot be used as pawns in a political fight that has nothing to do with them,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The federal government should be commended for its strong defence of Canadian industry and for its ongoing resolve in defending workers.”

The American government had imposed the 10% tariff on aluminum in August. This came just months after it had lifted previously imposed tariffs following the ratification of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement and which Canada’s unions fought for over a year to have removed.

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation and urge the federal government to continue defending these vital Canadian industries and the hundreds of thousands of workers who rely on them,” said Yussuff.

To arrange an interview, please contact:

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

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“The announcement today by the U.S. President undermines the stated purpose and spirit of Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “The Canadian government must provide support to affected workers while they work out this dispute. The government should respond swiftly with retaliatory actions.”

The United States previously imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel before the ratification of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Canada’s unions fought for over a year to have them removed.

The imposition of tariffs for a second time is particularly offensive considering the newly renegotiated trade agreement entered into force on July 1^st.

“Canadian workers are not a prop for Donald Trump to use in his re-election campaign,” said Yussuff. “This is a clear affront. The federal government has to continue to forcefully stand up for Canadian workers and industry and must counter these unfair tariffs.”

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

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“This decision underscores the message that a worker is a worker,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “This ruling sends a clear message to employers that they can’t skirt around workers’ rights by using legalese to pretend they are ‘independent operators’ instead of employees.”

The Supreme Court ruling reaffirms a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal that Uber drivers may be subject to the Ontario Employment Standards Act. With this ruling, a class-action suit against Uber can proceed.

“There is an imbalance of power in organizations like Uber, with precarious workers fighting for better job conditions against a behemoth enterprise hiding behind complex international legal loopholes,” said Yussuff. “Given this ruling, provincial governments have a responsibility to examine the misclassification of employees and protect all gig economy workers.”

Canada’s unions have been raising the alarm about the rise of the gig economy and precarious work for years and will continue to fight for workers in these jobs.

To arrange an interview, please contact:

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

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The latest escalation in this long-fought struggle is the recent introduction of national security legislation by the Chinese government which will allow Chinese state security forces to operate in Hong Kong.

“Our Brothers and Sisters are in the fight of their lives to save the core freedoms and principles of democracy in Hong Kong,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff. “Canadian workers condemn the new security legislation and all attempts to strip people of their freedoms.”

Hong Kong holds separate governance status from China as a Special Administrative Region. This legislation is in direct violation of the Basic Law that mandates local legislation on national security matters, with Hong Kong in formal control of the police and judiciary. The new security law will broaden Beijing’s power over Hong Kong.

This is the latest in a series of actions aimed at broadening Beijing’s power over Hong Kong including last year’s extradition law. These moves have sparked fierce dissent from pro-democracy activists, which has been met with excessive use of force by authorities.

The annual Hong Kong vigil, held every June 4, marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, has been banned for the first time in 30 years. Concerns about the deterioration of rights are growing with dissent and protest in Hong Kong now routinely being labelled as terrorism and accounts of Chinese authorities imposing limitations on movement and assembly under the guise of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

When the Hong Kong administration passes the new law, the free exercise of fundamental rights, including the trade union right to freely associate and liaise with international organisations, will be suppressed in the name of national security. A frightening prospect ahead of elections planned in September.

The international community must keep watch and call attention to what is happening in Hong Kong.

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Israel’s new coalition government has announced it will move forward with the process of annexing West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley as early as July.

The unilateral annexation of territory has been strictly prohibited under international law since 1945 when the Charter of the United Nations was adopted. Israel’s control of the Palestinian territories has been denounced as illegal under international law and in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and the Geneva Convention.

Under Israeli occupation, Palestinians have been forced to live under heavy restrictions that limit their access to work, health, housing and social affairs. As Israel has expanded its settlements and built a separation wall around Palestinian lands – illegal acts under international law – Palestinians have been subject to evictions and displacement, confiscation of land, settler violence and loss of access to natural resources.

This annexation will have devastating social and economic implications. It is expected that this would disconnect around 200,000 Palestinians from their communities and livelihoods. It will also advance the annexation of Jerusalem and destroy the establishment of a Palestinian capital in the city, breaking the territorial contiguity between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This contiguity is essential for the fabric of life for Palestinians.

The government of Canada must send a strong message in opposition to the illegal and unilateral annexation of Palestinian lands and officially recognize the State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders. Canada must consider a forceful response, including revisiting the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and other bilateral agreements and the imposition of economic sanctions against Israel.

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Canada’s unions and civil society organizations are calling for immediate relief for workers and protection of rights in global supply chains.

The coalition says that concerns for workers cannot stop at Canada’s borders and the millions of women and men who make clothes in other countries cannot be abandoned. In particular, efforts to address and rectify dangerous working conditions following the Rana Plaza disaster must not be undone now in the midst of this global crisis.

On April 24, 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh killed at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500.

The tragedy put a spotlight on substandard working conditions and low wages in the industry. In response to public outrage at the disaster, more than 200 global brands and retailers signed a legally binding agreement with Bangladesh and Global unions that achieved important improvements in workplace safety.

The current pandemic has created new threats to the lives and livelihoods of garment workers.

Brands and companies have cancelled orders down their supply chains leaving factories unable to pay workers’ wages, even for work already completed. This is leaving millions of people without income and job security. Women are particularly hard hit by this crisis.

Eighty per cent of Bangladesh’s four million garment workers are women. These workers have received poverty wages for years, barely making ends meet and have no financial savings to draw on. Without work, without income, with little access to health care and without any social safety net, they can easily slip into abject poverty and struggle to feed themselves and their families.

In response to the crisis, the Bangladesh government instituted a nationwide public holiday for an extended period. Millions of workers have returned to their villages with empty pockets, unable to collect unpaid wages or severance pay from closed factories. Government relief packages are being channeled through factories, but are proving difficult for workers to access. Some factories have remained open where workers continue to work in cramped conditions, without personal protections.

Canadian unions and civil society organizations stand in solidarity with Bangladesh garment sector workers and with garment sector workers in all countries, and urgently recommend the following:

Payment of orders and wages & worker health and safety
Canadian brands and retailers must honour their obligations to suppliers and workers by paying for orders that are completed or in production. They should ensure the payment of wages or severance to all workers who were employed at the onset of the crisis and ensure that workers who work during the pandemic can follow World Health Organization protection guidelines and reserve the right to refuse unsafe work.

Emergency relief for workers
Governments, including Canada, should support global emergency relief programs for garment sector workers set up with contributions from international financial institutions, donor governments as well as brands and retailers. These programs must maintain workers’ employment and wages.

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence
The Government of Canada should legislate companies to respect human rights in their operations and supply chains. Such legislation should require companies to conduct due diligence on their human rights and environmental risks, take appropriate steps to prevent and mitigate such risks, and hold companies accountable in the courts if they abuse human rights.

Rebuilding a just economy after the pandemic
The industry as a whole must change the current pricing and business model moving forward. Canadian brands must commit to establish more sustainable and resilient supply chains that respect workers’ rights and ensure suppliers pay workers living wages and social benefits.

Endorsed by:

Amnesty International Canada (English-speaking branch)
Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale
Canadian Council for International Co-operation
Canadian Jesuits International
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Centre international de solidarité ouvrière (CISO)
Fairtrade Canada
Inter Pares
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Maquila Solidarity Network
MiningWatch Canada
Nobel Women’s Initiative
Ontario Catholic No Sweat Network
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
Oxfam Canada
Public Service Alliance of Canada
Social Justice Connection
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association
The United Church of Canada
United Food and Commercial Workers Canada
United Steelworkers
Workers United Canada Council
World March of Women Coordinating Committee

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Every year since, communities across the country have mourned those, and innumerable others, lost to gender-based violence with a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.  

While recent federal initiatives have progressed the drive to end institutionalized violence and harassment, the solutions are a patchwork and not enough to address the systemic current crisis. That’s why Canada’s unions mark this important anniversary with a demand for our newly elected federal government: commit to action to end violence and harassment, hold perpetrators accountable and make Canada’s workplaces safe.

“Canada’s unions are calling on our government to commit to a national action plan that includes ratifying C-190—a new global Convention on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. “It’s time for federal leadership that will set a standard for provinces and municipalities across the country.”

Earlier this year, the international community came together at the Centenary Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to adopt a new convention on violence and harassment in the workplace. C-190 is a historic convention that Canada’s government played an instrumental role in negotiating.

“Canada has an opportunity to be amongst the first countries in the world to ratify this convention,” said Clarke Walker, who served as Worker Vice-Chair, leading the negotiations on C-190 on behalf of the global trade union movement. “We mark today by remembering those lost to gender-based violence and by recommitting ourselves to the elimination of institutionalized violence and harassment. With leadership and action, we can end sexual harassment and violence in workplaces.”

For more information about the École Polytechnique Massacre and National Day of Remembrance, click here. And to stand in solidarity with communities across the country, find a December 6^th vigil near you.

Write to Prime Minister Trudeau today and urge him to make workplaces safe for everyone by ratifying C-190. 

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Convention C-190 was adopted at the Centenary Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) earlier this year. The ILO is the UN system’s only tripartite agency, bringing together governments, employers and workers to set labour standards, develop policies and create programs promoting decent work for all.

The ILO Convention is legally binding once it is ratified by a country. 

Convention C-190 and its supplementing Recommendation set out clear policies grounded in social dialogue and requiring an integrated, gender-responsive approach to the prevention and elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work.

“Over half of women in Canada will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime,” said CLC’s Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker. “We have made progress in recent years, and ratifying this convention will send a clear message that all workers have the right to a world of work free from violence and harassment.”

Join us in marking the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence by asking our Prime Minister to begin the process of ratifying Convention C-190 before the end of 2020.

Write to him now.

Since 1981, women’s rights advocates have marked November 25^th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. You can learn more about the history of this work here.

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In its ongoing negotiations on the Mercosur trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Canada must ensure the agreement contains enforceable provisions that uphold environmental protections, labour and Indigenous rights.

Increased North American and European market access for Brazilian beef, soy and other agricultural products has been a primary driver behind the fires and deforestation of the Amazon, made increasingly possible by the Bolsonaro government’s attempt to dismantle environmental and Indigenous protections. 

Any trade deal reached with Mercosur must ensure that such kinds of environmental, labour and human rights violations are halted through the inclusion of enforceable provisions in the agreement and a complaint system that allows concerned citizens to initiate inquiries where violations are suspected. Furthermore, future rounds of negotiations with Mercosur must be made transparent to the public, allowing citizens to monitor the process and ensure that effective environmental protections are enshrined in any agreement that is ultimately ratified. 

Canadian labour stands in solidarity with our Mercosur sisters and brothers in ensuring the global protection of human, environmental and labour rights.

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After over a year of negotiations with governments, employers, and workers, the Centenary International Labour Conference adopted the new framework at its convention in Geneva.

“It is a historic day,” said CLC’s Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker, who served as Worker Vice-Chair for the negotiations. “We set out to draft a standard that would stand the test of time, that would carry us forward into the next century of the ILO, and would meet the challenges of the future world of work.”

The ILO is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards.

The ILO Convention and Recommendation set out clear policies, grounded in social dialogue and requiring an integrated, gender-responsive approach to the prevention and elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. The Convention is legally binding, while the Recommendation provides advice.

“I truly believe what you have before you today are texts that we can all be proud of – instruments that are both ground-breaking and visionary, but also practical and actionable,” said Clarke Walker in a speech to delegates at the conference.

“Having a global minimum standard to prevent and address violence and harassment in the world of work will bring hope to millions of workers – hope that a world of work free from violence and harassment is possible,” she added.

Canada’s unions congratulate Clarke Walker and all of the participants in the standard-setting process.

“This is a great achievement,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “Now that we have secured this ground-breaking convention, we urge Canada to be among the first countries to ratify. We stand ready to ensure its effective implementation, so everyone can fully enjoy the right to work free from violence and harassment.”

Read the full text of the new Convention and Recommendation here.

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One thousand members of USW have been locked out of their workplace at an aluminum smelter in Bécancour, Quebec for the past 17 months.

Over the spring of 2019, Quebec’s Premier François Legault made numerous public statements favouring ABI, the employer, and undermining the union representing ABI workers.

The USW lodged a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards. Canada has been a signatory to ILO Convention 87 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise – for over 45 years and, in 2017, Canada ratified ILO Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

In a letter to the ILO sent on June 19, 2019, CLC’s President Hassan Yussuff writes that, “The CLC supports the USW position that the Government of Quebec, through the public statements made by its leader and official representative, Premier François Legault, interfered in negotiations in the 17-month lockout at the aluminum smelter in Bécancour, co-owned by multi-national aluminum giants Alcoa and Rio Tinto.”

Click here to read the CLC’s full letter.

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On Friday, June 14, Brazilian trade union national centres, grassroots unions, students, and popular and social movements are going on a national general strike to protest government neoliberal reforms to the Brazilian social security system. These reforms attack poorer workers while maintaining the privilege of the elites. Brazilian trade union leaders warn that if the reforms are not stopped, the right to retirement will disappear.

Both the government that took power in Brazil after the coup d’état in 2016, and the government elected in 2018 after the illegitimate imprisonment of former President Lula, have implemented a series of measures to weaken and eliminate workers’ rights.

“Social security should not be a privilege for the few who can pay for a private-based system,” says Hassan Yussuff, CLC President and President of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas. “We join Brazilian workers in fighting neoliberal policies that threaten the security and dignity of workers worldwide.”

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Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), serves as the Worker Spokesperson and will continue as a key leader in the effort to strengthen obligations to end violence and harassment at work.

Representatives of the ILO’s 188 member states will be meeting from June 10 to 22, 2019 to negotiate the ILO’s Centennial Declaration. The ILO Centenary provides an important moment to look back and celebrate the ILO’s history and achievements, but also to reaffirm its social justice mandate. Workers are calling for a new Social Contract that guarantees a fair deal for all working people to change the current model of globalisation that puts profit ahead of working people. The thematic focus for the event is the “Future of Work,” aiming to respond to the global drivers of change, including global economic policy, climate change and technology.

This year, discussions will lead to the development of a specific Convention and a Recommendation aiming to end violence and harassment in the world of work. This Convention would be a legally binding international treaty, which, when ratified by ILO member states, would commit them to apply the Convention in national law and practice, while a Recommendation is a guideline providing more details on its application. Worker representatives are advocating for language to enshrine the right for all people to a work environment free from violence and harassment. A priority focus will be on gender-based violence, reflecting the prevailing gender inequalities in the world of work and that victims of violence and harassment are overwhelmingly women.

The CLC’s Marie Clarke Walker was appointed last year to serve the two-year term as the Worker Spokesperson on the ILO Standard Setting Committee. Her role in the Committee is that of chief negotiator representing workers. Two weeks of intense discussions aim to lead towards a consensus with concerned parties on the language for new instruments on ending violence and harassment in the world of work.

“There can be no decent work with violence at work,” said Clarke Walker. “Few countries provide protection against violence in the workplace, especially gender-based violence. A strong ILO Convention and Recommendation are important instruments to recognize and close this gap.”

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“The cancellation of steel and aluminum tariffs is good news for workers,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Canada’s unions welcome this decision to restore stability and predictability to our economy and to workers’ lives. For almost a year, these tariffs have had a damaging impact on an industry and the people who work hard to make it thrive.”

Last year, Canadians were shocked to learn that their most significant trading partner was imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum that would have a damaging effect on an industry, and indeed the entire Canadian economy. Canada’s unions have consistently called the American tariffs, imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, unjust and illegal because they cited an imaginary threat to U.S. national security.

“In reality, the tight integration of Canadian and U.S. steel industries has underpinned the economic security and prosperity for both countries for over half a century. Arguing the opposite during a trade negotiation was always more about politics than economics,” said Yussuff.

Since their imposition on June 1, 2018, these tariffs have hit the workers in one of Canada’s key industries hard. The steel sector supports 22,000 direct jobs across Canada and the aluminum sector supports nearly 10,000 direct jobs mostly in BC and Quebec, with supply chains and related industries affecting more than 100,000 additional workers.

Today’s announcement also provides for continued monitoring of steel flows, to ensure that Canada doesn’t become a dumping ground for other countries. Yussuff expressed his continued support of careful monitoring and robust anti-dumping measures to counter trade diversion.

“In the resolution of this dispute is a reminder of the importance of Canada maintaining a strong trade remedy system and vigilance against unfair competition so that dumped and subsidized steel from China and elsewhere are not redirected through the Canadian economy,” said Yussuff.

Canada’s unions commend the Prime Minister and Minister Freeland for their determination and diligence in working to reverse these tariffs, without condition.

Workers are hopeful that today’s agreement puts an end to threats of politically-motivated tariffs that harm workers in both countries and fuel economic uncertainty.

“Canadian workers and their families are breathing a big sigh of relief today, and we hope that affected companies will be able to reverse any layoffs. Ending tariffs means Canadians can get back to work,” said Yussuff.

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“Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter. Roughly 4 million people work in the country’s four thousand plus factories. Nearly 80 percent of these workers are women,” said the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President, Hassan Yussuff. “Garment sector wages are far below the level of a living wage that meets workers’ basic needs, and workers are repressed when they try to exercise their fundamental rights.”

In January, government and factory owners again attempted to stifle workers’ wage protests with violence and intimidation. Many demonstrators were injured. Dozens of workers were arrested and thousands were dismissed and blacklisted from future factory jobs.

Health and safety in factories has improved under the inspection system pioneered by the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, an agreement between over 200 brands and global unions, introduced after the Rana Plaza disaster. However, the government of Bangladesh is working to eject the accord from the country and assume responsibility for factory inspections. There is global concern from governments, retailers and unions that the regulatory capacity and measures required for this handover have not been met, and an early transition will cost workers their lives.

“Canadian unions continue to stand in solidarity with Bangladesh garment workers and are engaged with leading Canadian retailers to promote labour rights in their supply chains,” said Yussuff.

On this sombre anniversary, we call on the Canadian government to work with their counterparts in Bangladesh to promote fundamental rights, and health and safety at work, and to change the climate of fear and repression that garment workers currently face. The CLC asks that Canada review its system of preferential access to Canadian markets to ensure that access is conditional on respect for labour and human rights.  The federal government must require that all companies importing garments and textiles into Canada publicly disclose factory locations ensuring respect for labour rights in their supply chains. Canada’s unions also call on Canadian retailers and brands to ensure rights are respected throughout their supply chain and to increase the transparency of their practices.

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In January 2018, the federal government publicly committed to creating an independent ombudsperson’s office with the power to order those under investigation to produce documents and testimony under oath.

“Today’s announcement naming an ombudsperson is a welcome step, however this post must hold investigatory powers in order to help ensure that Canadian corporations are compelled to respect their human rights obligations abroad,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

An ombudsperson is needed to investigate complaints of human rights violations and to redress harms when there is verifiable evidence these are linked to Canadian corporate abuse overseas. Canada needs an ombudsperson to help prevent Canadian complicity in corporate abuse and ensure Canadian mining and garment supply chains respect human rights.

“The commissioned legal review to determine the options to provide the advisor with investigatory powers must not be delayed,” said Yussuff. “Without investigatory capacity it is a powerless advisory post. We expect the required powers be assigned before the end of this electoral mandate,” he added.

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Canada is among several countries, including the U.S. and Brazil, that endorsed Juan Guaidó, Venezuelan opposition leader and President of the National Assembly, who declared himself interim President of Venezuela last week. Canada further denounced Nicolás Maduro as President and called last year’s elections in Venezuela fraudulent and illegitimate.

The CLC is alarmed at the escalation of international interference in the democratic process of a sovereign nation, including the possibility of military intervention. The CLC vehemently rejects a militarized solution to this crisis; the people of Latin America have not forgotten the brutal history of military rule in the region.

“Venezuelans need to resolve their differences through constructive dialogue and democratic processes without resorting to violence,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

International intervention is intensifying political divisions and inflaming tensions in the country. There are reports of violence and casualties, including deaths, during protests and demonstrations. The CLC calls on the Government of Canada to abstain from seeking regime change and intervening in the sovereign affairs of Venezuela. Canada’s role on the world stage is better suited to promote stability through constructive dialogue with the international community.

The CLC stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and supports their right to peaceful self-determination.

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The Canadian Labour Congress is working with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Trade Union Congress-UK to support the National HIV Workplace Assessment in the sub-Saharan nation. Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world.

Key stakeholders including the Nigeria Labour Congress, government, and health organizations coordinated the workplace assessment. Based on ILO Recommendation 200, the survey will emphasize the role of trade unions in Nigeria and throughout the continent, by linking Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) programs to HIV and AIDS awareness raising, prevention, testing, and treatment. This important work will help reduce gaps in HIV testing and treatment, and will support global efforts to end AIDS by 2030.

Researchers will use the information to identify any gaps in the current system, to inform national priorities and programs, to plan future workplace interventions and to help secure funding for trade unions to continue this important work.

Significant progress has been made in the AIDS response since the launch of the first UN World AIDS Day in 1988. This year’s theme “Know Your Status” aims to eliminate the stigma around HIV testing by focusing on awareness and encouraging individuals to get tested.

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• prioritizing the elimination of child labour and forced labour in Canada’s international assistance;
• improving access to quality education for children and adults;
• supporting law enforcement and judicial systems;
• including discussion of child labour and forced labour in all free trade negotiations;
• building capacity of Canadian businesses to monitor their supply chains;
• advancing initiatives to motivate business to eliminate child and forced labour in their supply chains; and
• examining Canada’s import regime and procurement policies as levers to eliminate the use of child labour.

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“Workers across the country will be happy to learn that NAFTA’s Chapter 11 has finally been eliminated from this trade agreement,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “Decades of unfairness have cost Canada over $300 million in penalties and fees and made it clear that the investor-state dispute settlement clause was working against our national interest.”

Canada’s unions are also pleased to see the side agreements on labour moved into the main agreement, now subject to a state-to-state dispute resolution process. “The USMCA gets it right on labour provisions, including provisions to protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of gender,” said Yussuff.

Protections for the Canadian auto industry, including exemptions from tariffs and labour value requirements, were welcomed. The agreement also maintains exemptions for cultural industries and expands these to include digital industries.

Intellectual property provisions will be strengthened under this new agreement, extending pharmaceutical drug patent protection to 10 years. “Drug costs will rise as a result of this deal. Now more than ever, Canada needs a universal, single-payer prescription drug program to cancel out the impact of mounting costs on Canadian families,” said Yussuff.

Access to Canadian dairy was a focus through the negotiations. Under the new USMCA, US dairy producers will have access to 3.59% of Canada’s domestic milk market. “The federal government must take necessary measures and provide compensation to workers who will be negatively impacted by these concessions. Canada’s unions are concerned and seeking more details on provisions around egg and poultry exports and imports,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff expressed disappointment that the elimination of US tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products was not part of the new agreement. “The illegal steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the US earlier this year should have been lifted with this agreement, and I urge the Canadian government to redouble its efforts to eliminate these tariffs,” he said.

Read the 13 facts you need to know about USMCA here.

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On the first anniversary of CETA’s implementation, trade unions on both sides of the Atlantic are warning that the trade deal is not a ‘model’ agreement and say it is time for an immediate review.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) are calling on European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Canadian Trade Minister Jim Carr to address the European Commission’s refusal to reinforce the enforceability of CETA’s labour rights provisions. This situation persists despite requests from trade unions and from the Canadian Government. The two senior officials are set to meet in Montreal on September 26 and 27.

“CETA was presented as a new model trade deal,” said Liina Carr, ETUC Confederal Secretary. “But the European Commission is refusing to address the legitimate concerns of working people. Labour rights are still not as enforceable as are investors’ rights. Furthermore, we are still waiting for EU trade policy to promote decent jobs, protect and enhance labour rights, and protect public services. The EU needs to deliver the change it promised.”

“Without effective and enforceable rules for labour and environmental provisions in trade agreements, there is no progressive trade,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “The EU government must honour its international labour obligations and enforce respect of the CETA provisions with binding and enforceable penalties for violations against workers.”

Amidst massive public protests at the time, CETA was adopted with a ‘Joint Interpretative Instrument’ intended to reassure citizens about its impacts on environmental and labour standards. This agreement included a promise to start an early review of the trade agreement – which still hasn’t taken place to date.

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CETA has been provisionally applied since September 2017. Both the EU and Canada agreed to an early review “with a view to the effective enforceability of CETA provisions on trade and labour and trade and the environment” as stated in the Joint Interpretative Instrument (JII) at point 10.[1] However, no progress has been made in this regard.

In July 2017, the European Commission launched a consultation on the implementation and enforcement of Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapters in EU Free Trade Agreements. The ETUC replied to the consultation in October 2017. The Commission eventually issued a paper outlining 15 action points to revamp the TSD chapter. However, the ETUC deeply regrets that the Commission has brushed away the possibility of introducing a sanction mechanism in the case of persistent breaches of labour rights within EU trade agreements, as has been consistently proposed by the ETUC and other stakeholders.

We note that Canada has been committed to a sanctions-based approach regarding labour rights in its free trade agreements. The EU’s inaction in reviewing CETA is already undermining effective enforceability of labour rights by Canada in third countries with which the EU and Canada have free trade agreements. The EU should finally start to engage seriously to ensure that commitments made by both parties in the TSD chapter to respect core ILO standards and promote the Decent Work agenda become effectively enforceable.

The EU cannot continue to delay reviewing the TSD chapter. Commitments were made by the EU and Canada in the JII to pursue fairer and more progressive trade and investment agreements. The ETUC and CLC call on the EU to join Canada and honour the commitment taken in the JII and start the review of the trade and sustainable development provisions as soon as possible.

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“The Canadian government has a moral duty and an international obligation to ensure that we provide a safe haven for all people fleeing imminent danger, disaster and war. The U.S. has failed the safety test for migrants and we cannot send displaced families who meet the refugee criteria back into another climate of fear and persecution,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

A year after issuing a controversial Executive Order barring Syrian refugees and discriminating against travellers from predominantly Muslim countries, American authorities have been instructed to rigorously enforce migrant detention and the separation of children from parents caught crossing into the U.S. The Trump administration announced further plans to deny survivors of domestic violence the ability to claim asylum, even when authorities in their homeland will do nothing to protect them.

“The history of Japanese internment and Canada’s residential school system offer lessons that we cannot afford to ignore. In modern immigration policy, there should be no place for practices that treat thousands of desperate refugees like criminals, tear children from their parents and deport women back to abusive situations. Canada must be unwavering in its commitment to championing human rights and international law,” said Yussuff.

Canada has expressly refused to discriminate in its immigration policy based on faith or ethnicity. That’s why Canada’s unions are calling on the Trudeau government to further distinguish itself by taking immediate steps to publicly challenge America’s new immigration policies and to encourage Canadians to continue to open their hearts and homes to the world’s most vulnerable people.

These steps include:

• Re-examining Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States to ensure that all migrants entering Canada through the U.S. have their claims for refugee protection fairly and properly processed;
• Helping those stranded now, on an emergency basis, by offering asylum to all those who – despite having passed a two-year rigorous screening process – are being denied entry to the U.S.; and
• Launching an intensive public awareness campaign to educate Canadians about Canada’s rigorous border security and the dire and vulnerable circumstances facing refugees in the lands from which they flee.

The Canadian Labour Congress represents 3.3 million unionized workers and has been actively campaigning to raise public awareness around the plight of refugees and to encourage Canadian municipalities to declare themselves “sanctuary cities” for international refugees.

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“I am pleased to see Canada respond so quickly and decisively to defend Canadian workers and industry against President Trump’s bullying tactics. Canada cannot waver in its defence of balanced trade,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

Today, Canada announced plans to stand up to sweeping American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada. Canada’s plans include new surtaxes and other targeted measures on steel, aluminum and other imports from the U.S. amounting to $16.6 billion, the value of total Canadian exports of steel and aluminum to the U.S. in 2017. These surtaxes are set to take effect on July 1^st, 2018 and will remain in place until U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are dropped.

“Trump’s aggressive trade provocations against Canada are a totally unjustified and unwarranted sanction against a fair-trading ally,” said Yussuff. “The implications of Trump’s tariffs will be felt on both sides of the border, but in Canada, it will impact the lives of more than 20,000 workers directly employed by the industry, and another 100,000 indirectly employed workers.”

Every year, Canada exports $6 billion worth of steel products to the U.S., and, because of the integrated nature of the North American steel industry, imports steel products of the same value from the U.S. Last year, Canada exported $9.3 billion worth of aluminum products to the United States. Canada’s steel industry is also responsible for millions of dollars worth of research and development throughout the economy.

“Unfair and one-sided trade tactics cannot be allowed to undermine Canadian workers and industry,” said Yussuff. “In the days and weeks ahead, Canada’s unions will be calling on the Canadian and provincial governments to assist Canadian workers and steel and aluminum manufacturers who will need support to maintain their livelihoods and stay in business until this dispute can be resolved.”

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On May 21^st, Han Sang-gyun was released on parole after serving two and a half years in prison on charges related to legitimate and peaceful trade union activities undertaken in his capacity as union leader.

Han Sang-gyun was jailed after leading mass mobilizations against the repressive labour law changes of the former corrupt Park Geun-hye government.

“Since his arbitrary arrest almost three years ago, millions of workers have called for his release,” says CLC President Hassan Yussuff, who visited former President Han at Chuncheon Correction Center last year. “Today his freedom is celebrated by workers worldwide and I look forward to meeting him again without the glass and bars that divided our conversation last year.”

With Han Sang-gyun’s release, the fight continues by calling for the release of Lee Young‑joo, ex-general secretary of the KCTU, who is under detention for the same charge and awaiting a jury trial, which will be held in June 2018.

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Today also marks the 70th commemoration of the Nakba, or Catastrophe Day, where more than 700,000 Arabs fled, or were expelled, from their homes during the 1947 49 war. For Palestinians, this is a day of mourning and resistance, calling for the respect of international law and the right of return for refugees to Palestine.

The CLC supports a vision of two nations co-existing in peace and security, within safe borders, free from occupation. We believe that direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine are the only viable avenue to the resolution of the conflict. Once again, the CLC calls on the Canadian government to recognize the State of Palestine.

In light of recent events, including the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the controversial and provocative relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, constructive dialogue is now all the more difficult to achieve. On this day, we mourn those who have lost their lives and stand in solidarity with Palestinian workers calling for human rights and social justice and the respect for international law.

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U.S. President Trump released his finalized steel and aluminum tariff package today, with temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

Despite these exemptions, today’s announcement will mean that Canadian producers will be competing with the excess supply of steel and aluminum diverted from the U.S. market.

“The steel and aluminum sectors are one of Canada’s key economic drivers and employers, directly and indirectly supporting good jobs in nearly every region in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“Canadian steel and aluminum should have a permanent exemption from American tariffs. Canada and the U.S. have an integrated economy that has yielded economic benefits for both countries, but this move jeopardizes the future of that relationship,” said Yussuff.

The steel sector supports 22,000 direct jobs across Canada and the aluminum sector supports nearly 10,000 direct jobs mostly in BC and Quebec, with supply chains and related industries affecting more than 100,000 additional workers.

“The Canadian government must take immediate action to prevent foreign steel and aluminum dumping in the Canadian market. The federal and provincial governments must also be prepared to assist Canadian workers and steel manufacturers who will need support to maintain their livelihoods and stay in business,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff also underscored that this announcement should not impact ongoing NAFTA negotiations.

The Canadian Labour Congress is asking for the federal government to put together a rapid response working group with industry and worker representatives to develop a package to support workers, businesses, and communities.

Elements of a package could include:

• Action by Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to address any trade diversion caused by US measures;
• Additional resources devoted to border agents and inspections to ensure Canadian market isn’t flooded with dumped products;
• Policy measures that prioritize the use of Canadian made steel and aluminum for energy projects within Canada. This would enable the government to meet its stated aim of developing Canada’s energy resources in an environmentally responsible way.

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• Chapter 12 of the TPP, which gives corporations the ability to bring employees to Canada en masse, without any requirement that they be paid fairly;
• That it allows employers to transfer skilled trades and technical employees to Canada with no requirement that they attempt to hire within Canada first;
• That the deal’s labour provisions have no teeth and provide no guarantees that basic workers’ rights will be protected or that workers will be able to exercise their rights to form a union and to engage in collective bargaining;
• That the deal will mean massive job losses in Canada’s auto sector because it eliminates any incentive to manufacture vehicles in Canada and increases the incentive to source auto parts from low-wage non-TPP nations. No side deal can improve Canada’s auto exports to Japan; and
• That it will undermine efforts to combat climate change. Investor-state dispute mechanisms allow corporations to challenge environmental regulations and could put a chill on governments trying to fight climate change.

Yussuff says it isn’t clear yet whether the new deal will protect the Canadian dairy market. 250 million liters of milk, and the production jobs that come from that, are at risk annually.

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The Auto Pact is credited for invigorating the domestic Canadian auto industry. It established new rules for the manufacture of cars in both the U.S. and Canada. By imposing a content requirement for cars manufactured and sold in Canada, the Auto Pact represented an important compromise between the principles of free trade and market fairness. It stands as an important reminder of the importance for balance, especially in light of more recent trade negotiations, like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which threaten to undermine Canada’s auto industry.

The first commercially produced car in Canada, the Le Roy, went on sale in 1902. It was actually a close copy of the popular American “Oldsmobile”. Two years later, Henry Ford established Ford of Canada to produce his famous Model T’s. This was the beginning of the interdependent Canada-U.S. auto industry.

Prior to the Auto Pact, car and truck parts were made in the US and assembled in Canada. The Auto Pact resulted in the removal of tariffs between the two countries, meaning parts and vehicles could travel freely across the border. There were also job guarantees stipulating that automobile production in Canada would not fall below 1964 levels.

The goals of the pact were to increase efficiency and reduce production costs in Canada by producing a smaller range of vehicles and components than previously. The Pact also sought to lower vehicle prices for consumers. The main result was an invigorated Canadian car industry – and a stronger economy. More jobs were created, wages in the sector increased, and within a short time, the auto sector became Canada’s most important industry. However, importantly, the Canadian industry remained firmly in the hands of the American “Big Three” companies – Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

Ultimately, “free trade” killed the Auto Pact. The deal was always about protecting jobs while improving trade, but today’s global trade regimes put the free movement of capital ahead of workers and communities. In 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) decreed that the Auto Pact was illegal and Canada’s auto industry has been in turmoil ever since.

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