The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) fully supports the United Steelworkers (USW) complaint against the Government of Quebec for violating international labour laws and severely impeding the rights of workers. 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…

How is Canada’s economy really doing?  The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) provides a detailed quarterly analysis of select labour market indicators and what it means for Canada’s workers. In our spring snapshot, the CLC discovers that while job growth in Canada is strong, garnering laudatory headlines, there is a hidden story. While the unemployment rate hovered near 40-year lows, the…

Canada’s unions welcome today’s announcement lifting U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. “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…

Canada’s unions are marking World Press Freedom Day by calling on governments around the world and here at home to do more to protect the rights of journalists to practice their profession without fear of reprisals, violence or even death. “Far too many journalists continue to risk their lives in upholding a basic cornerstone of all democratic societies: press freedom,”…

Environmental racism is the development and implementation of environmental policy on issues such as toxic waste disposal sites, pollution, and urban decay in areas with a significant ethnic or racial population. Believe it or not, Canada is not immune to these policies. This Black History Month, Canada’s unions say there can be no environmental justice without racial justice: addressing anti-Black…

The Canadian Labour Congress joins the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in calling on Canada Post to negotiate fair contracts for postal workers. The CLC also joins CUPW in condemning the federal government’s back-to-work legislation. “The right to strike is an integral part of collective bargaining. Without it, an employer has no incentive to bargain in good faith, and…

In 1983, labour and activist organizations alike across the province, including unions, environmental, religious, social justice and women’s rights groups, came together over the course of several weeks through escalating actions in what would effectively become the largest political protest in BC’s history. (Source: BC Labour Heritage Centre) In the spring of 1983, British Columbians re-elected the Social Credit Party, headed by William (Bill)…

On November 10, 1997, Ontario’s teachers returned to work after staging a two-week walkout to protest the radical, anti-democratic changes imposed by the Conservative government of Mike Harris. While the protest failed to stop Bill 160 from becoming law, it was a defeat for Harris and his so-called “common sense revolution” (CSR) in both public opinion and the courts. Mike…

On October 14, 1976 over a million workers walked off the job across Canada as part of a General Strike called by the Canadian Labour Congress to protest the federal government’s plans to impose wage and price control legislation – a broken campaign promise and betrayal of workers by the Trudeau Liberal government. As Canada moved into the 1970s, workers…