In 2020, we are celebrating International Day of Pink – a day to raise awareness and combat homophobic and transphobic bullying and harassment – in the context of a global pandemic. While many us are making sure that we #stayathome, we still need to be aware of the threat of homophobic and transphobic violence that persists online, at home, and…

For World Health Day 2020, the World Health Organization is celebrating the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Right now, nurses and midwives are working shoulder to shoulder with all health care workers at ground zero of the largest pandemic in modern history. Health care workers are working overtime, playing a critical role for their patients across the country…

OTTAWA – Hundreds of union activists are meeting with Members of Parliament and Senators today to discuss issues they want to see addressed in this Parliament’s first budget — with national pharmacare as their top priority. “We know that universal, public pharmacare will be less expensive and keep more people healthy and out of the hospital,” said Hassan Yussuff, President…

By Hassan Yussuff, as published in The Hill Times. In the next few weeks the Minister of Finance will rise in the house and give a speech laying out the government’s budget priorities for the next year. National pharmacare must be at the top of that list. The three parties who promised pharmacare won a majority of the vote in…

OTTAWA – As Parliament prepares to resume, a coalition of pharmacare advocates gathered in Ottawa to strategize the next steps to ensure the successful delivery of universal pharmacare. With polls showing over 90 per cent of Canadians in support of a national pharmacare program, and the Hoskins Report providing a clear path to implementation, 2020 is set to deliver big…

OTTAWA – Canada’s unions welcomed today’s Speech from the Throne, a speech that highlighted the advancement of many policies the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has been championing for years. “From increasing health coverage, to tackling climate change, to improving working conditions, this new minority government has set benchmarks for success,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Pharmacare has been an issue…

By Hassan Yussuff, as published in The Hill Times. Across the generations, our loved ones are anxious about the future. Polls show that millions of Canadians are worried about the rising cost of living, the increasing precarity of work, climate change, and so much more. The newly elected federal government has a lot to do to alleviate these types of…

Canada’s unions will mark World AIDS Day on December 1, acknowledging that an HIV positive diagnosis is no longer an automatic death sentence. With effective treatment and care, many people living with HIV are leading long and healthy lives. In 1990, a 20-year-old diagnosed with HIV was not expected to live past the age of 40—today, that same person could…

OTTAWA – Today, over 140 national and provincial organizations from all regions across Canada released a joint statement calling on the new federal government to immediately implement universal, public pharmacare. The Pharmacare Now statement is supported by a diverse coalition representing health care providers, non-profit organizations, unions, workers, seniors and patients from coast to coast to coast. “The new minority government has…

Canada’s unions are marking Gender Equality Week 2019 by calling on federal political parties to commit to creating a fair Canada for everyone. “Gender Equality Week was created to celebrate recent gains while reflecting on the work that needs to be done to improve gender equality and women’s rights across Canada,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour…