Protect the women who make our clothes: Canada’s unions and civil society organizations call for action
April 24, 2020
Seven years after the tragic Rana Plaza building collapse, Bangladesh garment sector workers now confront even more risk and vulnerability in the fight against COVID-19. 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…
Canada’s unions mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 3, 2019
Over half a million Canadians with disabilities are ready and able to work but can’t because of barriers to employment and training. To mark the 27th anniversary of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), Canada’s unions are expressing support for the My Canada Includes Me campaign, which aims to support employment for Canadians with disabilities. “The Canadian Labour…
Unions mark Gender Equality Week with election demands
September 22, 2019
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…
Why Canada’s unions are highlighting environmental racism during Black History Month
February 6, 2019
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…
Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed and contribute. Economic and social barriers can prevent people from reaching their fullest potential. Working together, we can help to remove those barriers.
Government must enact viable solutions to end child labour
October 16, 2018
On Monday, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development (FAAE) tabled the report “A Call to Action: Ending the Use of All Forms of Child Labour in Supply Chains.” This report follows the Subcommittee on International Human Rights’ (SDIR) study on Child Labour and Modern Day Slavery. “The inexcusable use of child labour and slavery in the operations…
Industrial workers of the world (iww) declared illegal in Canada
September 24, 2018
On September 24, 1918, the Canadian government made membership in the Industrial Workers of the World illegal. The maximum sentence for membership in the IWW was five years to be served in one of 24 internment camps. War brings out the worst in people and part of the propaganda of government in war time is to play on fear; fear of the…
On July 1, 1935 thousands of people were on the streets of Regina, not to mark their country’s birthday, but to support a group of workers who were protesting against high unemployment, income insecurity and unfair working conditions. When the RCMP charged in to break things up, it caused the biggest riot in Canadian history (so far). The “On To…
The first Bread and Roses March, an initiative of the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ), began on May 26, 1995. Over the course of 10 days, more than 800 Québécoise demonstrators set off from Montréal, Longueuil and Rivière-du-Loup and converged on Québec City with nine demands of the government to combat poverty. In 1994, Françoise David took the helm…
Remembering Rana Plaza: Canadian corporations must do more
April 23, 2018
Canada’s unions are marking the fifth anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster by urging Canadian companies to commit to protecting and promoting the human rights of textile workers. On April 24, 2013, over one thousand garment workers were killed or injured when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed. Investigations showed that working conditions in the building did not meet safety standards.…