Alongside other laws that advance real equality in the workplace—including human rights, pay equity and accessibility legislation, as well as collective bargaining protections—the EEA is a vital tool for workers facing entrenched, systemic barriers to employment. At its core, employment equity is about ensuring workers have fair and equal access to good, stable jobs—also known as decent work.

In 2023, after extensive consultations with workers, unions, employers, and other stakeholders, the federal government’s Employment Equity Review Task Force released a landmark report with 187 recommendations to modernize and strengthen the Act. These recommendations outline concrete steps to tackle systemic discrimination in hiring, promotion, and retention practices, and provide strong enforcement and compliance measures to hold employers accountable.

Following the report’s release, the previous Liberal government announced initial commitments to modernize the Act. These included creating two new designated groups under the EEA: Black and 2SLGBTQI+ workers; replacing the term “Aboriginal Peoples” with “Indigenous Peoples,” and updating the definition to include First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, and ensuring it is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; replacing the term “visible minorities” with “racialized people” and updating the corresponding definition; and, aligning the definition of “persons with disabilities” with the Accessible Canada Act to make it more inclusive.

But three years later, workers are still waiting.

The government’s failure to act means that workers from designated groups—who already face significant equity challenges—continue to be held back by outdated legislation and systemic discrimination. The Task Force report provides a clear roadmap for change, and at a time of deepening inequality, implementing its recommendations is more urgent than ever. Modernizing the Employment Equity Act is an opportunity for the federal government to take meaningful steps toward dismantling barriers faced by the many workers covered by the Act.

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to fully implement the comprehensive recommendations made by the Task Force and quickly introduce an updated Act. This must also include sufficient funding to support employers in implementing the Act and the resources necessary for the Canadian Human Rights Commission to carry out enforcement and ensure compliance and effective evaluation.

“No more waiting. A strengthened Act that reflects the current realities of Canada’s workforce and labour market is a critical tool for overcoming workplace barriers faced by workers from the existing designated equity groups, as well as those from the proposed new ones,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President.” While the EEA alone cannot eliminate systemic discrimination and racism in the workplace and labour market, it is of a broader framework of laws designed to advance fairness and inclusion. When strengthened and properly enforced, it can help correct systemic injustices and ensure that workers who have been historically excluded from opportunity are fully represented in Canada’s workforce.

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Recent data shows that Black workers are the most likely racialized group to be covered by a union contract, with unionization boosting their annual income by more than $3,000. Unionized Black workers benefit from better wages overall, increased job security, and protections against discrimination.

However, systemic barriers in employment persist, creating harmful impacts that ripple across generations of Black workers. Despite higher rates of unionization and the resulting benefits, Black workers still deal with significant barriers at work: the report also shows that Black workers face the second-largest racialized wage gap due to their disproportionate representation in lower-wage sectors and limited access to or exclusion from work in higher-wage sectors.

Black workers in Canada experience ongoing labour market discrimination and systemic racism—severe obstacles which impact their access to fair employment, advancement, and equitable treatment at work. The effects of anti-Black racism are far-reaching, causing enduring barriers to economic advancement and empowerment for Black communities.

A 2023 Black Canadian National Survey conducted by York University’s Institute for Social Research, in partnership with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, showed that 75% of those polled experienced racism in the workplace as a serious or very serious problem, and that Black workers see workplaces as epicentres of racial discrimination and unfairness.

This is unacceptable, and unions have a pivotal role to play in addressing and redressing these systemic injustices—both in workplaces, and in broader society.

“The labour movement must continue to uphold our core mission to fight for equity, fairness, and dignity for all workers. This means actively working to dismantle anti-Black racism and discrimination in workplaces and unions, bargaining for equitable opportunities, educating members and leaders, amplifying the voices and leadership of Black workers, and engaging with Black workers to organize for better jobs and pay,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. Unions can be a powerful force for racial and economic justice for Black workers, whether at work, in the union or in society. Don’t forget to register for our webinar on February 18, and be sure to check out our new factsheet on Black workers and unionization. You can also get involved with us this Black History Month and beyond by texting BHM to 55255 (message & data rates may apply).

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The Employment Equity Act represents a critical tool in our efforts to combat racism in the workplace and address the inequities experienced by Black, Indigenous, and racialized workers. Enacted to promote equality and eliminate discriminatory barriers in employment in federally-regulated workplaces, the Act provides a framework for employers to proactively address systemic inequities and ensure fair representation for all groups, including Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, women, and racialized people – designated groups under the current Act.

While the Employment Equity Act lays the foundation for progress, much work remains to be done to fully realize its potential, which can be achieved through its modernization. The recently released Employment Equity Review Task Force report, which came after consultations with numerous stakeholders, including Canada’s unions, provides a number of recommendations to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the Act, including measures to address systemic racism and discrimination in hiring, promotion, and retention practices.

“We stand firm in our commitment to combat systemic racism and discrimination in the labour market, to ensure a future where every individual is treated with dignity, respect, and equality,” said CLC Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau. “The recommendations put forth by the Task Force offer an important opportunity to eradicate existing deep-seated inequities and prevent future ones, which is absolutely essential to addressing systemic racism and ensuring Black, Indigenous, and racialized workers are no longer being left out in the cold. This is how we build a society free from discrimination, racism, and prejudice.”

The Task Force recommendations include investing in targeted initiatives to support the recruitment, training, and advancement of underrepresented groups in the workforce, as well as ensuring robust enforcement mechanisms to hold employers accountable for compliance with the Act.

Addressing racism and discrimination in the labour market is paramount to achieving fairness for all workers. Racial income gaps persist, as Indigenous, Black, and racialized workers continue to face barriers to employment opportunities, discriminatory hiring practices, unequal pay, and limited opportunities for advancement. Failure to address these inequities will only result in further exacerbation of the issues faced by these workers and perpetuate their exclusion from full and fair participation in the workforce.

Canada’s unions also have a role to play by taking proactive measures to advance employment equity within our own organizations. This includes removing barriers to equal opportunity and fair treatment, making employment equity part of the bargaining agenda, and ensuring that those most affected are on bargaining committees. Other measures include raising awareness among their members about the importance of employment equity, educating staff and leadership on the issue, and establishing accountability mechanisms for monitoring progress on employment equity within their organizations. Lastly, it is crucial for unions to advocate for policies and initiatives that advance employment equity, including a strengthened Employment Equity Act.

Read the full report from the Employment Equity Review Task Force here.

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“Today we must all take time to remember and honour all the Indigenous children taken from their homes, families, and communities to be sent to residential schools, where they faced mistreatment, violence and abuse. No child should have to endure these atrocities, nor should any community have to experience the fallout of these racist policies,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

Approximately 80,000 residential school survivors are still alive today. The trauma inflicted by the residential school system has had far-reaching and devastating impacts on survivors, their families, and Indigenous communities more broadly.

“While residential schools closed, the impacts of the system remain, and the horrors of the residential school system are echoed in current government policies. This includes the use of birth alerts, the underfunding of child and family services on reserves, and the over-representation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system. Indigenous children, workers, and communities deserve better, and it’s long past time for these injustices to be righted,” said Lily Chang, CLC Secretary-Treasurer.

For survivors, their families, and the families of the children who never made it home, the traumatic impacts of the residential school system continue to be felt today. The ongoing discovery of the graves of thousands of Indigenous children at former residential schools, and the slow degree to which action has been taken to release records on residential schools to survivors and their families, creates additional trauma for community members.

In order to redress the legacy of colonization and advance the process of reconciliation in a meaningful way, it is imperative that the federal government address the harms caused by the residential school system, as well as the colonial policies and practices that have and continue to have devastating consequences for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

This is why on October 3, 2023, workers from across Canada will be heading to Parliament to meet with Members of Parliament and Senators as part of CLC’s second National Indigenous Lobby Day. There they will urge lawmakers to take action on Indigenous justice, including:

• Addressing the harms caused by the residential school system by implementing, without delay, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 71 through 76: Missing Children and Burial Information;
• Providing appropriate funds and resources to support the development of essential publicly delivered water infrastructure and ensuring the elimination of all long-term boil water advisories in First Nations communities;
• Immediately creating a national Red Dress Alert system to notify the public when an Indigenous woman, girl, or Two-Spirit person goes missing;
• Releasing an implementation plan for the government’s National Action Plan, and accelerating fulfilment of all the Calls for Justice from the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people; and
• Along with the government of Manitoba, prioritizing and adequately funding a search of the landfills to return Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris of Long Plain First Nation, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe to their loved ones without further delay.

Show your solidarity and join the calls by signing our action letter and letting your MP know that you want to see concrete action for justice for Indigenous communities!

Other ways to take action on this day and beyond:

• Visit CLC’s Indigenous Rights and Justice Resource Centre, for information and resources on tangible actions you can take to support Indigenous workers in your workplace, union, and community.
• Find and join an event or action in your area to commemorate Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (example in Ottawa).
• Wear orange to show your support for Indigenous communities impacted by residential schools.
• Donate to and support Indigenous organizations and Indigenous community supports such as the Indian Residential Schools Survivor Society, and First Nations Child & Family Caring Society.

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OTTAWA – Canada’s unions are urging members of Parliament to stand up for workers and their families by acting urgently to extend temporary Employment Insurance rules until a permanent fix can be implemented.

“Unless MPs and the government take action this week, the EI program will revert to the old pre-COVID rules, leaving thousands unable to access benefits. Precarious workers, many of them women and racialized workers, would be hit hardest,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “People are still facing enormous challenges. Reverting EI back to Harper-era rules will mean thousands of workers are unable to access help, just when they need it most.”

Bruske explained that the end of the enhanced EI measures, put in place to help workers through job losses and layoffs during the pandemic, means thousands of workers who still depend on these benefits will struggle to qualify, while costs for everyday necessities like food, fuel and housing, continue to skyrocket.

‘’It is wrong for the government to now abandon people being thrown out of work,’’ added Bruske. “We need our elected representatives to urgently work together to extend temporary measures until Canada’s broken EI system can be permanently improved, as the government has promised to do.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions welcomed New Democrats and Liberals working together to provide emergency help for people and urge all parties to now work together to fix EI, hold mega-profitable corporations to account and make sure struggling families are not left behind.

“Pierre Poilievre has a record of cuts to health care, cuts to support to the unemployed, and attacks on workers. Now, while Poilievre and the Conservatives talk loudly about inflation, they actually oppose help for families in need,” said Bea Bruske. “As so many families continue to struggle with the ongoing affordability crisis, it is critical MPs from all parties now come together to help families in need and make sure companies making colossal profits are made to pay their fair share.’’

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To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
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613-526-7426

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Canada’s unions have long called for the federal government to ratify and implement ILO Convention 189 Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers (C-189) and ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment (C-190). Both global conventions prioritize labour rights and standards, with C-189 establishing rights and protections specifically for domestic workers. C-190 recognizes the right of all people to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.

“Domestic workers are crucial in supporting Canadian families, households and the broader economy. From cleaning, to cooking, to caring for children, older people and people with disabilities, the work of domestic workers is critical and life-sustaining,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “By signing and ratifying ILO C-189 and C-190, Canada has the opportunity to recognize the true value of domestic workers and start to put in place the infrastructure needed to protect their rights.”

Despite playing an important role in Canada’s care economy, domestic workers continue to be denied decent work and are often subjected to exploitation, poor working conditions and limited pathways to permanent immigration status. In addition, COVID-19 heavily impacted domestic workers in Canada and globally. In Canada, domestic workers experienced reduced hours, job losses, unpaid wages and increased precarity and struggled to access social protections, services or programs such as employment insurance.

UN Women estimates that one in every 25 women workers around the world are employed in domestic work, with one in six workers being migrants. In Canada, racialized and migrant women make up the majority of domestic workers, providing essential labour that is part of Canada’s care economy, supporting families and households across the country.

It’s time for our government to ensure decent and safe work for domestic workers across the country. It’s time for Canada to ratify ILO C-189 and C-190.

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Learn about migrant care worker exploitation in Canada during COVID-19.

Learn more about the campaigns to Ratify C-189 and C-190.

Read more about our calls for pathways to permanent residency for migrant workers.

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A national report released by the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter and Project 1907 shows that anti-Asian racism and xenophobia have continued to rise consistently across Canada two years into the pandemic.

“Historically, Asian Canadian workers faced exclusion from organized labour. They were barred from joining unions in numerous sectors, limiting opportunities for gainful and fair employment. Sadly, the discrimination and racism experienced by Asian workers is not relegated to the past. Workers continue to face anti-Asian racism in workplaces and unions, as well as – and increasingly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – in society at large,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

Canada’s unions are committed to working to eliminate anti-Asian racism and discrimination, both in the labour movement and society. This includes carrying on the work started by the CLC’s Anti-Racism Task Force, which developed a crucial report with recommendations on what needed – and still, 25 years later, needs – to be done within union structures to live up to the labour movement principles of justice and equality.

“We must do everything we can to adequately reach out to and support Asian workers to join and get involved in unions as workers and leaders, ensure that Asian workers are properly represented and supported as union members and support and amplify the great work being done by Asian community and labour activists across Canada,” said Lily Chang, CLC Secretary-Treasurer.

Asian Heritage Month is a time to celebrate and recognize workers from across Asia. It is an opportunity to highlight the rich and varied contributions made by generations of Canadians of Asian descent, and reflect on everything they have overcome. This includes the struggles of Asian workers in securing labour and human rights and facing racism and discrimination within workplaces, trade unions and broader society.

In the 1800s, an estimated 17,000 Chinese workers were first brought to Canada as indentured labourers to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Workers laboured under dangerous and difficult conditions. They faced widespread racism from employers, government and from within the communities in which they worked and lived.

Asian workers also faced discrimination and exclusion in certain industries. In British Columbia, for example, the province’s Inspection of Metalliferous Mines Act of 1897 barred Japanese and Chinese workers from the metal mining industry. Asian workers were also excluded from public works projects, and several subsequent laws prohibited Asian workers from being hired by smaller railway companies in the province. While many South Asian workers found work in the lumber industry after arriving in Canada in the early 1900s, a law passed shortly thereafter barred all Asian workers from holding logging licenses.

Action:

Help us celebrate the contributions made by Asian communities in Canada. Share a story today.

Learn more:

As Asian Canadian scholars, we must #StopAsianHate by fighting all forms of racism

Doing the Work: Race, Labour and Transformative Justice

Short Documentary: Toronto Solidarity Rally Against Anti-Asian Racism

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“Black people in Canada have had to struggle with the impacts of colonial systems that have rooted anti-Black racism into our institutions, policies, workplaces and society,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “So, while we celebrate Black History Month, it’s critical that our commitment to support and stand with Black workers and communities extends beyond this one month,” said Bruske.

Black History Month is an important time to recognize both the contributions and struggles of Black communities in this country. The history of Black people in Canada spans centuries and consists of a wide range of experiences, including slavery and abolition, homesteading and migration, the civil rights movement, and immigration.

Black people in Canada have made notable contributions to all aspects of life in this country, including to the labour movement, but these achievements have not come without struggle – which Black communities continue to face to this day.

“The social and economic impacts of anti-Black racism and discrimination have been significant and have resulted in a multigenerational wage gap for Black communities in Canada. And the barriers to social and economic advancement are only worse when the Black experience meets other experiences of marginalization, such as for Black people with disabilities, Black Muslims, Black women or Black trans people,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the CLC.

The effects of systemic racism include ongoing labour market discrimination against Black workers, which has seen Black workers receive lower wages and face barriers in all aspects of work, from the hiring process, to advancement and retention.

Longstanding issues require long-term solutions and supports. Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to address economic and systemic racism and discrimination faced by Black workers by committing to and implementing the following actions:

• Create an intersectional national anti-Black racism strategy, including strong employment and pay targets and concrete measures to address systemic labour-market discrimination and disadvantages faced by Black workers;
• Ensure the reform and modernization of the Employment Equity Act includes employer requirements to divulge pay gaps affecting Black workers and a plan to narrow and eliminate the gender and multigenerational racial pay gap;
• Invest in public social infrastructure and care work as part of an equitable pandemic recovery plan to ensure good, safe jobs and stronger care systems that support all those who need care as well as all care workers – many of whom are Black women; and
• Launch an inquiry on the overrepresentation of Black children and youth in the care of child protection services.

This Black History Month and beyond, Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with and support Black workers and communities. Show your support and join us for a text rally on February 23 at 1pm. Eastern, where we will be texting Canadians across the country and inviting them to demand change from government and increased supports for Black workers and communities.

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January 29 marks the anniversary of a gruesome and deadly day in Canada’s history. On this day in 2017, worshippers at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City were subject to a deadly act of hate when a gunman entered the mosque and opened fire. Six people were killed, and many more injured. Canada’s unions supported community calls to commemorate the anniversary with a national day of remembrance and action.

“We welcome the recognition of January 29 as a day of commemoration, reflection and dialogue, and a strong national reminder of the deadly impacts of Islamophobia and rising hate in Canada,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “But Islamophobia, and anti-Muslim sentiment specifically, have only grown since that terrible day in 2017. We must work together to put an end to the hate rhetoric, violent acts, and harassment of Muslim people in Canada, and the federal government has a responsibility to take the lead.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hate crimes reported to police has gone up from 1,951 incidents in 2019 to 2,669 in 2020, with those reported crimes targeting ethnicity or race almost doubling from one year to the next. This shows the highest number of police-reported hate crimes since Statistics Canada began tracking this data in 2009.

On June 6, 2021, five members of the Afzaal family were out for a walk in London, Ontario, when a vehicle attacked them, killing four members and leaving one survivor ꟷ a nine-year-old boy.

“The violent attack on the Afzaal family showed us that we must redouble our efforts to combat Islamophobia and hate in all its forms. Threats, harassment, intimidation and hate speech are also experienced online, where hate spreads easily and rapidly, and goes largely unchecked,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President. “Those spewing hate pose a serious threat to the well-being of all workers, especially those who are members of marginalized communities.”

Canada’s unions look forward to seeing the federal government introduce legislation to address online hate as soon as possible in order to properly and effectively help combat this rising issue.

The federal government’s announcement in the Speech from the Throne in November 2021 of a renewed anti-racism strategy, and campaign promise of presenting a National Action Plan on Combating Hate by 2022, must include meaningful and ongoing consultation with Muslim communities to address Islamophobia. The renewed strategy and Action Plan must also incorporate policy recommendations made by Muslim organizations coming out of the National Summit on Islamophobia that took place in July 2021.

Canada’s unions are committed to fighting Islamophobia and all forms of hate, and will continue to work with all levels of government to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all workers.

Show your support:

• Join the Green Square Campaignto remember and stand in solidarity with the victims and survivors of the Quebec City mosque attack;
• Join or organize a vigil in your community or attend an online event or webinar.

Read CLC’s report on confronting Islamophobia in our workplaces and communities: Islamophobia at Work: Challenges and Opportunities, which includes recommendations for employers, unions, and government on how to address this issue.

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

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

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

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

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

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613-355-1962

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The COVID-19 pandemic has hit domestic workers hard – as of June 2020, the ILO estimated that approximately 72.3% of global domestic workers were “significantly impacted” by the pandemic. For many, the pandemic closures and lockdown measures have led to reduced hours or job losses, while for others it has led to more work, unpaid wages, and increasingly unsafe and precarious working conditions.

Women make up the vast majority of domestic workers internationally. In Canada, most domestic work is carried out by racialized women, many of whom are migrants. Their work, while critical to our lives and the economy, has long been undervalued. Without full and permanent immigration status or full access to social security systems and labour protections, migrant care workers are made vulnerable, often unable to leave exploitative – and sometimes even violent – employment conditions. With domestic work largely taking place in the informal economy, workers are left without options, protections, or a safety net.

In Canada, a 2020 survey of migrant care workers found that one in three workers lost their jobs during COVID-19. Another third had their mobility limited by their employer and almost half of surveyed workers experienced work intensification and unpaid overtime as a result of the pandemic. Of those who did lose their job, one in three workers reported problems accessing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance (EI).

“Domestic work continues to be made invisible and is underappreciated. While COVID-19 has made this work more visible, we still have a far way to go to demonstrate that this work is truly valued,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Ten years after the adoption of ILO Convention 189, Canada’s unions call for the essential and skilled work of domestic workers be recognized and their rights protected.

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Read more about Domestic Workers and COVID-19: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19

Learn about migrant care worker exploitation during COVID-19: https://migrantrights.ca/BehindClosedDoors/

Read more on the campaign to Ratify C189: https://idwfed.org/en/campaigns/ratify-c189

Canada’s unions call for pathways to permanent residency for migrant workers: https://canadianlabour.ca/canadas-unions-call-for-pathway-to-permanent-residency-for-all-migrant-workers/

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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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“Strengthening the Employment Equity Act is an important step towards addressing disparities in employment, and the systemic barriers faced by racialized workers,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. “But in order to be effective, this process must include meaningful consultation and engagement with members of equity-seeking groups covered under the Act. This must also include bargaining agents who represent them in the workplace.”

Historically, racialized workers have had fewer employment opportunities than their non-racialized counterparts and were often limited to service sectors, regardless of their educational achievements or qualifications. Today, racialized workers still face barriers in all aspects of work, from hiring, to advancement, to retention and workplace supports.

In modernizing the Employment Equity Act, the federal government must:

• Address the distinctive experiences of discrimination and racism faced by equity-seeking populations, rather than grouping them all together as “visible minorities” as it currently does;
• Expand coverage to LGBTQ2SI populations. Despite facing systemic barriers and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, these workers are not currently included as a designated group under the Act;
• Recognize the reality of the multiple identities workers may hold. These identities can intersect and impact their access to employment as well as the barriers they may face in the workplace. Nuanced and accurate analyses of employment inequities experienced by members of designated groups would allow for the development of more effective and targeted solutions to systemic racism and discrimination in employment.

Canada’s unions continue to call for the government to invest in building a stronger, more inclusive and sustainable economy for our families and the next generation.

A commitment to advancing employment equity is a part of the process, but it is only one piece. Visit canadianplan.ca to learn more.

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Following higher than expected job losses at the end of 2020, workers faced another large drop in employment, with 213,000 jobs lost last month.

“We’ve lost the small gains we had made in the fall. Canada lost three times more jobs in January than we did the previous month,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

“Many workers are due to exhaust both unemployment and recovery benefits next month. The federal government must extend these benefits so that workers who are unemployed, through no fault of their own, will be supported until our economy begins a more stable recovery.”

Ongoing lockdown measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus are inevitably having a devastating effect on job growth. Workers of colour and women have been hit especially hard by the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Workers are struggling to make ends meet. The federal government must implement strong measures that will help ensure a healthy economic recovery when the pandemic is over. These job numbers highlight the important need for greater access to training opportunities for jobless workers looking to retrain or improve their skill set while receiving EI and recovery benefits,” said Yussuff.

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

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

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The Proud Boys, the Base, Atomwaffen, and the Russian Imperial Movement have been listed as terrorist entities. This means that these groups can no longer raise money or organize.

“These groups are a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of workers of all backgrounds and specifically to those who are Indigenous, Black, Jewish, Muslim, or who represent other minority communities,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “We have seen a drastic resurgence in far-right extremist behaviour over the past several years. Letting these groups operate unchecked is dangerous and poses a real threat to our democracy and to the wellbeing of our communities. Today’s announcement is a welcome step in addressing this scourge.”

Unions in Canada have a long history of organizing against racism through advocacy and education. But far-right groups have thrived online, and the use of social media in particular has made it difficult to stem their use of misinformation to recruit new members and to mobilize.

Last year and for the first time ever, the federal government added two white-supremacist groups to the list of terrorist organizations.

“The reality is that white supremacist groups have not faced the same scrutiny as other racialized groups and that has allowed them to mobilize with relative freedom and impunity,” added Yussuff. “Furthermore, under anti-terror legislation, stereotypes and guilt by association have led to the over-surveillance of Muslim and Arab communities. Public safety measures must not stigmatize specific communities.”

According to counter-terrorism experts in Canada, there were 100 alt-right or white supremacist groups operating in Canada in 2015. There is widespread concern that those numbers are growing.

“Attacks by white supremacists tend to be targeted, and do not happen in isolation. The climate of hatred they foster puts workers’ health and safety at risk,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President at the CLC. “Incidents of intimidation at work and online harassment are on the rise, and must stop. Everyone deserves to live free from violence and harassment.”

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

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“This is a time of reckoning,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “The double crisis of a global pandemic and outcries over racial injustice and police violence have taken a significant toll on Black communities in particular. We must move forward together and ensure no one is left behind.”

Black communities have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. COVID-19 mortality rates are higher in neighbourhoods with a larger proportion of population groups designated as visible minorities, including Black people.

Black workers are at work on the frontlines of this pandemic. Many of these workers are women who are largely underpaid, working in dangerous and precarious working conditions without access to paid sick leave. This makes them even more vulnerable to the health, social and economic fallout of the pandemic.

“The pandemic has only worsened long-standing, stark social and economic inequities,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President at the CLC. “Racial equity and the needs of Black communities must be a priority in the government’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. The government must seize the opportunity to centre the voices and concerns of Black workers and communities.”

Canada’s unions are also calling on the government to make stronger data collection and accountability a priority. The availability and collection of race-based data in Canada is sorely lacking. Without such data, the full scope and manifestations of systemic anti-Black racism and racial inequity will remain unaddressed.

Furthermore, there is an urgent need for critical investments in public social infrastructure including child care, Employment Insurance and affordable housing, as well as community-based health and social services.

The CLC will be hosting a webinar on equitable recovery for Black workers and communities in Canada during Black History Month. Information will be available on the CLC’s Facebook page.

In the meantime, be a part of our work by signing our petition today for a just, equitable and disaster-proof pandemic response and recovery plan.

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The proposed plan will bring skilled workers, family members and refugees to Canada between 2021 and 2023.

“For many years, Canada’s unions have called on the government to increase immigration targets. We welcome today’s announcement as an important part of our country’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “A robust immigration plan will help increase our workforce and productivity. This in turn strengthens the social programs and services that support our communities.”

Lockdowns and other measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 resulted in a significant shortfall in Canada’s immigration numbers this year. Only 128,425 people were settled in 2020, far under the 341,000 that was previously targeted.

Furthermore, there are worker shortages in various sectors across Canada, which necessitate a ramping up of the country’s immigration levels. Despite current high unemployment levels in Canada due to the pandemic, the need for immigration persists including to support essential services in health care, long-term care facilities, farms and in meat processing plants, among others, as well as in high-skill fields in STEM.

Canada’s unions also welcome the federal government’s signal today that it will offer a pathway to permanent residency to immigrants and migrant workers already in Canada.

These workers must also have comprehensive worker protections in order to prevent abuse, mistreatment and discriminatory workplace policies.

“Workers deserve a chance to continue their lives here, regardless of the industry they work in. The federal government has provided a temporary measure for asylum claimants working in healthcare to apply for permanent residency, and this should apply to workers in all sectors,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer at the Canadian Labour Congress.

“Our country and our economy are stronger with a rich and diverse workforce.”

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

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“It is important that we recognize the significant economic contribution of domestic work  – work performed in or for a household or households – as valuable work, and acknowledge the effect that the current pandemic has had on these vulnerable workers,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Many have lost work because employers are following public health guidelines on physical distancing or because their employers have lost income and can no longer afford these services.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant loss or reduction of income for many domestic workers, leaving them unable to support themselves and their families.

According to UN Women, 83 per cent of domestic workers worldwide are women, and a majority of those are racialized women. Wages are low and working conditions can be challenging – even abusive. The pandemic’s impacts are not gender neutral. There are increased demands on workloads with children at home from school, child care centres closed and more demands on household responsibilities in general.

Internationally, many domestic workers are migrants or part of the informal economy. In Canada, the pandemic has exacerbated the precarity of their situation, making them ineligible for government income supports. Moreover, migrant care workers should be granted fair and accessible pathways to citizenship in Canada.

“The pandemic has laid bare just how essential the labour of domestic workers is – cleaning, cooking, caring for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. All of this work is necessary to sustain our economy,” said Yussuff. “It is time we cared for those who care for us.”

Read more about Domestic Workers and COVID-19: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19

Resources for Domestic Workers on COVID-19: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/the-idwf/educational-awareness/stay-safe-what-do-you-need-to-know-about-covid-19

Recommendations for employers, governments, and others: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/advocacy-to-the-target-groups

Read more on the campaign to Ratify C189: https://idwfed.org/en/campaigns/ratify-c189

Caregivers Action Centre: http://www.caregiversactioncentre.org/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole

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

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

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

Find more resources here.

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Persons with disabilities – especially those living at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities – face high unemployment rates and high levels of poverty and need additional support during the COVID-19 crisis and after.

“The current health crisis has intensified the discrimination and stigma workers with disabilities were already facing,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Hard-won workplace accommodations are at risk when the office becomes virtual, and workers with disabilities are at a greater risk of being laid off or having their jobs furloughed.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is marking National AccessAbility Week to shine a light on the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, and those whose experiences are amplified by multiple marginalized identities, including being a woman, Indigenous, racialized and 2SLGBTQI, et al.

Canada’s unions have joined with disability rights organizations in the Include Me coalition, calling for a number of priorities to protect the health and safety and provide care and support to persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government has yet to announce specific targeted income supports for persons with disabilities to navigate their unique financial impact of this crisis.

Unemployment rates are between 35 per cent for people with ‘mild’ disabilities and 74 per cent for people with ‘severe’ disabilities. High levels of poverty and unemployment means more reliance on affordable housing, income and health care supports – programs whose funding and availability vary greatly across the country.

“We are working together to ensure that Canada’s response to this crisis leaves no one behind,” said Rousseau. “We need to see targeted income supports for persons with disabilities to address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, and, in the longer-term, recovery planning must make accessibility and inclusion a core priority.”

For more information on on-going advocacy efforts from disability related organizations in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the Include Me coalition’s COVID-19 resource centre.

National AccessAbility Week was first introduced in 2019 after the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act, learn more about the history of the week here.

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The impacts of the coronavirus are being felt differently across communities, hitting certain groups particularly hard. For instance, people working in precarious jobs are often racialized and many are women. As essential workers, they are at greater risk of contracting the virus, or infecting others in their communities.

“Anytime governments rush to address a crisis like the one we are facing, they must take adequate time to ensure that human rights are protected and upheld,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “They must ensure that systemic barriers and discrimination aren’t getting in the way of supporting the most vulnerable. This requires a deliberate effort to consult with experts and with communities themselves.”

The Canadian Labour Congress joins other human rights advocates and organizations in calling for the establishment of independent oversight committees to ensure human rights obligations are met during this unprecedented time.

“As governments are quickly realizing, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to addressing a public health and economic crisis of this magnitude,” said Yussuff. “Governments have a duty to take into consideration the consequences of actions taken, or of inaction.”

In order to be effective, independent committees must have broad representation from stakeholder communities and hold official advisory status to government bodies established to coordinate and implement COVID-19 response.

The committees must be mandated to identify any measures needed to strengthen human rights protection in COVID-19 response strategies; monitor for violations; provide information and recommendations to governments; and provide public updates.

“In times of crisis, governments have a responsibility to protect the most marginalized,” said Yussuff. “Human rights must not be an afterthought.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Statistics show workers of colour are more likely to be employed in precarious, low-wage jobs with no benefits. These workers also have higher unemployment rates. In fact, the unemployment rate of Black women is almost double that of non-racialized women. Black men earn 66 cents for every dollar a non-racialized man earns, and Black women only 56 cents per dollar.

One important way to address these disparities is to strengthen the federal Employment Equity Act, and restore mandatory compliance with the Act for federal contractors.

“Strengthening the Employment Equity Act is one step towards fairness for racialized workers,” said Canadian Labour Congress Vice-President Larry Rousseau. “In our country’s history we have seen men and women of colour work to support each other, even when discriminatory laws made it that much more difficult. We owe it to them to correct such inequality moving forward.”

From Desmond Davis and the other founders of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters to his daughter, Janice Gairey, former Human Rights Director at the Ontario Federation of Labour. From Carrie Best, who founded her own newspaper and worked to publicize the case of Viola Desmond, to her son Cal Best, former President of the Civil Service Association of Canada.

“These workers and activists and many, many more have paved the way and ensured the participation of racialized workers who follow in their footsteps,” said Rousseau. “Now we will pave the way for future workers.”

For Black History Month, the Canadian Labour Congress will be doing interviews with Black union leaders, please check our Facebook page for more information.

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During the federal election campaign, a few parties campaigned on anti-immigrant sentiment and against multiculturalism. Yet all the major political parties pledged to do more to address racism and discrimination in Canada.

“Canadians can be proud that we collectively rejected the right-wing populism that is gripping much of the Western world,” said CLC Vice-President Larry Rousseau. 

“This new minority government must now implement lasting and impactful policies to combat racism and hate that nevertheless continue to exist. Every effort should be made to tear down barriers to success that far too many people face due to their race, ethnicity, religion, or any other identifiable characteristic.”

These were the key commitments made by the various political parties:

• Doubling funding of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy;
• Increasing supports for members of racialized communities seeking good, stable employment;
• Improving data collection around hate crimes;
• Convening a national working group to counter online hate and implementing stricter regulations against platforms that fail to remove hate speech in a timely manner;
• Working with local governments to ensure hate crime units exist in every major city;
• Mandatory training on unconscious bias and cultural competency for judges; and
• Potential civil remedies for victims of hate speech.

Canada’s unions further call on all provinces and municipalities to consult local communities in the implementation and operation of anti-racism directorates or secretariats, all of which should include clear mandates and defined deliverables to combat systemic racism.

“Far too often, discrimination can hold people back in a number of ways, including in employment and overall civic engagement,” said Rousseau. “Communities of colour need concrete action and demonstrated results when it comes to inclusion. With consensus across party lines, we believe now is the time for Ottawa to act. Canadians are clearly ready for this.”

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

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

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

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

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

A task force on care work would:

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

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

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

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

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“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 Congress (CLC). “With a federal election underway, we are asking political leaders to take this opportunity to prove their commitment to women’s rights and gender equality.”

Gender Equality Week runs from September 22 to 28, 2019 and was first introduced by the federal government in 2018 through Bill C-309, the Gender Equality Act. This year’s theme is #EveryoneBenefits and is inspired by the vision of a gender equal society and the benefits of advancing gender equality to women, men and people of all gender identities.

“On election day, voters will have the chance to reject the politics of division by voting for a party that stands firmly for gender equality and women’s rights,” said Clarke Walker. “We hope to make that choice much easier by asking candidates to distinguish themselves through concrete platform commitments.” 

The CLC’s plan for “A Fair Canada for Everyone” asks political parties to commit to taking action on five key priorities for working people and their families – actions that can make a real difference for women and help promote gender equality.

Women deserve good jobs, liveable wages and fair working conditions.

Unions are calling for action on pay and employment equity, access to universal, affordable child care and a federal task force on care work and care jobs.

Women deserve opportunities to learn and advance their careers. They deserve adequate support to balance work, family and personal time.

Women should not face barriers in accessing medication.

Many women do not have workplace benefits and face difficult choices when they or a loved one requires medication they cannot afford. Everyone in Canada deserves a universal, single-payer, public prescription drug plan that would guarantee pharmacare for all.

Women deserve retirement security.

Thanks to the persistent gender pay gap, senior women are among Canada’s poorest populations. After a lifetime of hard work (whether paid or unpaid), no one should have to struggle to make ends meet. Action on retirement security means improved Old Age Security benefits and a reformed Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Women must be at the centre of climate action.

The climate crisis will have a disproportionate impact on women and marginalized populations. Smart investments in a clean future will put people at the centre of climate action. Investments in renewable energy, clean technology and green manufacturing can provide a source of good, green jobs for women. Climate action can also include investments in social infrastructure to help create and support good jobs and resilient communities.

Women deserve a government focused on equity and inclusion.

Canadians need a government committed to challenging hate and intolerance in all its forms. They need a government ready to improve our immigration and refugee policies, track and report on hate groups, and commit to strengthening Canada’s action plan against racism.

They also need an action plan to implement the recommendations of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“The CLC’s election campaign outlines a plan that would promote gender equality and make a real difference in the lives of women and their families,” said Clarke Walker. “Everyone benefits if we unite together to challenge racism, welcome refugees and support real reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This election we are demanding fairness.”

This Gender Equality Week, unions are calling on voters to attend local election town halls and debates to ask candidates what their party is prepared to do to promote gender equality and a fairer Canada for everyone.

CLC Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker will be hosting a Facebook Live event on Wednesday, September 25 at noon EST featuring a conversation about what is at stake for gender equality in the federal election.

Voters can sign up for real-time election updates from the CLC as the campaign progresses.

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Not only are they shocking and disturbing, they are deeply hurtful to those of us who have faced racism and discrimination firsthand. It brings to the forefront the injustices committed against people of colour and Indigenous communities in this country for over 150 years.

As a labour leader, I have had to work with whatever government is in power. I have seen the efforts of this particular government in addressing anti-Black racism, Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination. While its record hasn’t been perfect, so much has been achieved even though there is clearly more work to do.

It’s now up to the Prime Minister to rebuild Canadians’ trust in him again by continuing to take actions that show the sincerity behind his regret and remorse. Should he be re-elected, his government must commit to a meaningful strategy for dismantling systemic discrimination that keeps far too many people of colour from succeeding in our society.

For the rest of us, it’s critical that now, more than ever, we vote for the Canada we want.

Please learn about what Canada’s unions are calling for in this election, particularly around the issues of equity and inclusion.

Thank you.

Hassan Yussuff
Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of Canada’s unions

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This Black History Month, Canada’s unions say there can be no environmental justice without racial justice: addressing anti-Black racism is an integral part of the conversation on environmental activism.

Alongside Canada’s Indigenous communities, Black and people of African descent are disproportionately burdened with environmental hazards. This environmental racism includes exposure to toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution that negatively impact quality of life and health outcomes.

Africville, a small, yet vibrant, Black community in Halifax, NS, is an important example of how anti-Black racism was perpetuated by environmental policies. Despite paying municipal taxes, the community was deprived of basic services such as access to clean water, sewage, and waste management. Africville’s proximity to the development of an infectious disease hospital, a prison and a garbage dump, over time, added to deplorable living conditions imposed by the City.

The residents, after 120 years of resilience, were subject to a forced and dispersed relocation. Often overnight, over the span of a number of years, residents had their personal items transported in garbage trucks and their homes demolished.

This forced relocation, after years of marginalization by the City of Halifax, impacted the community by displacing residents both from their homes and their place of work, therefore exacerbating their economic insecurity.

Today, compounded by the barriers to sustainable employment, pay inequities, and barriers to opportunities for advancement in the workplace, Black workers and their families are still exposed to harmful and often life-threatening conditions in their home communities.

Hogan’s Alley in British Columbia, Leamington in Ontario, and Shelburne in Nova Scotia, are only a few examples of Black communities faced with the serious challenge of environmental racism.

“In the case of environmental racism in Black communities, environmental justice is linked to economic justice and that is at the root of why this is a trade union issue,” said CLC Executive Vice-President, Larry Rousseau.

A UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent recommended that the “Government of Canada should encourage federal, provincial and municipal governments to seriously consider the concerns of African Nova Scotians and help to develop legislation on environmental issues affecting them.”

Ingrid R.G. Waldron, author of There’s Something In The Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous & Black Communities, has said that although environmental racism has a disproportionate impact on Black and Indigenous communities, pollution travels to adjacent communities, meaning this injustice affects everyone and will require collective action.

“Ingrid Waldron’s research shows the true reach of this issue — it expands far beyond Nova Scotia. We can’t ignore or deny the history of mistreatment of Black communities across Canada. Canada’s unions can play a key role in connecting the dots between environmental justice and anti-Black racism,” said Rousseau.

Last February, the Federal Government acknowledged the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). While this recognition is important, more action is required. Canada’s unions and our allies are ready to take on the issue of environmental racism in Canada.

To learn more about anti-Black racism in Canada and how workers are challenging it, sign up here.

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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 “other”, fear of the “unknown”. During the First World War it was radical groups and publications, many whose membership came from Eastern Europe, that were targeted.

Within weeks of the start of the war in August 1914, Canada’s parliament passed the War Measures Act. In 1916, the press censorship was introduced by an Order-In-Council. In total of the 253 publications banned during the war, 164 were in a language other than French or English. But it was the 1917 Russian Revolution, and its withdrawal from the war, that caused the Canadian government to crack down harder on any social dissent.

By Order-in-Council PC2384, the federal government outlawed political and labour groups, focusing on German, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish speakers. It banned freedom of association, assembly, and speech for many Canadians.

One of the labour groups banned was the radical Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or as they were known “Wobblies”.  This industrial union organization had been founded in 1905 in Chicago and quickly spread across North America. By 1906, the first Canadian chapters had been formed in B.C.

The IWW espoused the idea that workers should all be in one union as opposed to the tradition of Trades. It organized all workers including women and workers of colour. It organized unskilled laborers, the poor, and recent immigrants, all who were often on the margins of society. The IWW believed in “revolutionary syndicalism” where, once organized, workers would initiate a general strike and replace capitalism with a society run by workers. The Wobblies also opposed the First World War and the price paid by working people and, as a result, became an enemy of Prime Minister Robert Borden and the Canadian government.

On September 24, 1918, Borden’s government made membership in the Industrial Workers of the World and thirteen other (primarily ethnic radical political organizations) illegal. The maximum sentence for membership in the IWW, or affiliation with the banned organizations, was five years to be served in one of 24 internment camps.

The ideas of the Wobblies were harder to stop, however. When western Canadian workers formed an organization called the One Big Union (OBU) in 1919, its ideas were closely aligned with those of the IWW. Today every time “Solidarity Forever” is sung on a picket line or at a union convention the IWW spirit lives on because that was their song!

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Earlier in June, the Commission was only granted a six-month extension in response to its request to add an additional two years to their mandate.

“We must avoid making the same mistakes of the past and learn from our history,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “This means we must centre the voices of Indigenous communities in order to fully confront the ‘destructive legacies of colonization’, as described by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”

The Commissioners called for an extension in response to the needs expressed by Indigenous communities, survivors and family members of those who are missing or have been murdered.

“If the process, the method, the solutions and the advocacy is not steered by those who are impacted, we are reinforcing the very colonial tactics that brought us here today with respect to our relationship with Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples,” said Yussuff.

The extension balances the need to urgently address violence against Indigenous women and girls with the necessity of ensuring thorough and comprehensive recommendations in the final report. The two-year extension would allow for increased community participation, as well as specific consideration of LGBTQ and two-spirit people.

For Canada’s unions, recognizing National Indigenous Peoples Day is about recognizing the needs of Indigenous people and standing in solidarity with their social, economic, and political needs. The government has a responsibility to ensure that the public inquiry adequately meets the objectives set out in the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

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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. The tragedy highlighted the human rights abuses and substandard conditions that continue to plague the textile industry.

“Canadian companies have a responsibility to ensure that the products they produce are made ethically,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “Canadians do not want to compromise the safety and dignity of workers in exchange for a cheap t-shirt. That’s not who we are.”

Basic human rights

Canadian unions are advocating that workers in Bangladesh, and anywhere along a supply chain, are:

• Treated fairly and with respect at work;
• Paid a living wage;
• Able to exercise their rights to form unions and bargain collectively;
• Working in safe factories.

Soon after the tragedy, dozens of companies operating in Bangladesh signed a five-year legally binding agreement called the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The agreement has been renewed for three more years and aims to ensure that factories are inspected regularly and that minimum safety standards are maintained. It also protects the rights of workers to organize.

Corporate accountability

The CLC calls on the Canadian corporations operating in Bangladesh to sign the Accord. There are over 140 signatories from around the world, including Canadian owned Loblaws. The full list can be found here.

More recently, Canada’s federal government announced it will appoint an ombudsperson to ensure Canadian corporations respect their human rights obligations abroad.

“Canada can and must be a champion of all workers. That requires making sure that our corporations are held to account for any human rights abuses,” said Yussuff.

Taking action

Several CLC affiliates will be holding events this Monday, April 23 to encourage Canadian companies including Walmart and the Canadian Tire owned stores of Mark’s, Sports Experts, and Sport Chek to commit to transparency about their supply chains.

Canadians who want to participate should visit the United Steelworkers (USW) campaign page here and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) here.

Supporting workers

Since 2016, the CLC and several affiliates have been supporting the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity in its effort to strengthen labour rights in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector. The project is supported by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), UFCW, Ontario Secondary School Teacher Federation (OSSTF) and USW. It runs until 2019.

The CLC is also a member of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, along with over 30 other unions and human rights, environmental, faith-based and solidarity groups. Union members of the coalition include CUPE, Unifor, USW, PSAC and the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF).

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• Addressing systemic discrimination of all forms, including stopping anti-Black racism and Islamophobia;
• Reconciliation and nation-to-nation relationship building with First Nations;
• Launching an inquiry into the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous children and youth in the care of child protection services; and
• Reforming the criminal justice system, with a shift to restorative justice, and addressing the disproportionate number of incarcerated Black and Indigenous people.

“Recent high-profile cases underscore the urgent need to address the systemic discrimination that is woven into the fabric of multiple Canadian institutions. Systemic failures can have life-or-death consequences,” said Yussuff.

Twenty-two-year-old Colten Boushie from the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation of Saskatchewan was shot and killed in the summer of 2016. Boushie’s family spoke publicly about the mistreatment they received from law enforcement when they were informed of his killing. The accused was acquitted of all charges in Boushie’s death, and experts have indicated that the lack of diversity on the all-white jury played a significant role in the acquittal.

The body of Tina Fontaine, a 15-year-old Anishinaabe girl from Sagkeeng First Nation, was found discarded in the Red River in Winnipeg. She was in contact with child protection, law enforcement and medical professionals in the weeks leading to her disappearance and death. Fontaine’s case is one of many examples of systemic failures and helped prompt the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Abdoul Abdi, a young Somali refugee who was brought to Canada as a child has been failed by a system not designed to support him. Upon his arrival in Canada at the age of six, Abdi was removed from his family and ended up being moved between 31 group and foster homes where he faced psychological and physical abuse. He ended up in trouble with the law and serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence. Once released, he learned he would face deportation because the Nova Scotia government failed to fulfill its responsibility to secure his citizenship while he was in their ward. His deportation hearing has been scheduled for March 21 which is – ironically – the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

“These cases and so many more demonstrate why we must do more to end systemic racism, xenophobia and discrimination at home and around the world,” said Yussuff.

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Such a strategy would require the government to commit to analyzing race-based statistics on how various institutional policies impact Canada’s Black communities. The key objective would be to eradicate institutionalized racism that is disproportionately harming this specific segment of Canadian society.

“Black people in Canada are systematically disadvantaged in workplaces, criminalized and victimized by the judicial system, and discriminated against in public services and housing,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

The federal government should look to taking the following steps:

• Create an intersectional national anti-Black racism strategy;
• Institute criminal justice reform to address anti-Black racism in the judicial and prison system; and
• Call for an inquiry on the overrepresentation of Black children and youth in care of child protection services.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent as a response to the need to strengthen the rights of people of African descent. Canada’s federal government officially recognized the International Decade of People of African Descent this week.

“Recognition is a step, but it won’t mean much if it isn’t followed up with concrete commitments to addressing the real grievances people have,” said Yussuff.

Canada’s unions are striving to educate their membership on the issue of anti-Black racism.

Last year, the CLC hosted a series of webinars called Working While Black. The series highlighted the contributions of Black activists and organizers in Canada and helped build skills and knowledge towards confronting discrimination.

This year, Canada’s unions are celebrating Black History Month with the release of a special podcast later this month called “Smoke and Mirrors: Uncovering Truths about Human Rights in Canada”. Hosted by lawyer, writer and PhD candidate Hadiya Roderique, the episode will explore the history of anti-Black racism in Canada and its legacy on society today.

The podcast features interviews with Black intellectuals and activists including authors and historians Robyn Maynard and Dr. Afua Cooper, as well as the award-winning journalist Desmond Cole.

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What is “decent work”?

• Access for all workers to quality jobs, dignity, equality, and safe working conditions.

• Putting workers at the centre of development and giving them a voice in what they do.

This year’s global focus is on struggles to win living minimum wages and a pay raise for all workers.

The Canadian Labour Congress has outlined steps Canada needs to take in a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, outlining several steps the federal government can take to ensure better access to decent work at home and abroad.

“We need federal leadership on decent work, not just so that we improve work for Canadians, but so we can set an example for other countries too,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

What our federal government can do

• Ensure the creation of high-quality jobs needed by millions of unemployed, underemployed, and precariously-employed workers in Canada.

• Promote and uphold collective bargaining rights at home and abroad.

• Restore the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, indexing it to wage growth, and bring back full employment as a primary policy target.

• Create public employment programs for regions and populations with high unemployment or a high concentration of low-wage workers. That should include job creation programs for youth, Indigenous and Northern communities, newcomers to Canada, Alberta and the Atlantic provinces;

• Commit to long-term funding for high-quality, public, universal, affordable child care;

• Adopt strong, proactive pay equity legislation incorporating the recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force;

• Use all available tools to eliminate discrimination in hiring, promotion, and pay, including strengthening the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program;

• Introduce paid sick leave and paid leave for victims of domestic violence for workers in the federal jurisdiction, and encourage provinces and territories to follow suit;

• End the systematic violation of migrant workers’ rights by abolishing tied work permits and implementing a proactive compliance assessment and enforcement regime;

• Promote fairness by tightening regulations on hours of work and scheduling;

• Increase staffing, training and resources for federal employment standards and health and safety inspectors; and

• Improve the Wage Earner Protection Program to better protect wages when employers go bankrupt or simply disappear.

Canada’s unions are also asking the federal government to promote decent work in global supply chains and the extractive sectors by:

• Appointing a human rights ombudsperson to investigate how Canadian companies’ foreign operations impact human rights;

• Introducing national due diligence legislation with a monitoring mechanism and an enforcement procedure for large companies.

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“Refugee Crisis” is an immersive virtual reality experience that simulates the harsh reality of being forced to flee one’s home as a refugee; but in this case, it’s as if it were happening here in Canada. The experience is an important component of unions’ ongoing work to support refugee resettlement efforts by building empathy and solidarity.

“Unions believe we must respect the rights of all people, regardless of race, religion, immigration status or country of origin. We recognize that we all ultimately benefit from the ways immigrants and refugees contribute to and enrich our society,” Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff said.

Yussuff added this work has become even more urgent in the current context. He pointed out last week’s apology by the federal government to three Muslim Canadians who were tortured in Syria.

“We must acknowledge the global context today is very similar to the post 9/11 era when this took place. We see the same xenophobia and Islamophobia being promoted by some Conservative leadership candidates, some European leaders and of course, current President Donald Trump,” said Yussuff.

Earlier this year the CLC joined with the AFL-CIO to denounce Donald Trump’s attempted anti-Muslim travel ban. The CLC also called for Canada to increase refugee resettlement targets and withdraw from the Safe Third Country Agreement.

Canada’s unions are also continuing to urge government to repeal the flawed, so-called “anti-terror” bill C-51, which risks encouraging racial profiling, particularly in Muslim communities.

“Canada can do more, and so can we all as individual Canadians, to welcome immigrants and refugees and stand firmly against xenophobia and Islamophobia,” Yussuff added.

You can experience “Refugee Crisis” in 360 video on YouTube or Facebook.

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“Now is a crucial time for our country to stand up against Islamophobia. Unanimously passing this motion in the House of Commons would be a strong signal that we will not stand by and let hate and fear take root in our communities,” said Yussuff.

Last month’s tragic shooting at the Great Mosque in Québec City was a wake-up call for many Canadians. Not long before that, Statistics Canada had also released new data showing hate crimes against Muslims more than doubled over a three-year period.

Yussuff said criticisms of M-103–such as those put forward by several Conservative MPs, candidates and commentators–are completely unfounded and actually worsen the situation. He added that it was dismaying to see the backlash visited on supporters of the motion, including threats against Iqra Khalid, the MP who introduced it.

“This motion simply reaffirms human rights already enshrined in our country’s laws and Charter. When we stand against Islamophobia we are saying that all Canadians should be able to worship and associate in their communities free from violence,” Yussuff said.

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Walker is one of fifteen recipients being honoured for their work as contemporary Black history-makers by the ACAA. The ceremony is considered one of the African Canadian community’s most prestigious Black History Month events.

“I’m very proud of my African heritage and am always striving to make my community proud, so being recognized by my community means a lot to me,” said Walker. “I am humbled and I am grateful.”

Walker made history in 2002 when she was elected as the first racialized woman and youngest person to the position of Executive Vice-President of the CLC. She is now in her 5^th term as CLC Executive Vice-President.

“This award validates the work we do in the labour movement,” said Walker.

“Workers are the most important part of any business, and they are empowered when they see themselves reflected in different levels of governance, both in the workplace and in their union,” she added.

The post Marie Clarke Walker to receive African Canadian Achievement Award of Excellence appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

In 1946, Halifax businesswoman Viola Desmond went to a movie and sat on the main floor. The staff asked her to move: as a Black woman she was only allowed to sit in the balcony. When she refused, she was hauled out of the theatre by police and held overnight in jail, without being advised of her rights.

The discrimination Desmond faced was only the tip of the iceberg. Black Canadians experienced explicit employment and housing discrimination, unequal treatment at restaurants, hotels, theatres and swimming pools. Black children (mainly in Ontario and Nova Scotia) were sometimes sent to segregated schools. The last segregated school in Canada closed in 1983.

Viola Desmond’s decision to resist that day, and to fight the charges brought against her, helped galvanize the Black community in Nova Scotia, and raise awareness of racism and segregation across Canada and internationally. Segregation legally ended in Nova Scotia in 1954, thanks to the courage of people like Viola Desmond.

In February we celebrate Black History Month, a time when we look at how far we have come. It’s true, we have made strides and, some would say, progress.

Black people are no longer relegated to special seats in theatres. Today, we are proud to celebrate Ms. Desmond’s courage, resistance and contribution by honouring her on our $10 bill.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we should also take time to evaluate and assess our way forward, which includes the work that still remains to be done in order to achieve a more inclusive and equitable society.

At this time in our history, the challenge can seem particularly daunting. Systemic racism is still a daily reality for Black Canadians. For example, just a few weeks ago Halifax police released statistics showing they are three times more likely to street check Black people than White people. Carding and racial profiling are practices seen right across the country and they are only two of many examples of anti-Black racism in our society.

So how can we move forward in our new reality? There is work that we can do as unions and individuals.

As unions, we need to ensure that human rights are front and centre in all the work we do. We should be using an equity lens when looking at all issues.

We have long known that racial and economic justice are fundamentally connected, and we can better integrate that analysis in our work.

We also have to keep educating our members on the reality of systemic racism and other forms of oppression. One thing we’re doing at the CLC for Black History Month is running a series of webinars called “Working While Black.” The series will celebrate the contributions of Black activists and organizers in Canada, strengthen solidarity across movements, and build skills and knowledge for confronting anti-Black racism in workplaces and communities today.

By taking these steps and articulating a vision for a fairer future, unions can find the common ground that can bring our members and communities together.

As individuals, if we want to move forward, we need to take care of ourselves and each other. Part of that can be reminding ourselves to look around and get inspired by those courageous individuals past, present, and future, who have dedicated themselves to building inclusive workplaces and communities. Let’s celebrate Black History Month by learning from their strategies, energy, and courage.

The post The past, present, and future of working while Black appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The series will celebrate the contributions of Black activists and organizers in Canada, strengthen solidarity across movements, and build skills and knowledge for confronting anti-Black racism in workplaces and communities today. Participants will be able to engage with speakers and share lived experiences with each other.

By the end of the series, participants will have developed tools and strategies that work towards our goal: building workplaces and communities that are inclusive and free from racism and discrimination.

Webinar #1: Anti-Black Racism and Labour (English only)

February 13, 2017

7pm – 8pm EST

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/632822098551433986

Webinar #2: Recognizing Systemic Barriers and Work (English only)

February 22, 2016

7pm – 8pm EST

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1699969601564184066

Webinar #3: Collective and Community Organizing (English only)

February 27, 2017

7pm – 8pm EST

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/229619090018498050

Webinar #4: Working While Black (French only)

February 28, 2017

7pm – 8pm EST

Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6971587996541205762

Register by February 12, 2017

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As the President of the Canadian Labour Congress – representing over three million working women and men from every background – I am writing to you with a clear message: racism and division are the most anti-Canadian values of all.

Your proposal to screen new immigrants based on so-called “Canadian values” at best pretends to appeal to Canadian tolerance and acceptance while fundamentally betraying the freedom and respect that underpin them. At worst, it provokes fear and hatred by targeting and stigmatizing particular people, races and cultures.   

It may be tempting to look south of the border and tear a page out of the Trump playbook, but I hope your memory is not so short as to forget the devastating defeat of Parti Québecois leader Pauline Marois, or the punishment your own government received at the polls one year ago, while trying to drive a wedge between voters. 

Canadians have already spoken out against racism and the politics of division by rejecting your “Barbaric Cultural Practices” tip line. We are not looking to move backwards. We are looking for leaders who appeal to the best in us; not those who pander to the lowest common denominator. Your proposal is a distortion of Canadian values that would be rejected, once again, by the electorate. 

Time and time again, working people across the country have been clear in their support for an inclusive and equitable society that is fair for all of us. I have no doubt that these fundamental values are ones we are all prepared to vigorously defend.

While Canadians have diverse views, what unites us is our faith in our democracy, the rule of law and, more importantly, our faith in each other. We encourage you to share these values.

Yours sincerely,

Hassan Yussuff
President

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37-year old Somali-Canadian Abdirahman Abdi died on Monday after succumbing to injuries sustained after being pursued and, according to several witnesses, violently beaten by Ottawa police on July 24.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is backing community calls for a publicly transparent and accountable investigation into the brutal altercation and adds the broader context of systemic racism, Islamophobia, and the police response to mental health issues must also be addressed.

“The unacceptable reality is that this is just one more in a string of incidents of police violence against black people in Canada and across North America. This occurs against a backdrop of racial profiling that manifests itself through disproportionate harassment and surveillance of racialized communities and a culture of impunity for police,” said CLC president, Hassan Yussuff.

“None of these tragedies are happening in isolation, so it isn’t enough to treat them that way. We very clearly have to have to address systemic issues across the country,” he added.

Yussuff said the CLC is reaching out to Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and other big city mayors across Canada to ask them to take the lead in striking municipal taskforces to investigate systemic racism and Islamophobia in policing and to review police training, guidelines and protocols for the use of force and for responding to incidents involving individuals with mental illness, disabilities, or who are exhibiting mental distress.

Those taskforces, he says, must include those most affected, such as victims’ families and representatives of the racialized, Indigenous and other marginalized communities who have been the targets of this type of violence.

Yussuff also called on provinces and territories across the country to ensure better oversight of police and to mandate anti-black racism, mental health, and de-escalation training for every level of policing.

“As so many organizations and community leaders have already said, too often Special Investigations Units operate in secrecy, and officers involved in violent altercations are exonerated,” said Yussuff.

“Provincial and territorial governments must work to ensure that Police Acts are amended to ensure that police oversight bodies, such as SIUs, are more transparent and accountable,” he added.

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“We are all experiencing profound grief and anger right now. But as we take time to mourn the victims and condemn these acts of violence, we must still remain focused on the core issues raised by black communities and movements like Black Lives Matter,” said Canadian Labour Congress Executive Vice-President Marie Clarke Walker.

“As a long-time labour leader I want to stress that unions are committed to continuing to peacefully confront the systemic causes of all forms of racism, including anti-black violence, in the U.S., Canada and around the world. We will continue to work with our allies to push for change and to build a better and more equitable world for our children,” Walker added.

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Although the Syrian refugee crisis had been building since 2011 due to the civil war that led millions to flee their homes, the haunting picture of a dead three-year-old boy lying on the beach in Turkey finally made the rest of the world aware of the tragic reality.

The Canadian Labour Congress was among the first calling on the federal government to respond and to offer the labour movement’s support.

In October 2015, the CLC established a special fund, in partnership with the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) to help support the settlement of Syrian refugees in Canada. That fund has raised more than $200,000 so far.

In December, the CLC launched an unprecedented partnership with business, faith and community groups to welcome and support the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

“We welcomed the Canadian government’s commitment to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees and understand that we now have a responsibility to do our part and support that commitment in every way possible,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff, announcing the initiative along with the CCR and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The joint statement read, in part: “Canada is a compassionate, caring nation with a long tradition of embracing diversity and showing humanitarian leadership. We must continue this tradition and demonstrate these values and principles in our approach to this crisis.”

Though the response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, incidents of racism and xenophobia have also occurred. Myths were spread that refugees were looking to “abuse the system and get rich,” even though only a handful of refugees receive government assistance, for a very limited time, and all are expected to pay back the travel costs associated with resettlement.

A few times the CLC heard from members who argued that support for refugees unfairly prioritizes “them” over “us” and “our jobs,” even though the evidence shows that refugees actually create jobs in our communities.

Most disturbingly, several communities saw incidents of Islamophobic vandalism and violence arising out of the same xenophobic backlash.

In supporting refugees and condemning the backlash, unions are building on a long history of standing up to unfairness and promoting equality, drawing on the fundamental labour principle, outlined by J.S. Woodsworth: “What we desire for ourselves, we wish for all.”

As part of labour’s support, the CLC has released a resource kit for unions and labour councils to support their work with refugees on the community level.

The “Welcome Home” guide provides information on how to get involved as an individual and/or engage other members to support refugees. It covers options such as becoming a refugee sponsor, making donations, volunteering, and taking political action. It also gives tips on responding to the anti-refugee backlash through education, advocacy and fellowship.

The “Welcome Home” resource kit for unions and labour councils in support of Syrian refugees is available at https://canadianlabour.ca/welcome-home-resource-kit/.

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The final report, formed after six years of collecting testimony from more than 6,500 survivors, makes it clear that the physical and sexual abuse, and disease and death resulting from poor living conditions, are directly connected to systemic racism First Nations people continue to experience today.

Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff, responded to the report by thanking the survivors and echoing the commission’s call on governments to swiftly implement all the recommendations.

“We need to recognize the incredible courage and trust shown by the survivors who shared their stories. In order to do justice to that trust, the federal government must work with the provinces, territories and First Nations governments to ensure all the commission’s recommendations are passed without delay,” said Yussuff.

This includes the commission’s recommendation to sign on to and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as the framework for reconciliation.

However, Yussuff recognized today’s observation by commission chair Justice Murray Sinclair, that “reconciliation is not an Indigenous problem: it is a Canadian one.” Yussuff agreed that all sectors of Canadian society, not just governments, must do their part to dismantle systemic racism and support an indigenous-centered process of reconciliation.

Over the past several years, the Canadian Labour Congress and its affiliated unions have been working to support First Nations leadership to campaign on issues like safe drinking water on reserves, child welfare reform, and the need for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The commission also raised specific labour issues, calling upon the federal government “to develop with Aboriginal groups a joint strategy to eliminate educational and employment gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.” Yussuff noted the unemployment rate of Indigenous Canadians has been in the double digits since 2007, compared to single-digit rates for non-Indigenous Canadians. When they are employed, Indigenous Canadians, particularly women, experience a significant income gap.

“All Canadians have a responsibility to further the reconciliation process. We, in the labour movement, will continue to support First Nations people on the issues the commission has raised,” Yussuff said.

Read the full report here.

Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada

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The Canadian Labour Congress recognizes the rich history of, and contribution by, Asian Canadians to the Canada we live in today.  Celebrations will take place during the month of May, as will discussion and debate around finding collective solutions to end systemic racism.

Chinese labourers were first brought to Canada in the 1800s to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. They and other Asian immigrants worked in dangerous and difficult jobs, enduring rampant systemic racism, from government, their employers and in the communities they lived and worked in.

Over the years, Asian communities challenged that discrimination, became leaders in their communities and won the repeal overtly anti-Asian immigration laws and practices.

Today, however, legislation such as the so-called anti-terrorism Bill C-51, and the rhetoric being used to promote it, continues to target racialized communities, especially Muslims, the majority of which are of West and South Asian heritage (from Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey).

Bill C-51 is purportedly about protecting Canadians from terrorism, but undermines the freedom of Canadian citizens, especially those in racialized communities. It infringes on online privacy rights, encourages the continued use travel restrictions and no-fly lists, and censors advocacy and freedom of speech. This puts racialized communities at risk for direct discrimination.  Bill C-51 not only competes with our charter of rights, it directly impacts the Muslim community.

Many Asian-Canadians continue to face discrimination based on creed.  That will only get worse unless, in the 2015 federal election, we can win a new government that is truly committed to challenging and ending systemic and overt racism.

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The TFW program has existed for years.  But now the government has announced it will impose a four year limit on the cumulative duration migrant workers can work in Canada under the program.

This means they will have to leave Canada after four years work. And they can’t apply to work here for another four years.

On April 1, 2015 thousands of migrant workers in Canada will hit this four year limit.  Work permits will be denied unless they can demonstrate that one of the limited exceptions to the cumulative duration rule applies to them.

This rule applies mainly to migrant workers performing lower-skilled work and those working in skilled trades and technical jobs.  Most of these workers are racialized.  Some of these migrant workers may end up staying in Canada as illegal immigrants and that makes them vulnerable.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) wants the federal government to allow all migrant workers who are already working in Canada access to permanent residency status. Also, workers who have reached the four year limit should not be deported.

All workers in Canada have the equal right to dignity, safety, security and justice. People who come to Canada to work have the right to move freely and settle and the government must stop supplying a disposable workforce to employers.

The revolving door affects both migrant workers and Canadian workers:

• A disposable work force drives wages down.
• Employers choose to hire cheaper labour instead of honestly trying to attract Canadian workers for jobs.
• They have no incentive to maintain standards for wages, benefits and working conditions.
• This practice encourages low standards, intimidation tactics and poor working conditions for the migrant worker.
• Nobody wins.  It’s time to make this program work for migrant workers and Canadians.

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We’ll be thinking of Rania El Alloul and other Canadian Muslims facing discrimination in their day-to-day lives when we commemorate the United Nations (UN) International Day for the Elimination of Racism on March 21.

We’ll also be remembering how systemic racism has led to epidemic levels of poverty for Indigenous women and girls, meaning a lack of secure housing, an absence of economic opportunities and limited access to justice.

We’ll remember how on March 6, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) concluded that Canada’s ongoing failure to address the extreme violence against Aboriginal women and girls constitutes a “grave violation” of their human rights.

We’ll remember that black males living in Toronto are three times more likely to be stopped and asked for identification by police. And we’ll remember that employers are about 40 percent more likely to interview a job applicant with an English sounding name.

How are we helping to end racism?

• The labour movement is supporting communities that face discrimination. After 9/11 for example, we worked with Muslim communities to fight widespread Islamophobia.
• We speak out when racism happens – such as when migrant workers are targeted for deportation, when Aboriginal or racialized youth are shot by police, or when racism is behind the denial of housing.
• We bargain anti-discrimination and harassment language in collective agreements, helping to ensure that hiring is fair and that workplaces are free of discrimination.
• We work with governments at all levels for stronger employment equity legislation.
• We use education to fight racism, training our leadership and membership on how to deal with harassment and individual and systemic racism.

​Our government must do more to help end racism.

The CLC is calling on the federal government to face up to the reality of racism in Canada today, by acknowledging its own role in sustaining and promoting systemic and overt discrimination. Here are three ways the government can play a constructive role in ending both systemic and overt racism:

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has joined the call by Aboriginal women and Canadians across the country for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. It’s time the government listened.

The government must stop using rhetoric and fear mongering that targets Muslim and other racialized communities. The use of terms like “jihadists” and “radical Islam” is irresponsible and sews hatred. This must stop.

The government must meet its international obligations by reporting to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Canada has never met its obligation to report to this committee.

​Challenge the candidates in the next federal election.

When candidates come asking for your vote in the next election, be sure to ask how they feel about racism in Canada and if they’ll commit to taking those first three steps to help eliminate racism in Canada.

Ahead of the election, the labour movement will be challenging all political parties to outline how they will work to eliminate both systemic and overt racial discrimination faced by Aboriginal and racialized communities in Canada.

Quick facts on racism in Canada today:

• 50 percent of First Nations children live in poverty compared to 17 percent for other Canadians.
• Aboriginal workers earn an average of $19,000 compared to $33,000 for other Canadians.
• The infant mortality rate is one and half times higher for First Nations than other Canadians.
• The average life expectancy for Aboriginal women and men is five and nine years less, respectively, than other Canadians.
• Black males living in Toronto are three times more likely to be stopped and asked for identification by police.
• There were 1,401 reported hate crimes in Canada in 2010.
• Employers are about 40 percent more likely to interview a job applicant with an English-sounding name despite identical education, skills and experience.
•  In 2011, the unemployment rate for visible minority workers was 9.9 percent compared to 7.3 percent for non-racialized workers.
• Racialized Canadians also earn an average of 81 cents to the dollar compared to other Canadians.
• 55 percent of Canadians are satisfied that we have overcome racial discrimination.

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Meanwhile in Canada, federal elections will be held this year presenting a real opportunity for the Black community to challenge political parties on their social and economic policy records and election platforms. With this year’s election in our sights, we have identified four key issues that resonate with the Black community: jobs, retirement security, health care and childcare. This month we turn our focus to jobs and income insecurity for the Black community. Workers from the community will be asking the federal government and all federal parties how their national job and training strategy will provide opportunities for Black workers to get good jobs and contribute to the economic and social development of Canada.

It is not acceptable that in 2011, 13.2% of racialized workers toiled in minimum wage jobs, compared to a rate of 9% for all workers. Among recent immigrants, many of whom are racialized newcomers, 19.1% are working at the minimum wage. This is a rate more than double for the total workforce. More than 30% of self employed immigrants indicate that their self-employment is due to a shortage of paid work. Among Canadian-born, self-employed workers, that figure is much lower at 20%.

The federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) brings thousands of migrant workers to Canada from Caribbean countries to work as seasonal farm workers or live-in caregivers. The recent changes by the federal government will negatively affect these workers from communities of African descent, by limiting access to permanent residency and health benefits.

The work of Canadian unions at the bargaining table and policy level are part of our commitment to improving the lives of workers, and the broad effort in building this country. Statistics Canada predicts that by 2020, due to demographic changes, we will be dependent upon newcomers as the core source for population growth. A study done for the federal government indicates that immigrants and their children will likely make up half of the working age population by 2031. A big percentage of newcomers will be people of African descent.

As part of our policy advocacy work, unions have supported employment equity legislation at the provincial and federal level despite the opposition from conservative forces.

Canada is a country built by Aboriginal peoples and immigrants from around the world. The labour movement wants to ensure that people of African descent have every opportunity to contribute to the social and economic welfare of Canada, without any barriers.

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Ten years ago, in the wake of 9/11, our government was forced to call a Commission of Inquiry into the role played by Canadian officials in the overseas detention and torture of Canadian citizen, Maher Arar. Through that process, led by Justice Dennis O’Connor, we learned that Canadian security and law enforcement agencies had mislabeled him a terrorist, and that their actions contributed to his overseas detention and torture. It soon became apparent that his was not an isolated case — and a second Commission of Inquiry was established, this time led by retired Supreme Court Justice, Frank Iacobucci. Once again, it was determined that Canadian agencies had made unsubstantiated allegations of terrorist links against three other Canadian men — Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki, and Muayyed Nureddin. And once again, it was determined that Canadian officials had played a role in their overseas detention and torture. This year, we are marking the United Nations Human Rights Day on December 10, by remembering these cases, and all the other serious miscarriages of justice that have been the consequence of this misinterpretation of “security” in the post 9/11 world.

We want to highlight, once again, the very important work done by Justice O’Connor and Justice Iacobucci at both inquiries, and the very crucial recommendations made by the Arar Inquiry. Most importantly, we recall Justice O’Connor’s comprehensive recommendations around the need for integrated civilian oversight of all the agencies that lead and participate in national security work. Those recommendations have not been implemented. Instead, we see more and more powers being given to national security agencies, and less and less oversight of their activities. This must not continue.

We also highlight the need for redress for all victims of post 9/11 abuses of power by Canadian security and law enforcement agencies. Just as Maher Arar received an apology and compensation, so too should Almalki, El Maati, and Nureddin. Benamar Benatta is another example of someone whose life has been destroyed by overreaching security agencies, and he and all others who have experienced this kind of injustice must be given redress.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed December 10 as Human Rights Day in 1950. The goal was to raise awareness about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. It is an assertion of collective and individual rights, recognizing everyone’s right to be treated fairly, equally, and with dignity. It symbolizes hope, freedom from oppression, persecution, and domination, and the promise of security for all. And it serves as the inspiration of our work every day.

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The security certificate system is inherently unfair in allowing non-citizens to be detained without charges, based on evidence which they are not allowed to see, and which would otherwise be inadmissible in a court of law. A person, such as Mr. Harkat, who is subject to a security certificate may also face deportation to a country where he or she could be at risk of torture or death.

In 2007, the Supreme Court found a previous security certificate program to be unconstitutional. Parliament later amended the system, primarily by providing for adding special advocates – that is, lawyers who participate in all the proceedings but whose powers and communications with accused individuals are severely restricted.

The court’s new judgment released on May 14 acknowledged that the amended security certificate program is not perfect and has limitations, but concluded that the special advocates and judges involved can reduce the essential unfairness of the process.

The CLC believes that, despite the best efforts of special advocates and judges involved in these cases, the security certificate program will continue to deprive individuals of their human rights.

The CLC also believes that the court’s ruling leaves Canada in contravention of its international obligations. Various United Nations human rights bodies have urged Canada to change the system and other groups, including Amnesty International, continue to call for the elimination of the security certificate regime.

The Canadian government insists that these special powers, and the disregard for fundamental human rights, are justified in order to protect against international terrorism. History, however, holds many examples of governments encroaching unduly upon the rights of individuals in the name of enhanced national security. The security certificate program is one of those examples. The government has adequate policing and legal tools at its disposal and the flawed security program should be disbanded.

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“These employers have been abusing the TFWP and it is high time that the government took action,” says CLC president Ken Georgetti. “My question is why it took so long, because the labour movement has been detailing these abuses and presenting them to the government for years.”

Georgetti was responding to news that Jason Kenny, the federal employment minister, had announced an immediate moratorium on the fast-food industry’s access to the TFWP. McDonald’s restaurants have imported at least 3,400 workers under the TFWP and Tim Horton’s an estimated 4,500. Yet Statistics Canada reports that in January 2014 there were 6.7 unemployed Canadian workers for each job vacancy.

Some fast food restaurants have reportedly been giving full-time hours to migrant workers while reducing both the hours and salaries of other workers. There have also been reports of restaurant franchisees refusing to pay overtime to migrant workers and renting crowded accommodation to them at inflated prices.

Georgetti says, “The TFWP was intended to bring in skilled workers when labour shortages could be documented, but employers have used the program to import workers across the board in a way that exploits both migrant and Canadian workers.”

Georgetti adds, “Migrant workers do not have the same level of workplace protections and rights as members of the national workforce and are coerced to perform under conditions that undercut the security of their fellow workers. That is no way to build an economy based on good jobs that pay family-supporting wages.”

A recent study, found that widespread use of the TFWP in Alberta and British Columbia boosted the rate of unemployment in those provinces, particularly among young workers. The Institute said that the government’s changes to the TFWP made it easier for employers to hire migrant workers even though there was little hard evidence of labour shortages in many occupations.

Georgetti says, “We really question whether this program should exist at all. If there is a demonstrated need to import workers in specific industries, then we should offer those workers a path to citizenship. But in the interim, we want a full, open and transparent review of the TFWP.”

The CLC will hold its 27th constitutional convention in Montreal between May 5-9 and delegates will debate several resolutions regarding the TFWP.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 111 district labour councils.

Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca
Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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“The labour movement has been saying for years that the TFWP is being abused by employers,” says CLC President Ken Georgetti. “These latest episodes involving McDonald’s restaurants proves our point.”

Recent reports indicate that McDonald’s restaurants have imported at least 3,400 workers under the TFWP at a time when Statistics Canada reports that in January 2014 there were 6.7 unemployed Canadian workers for each job vacancy. Some McDonald’s restaurants have reportedly been giving full-time hours to migrant  workers while reducing both the hours and salaries of other workers. It is also reported that in Lethbridge, Alberta a local McDonald’s franchisee rents accommodation to migrant workers, with as many as eight living in each suite. Employment Minister Jason Kenney’s office says that it has launched an investigation and the minister has expressed his concerns to McDonald’s about the potential abuse of the TFWP.

“We have heard all of this before,” says Georgetti. “The TFWP is abused by unscrupulous employers and the federal government promises to investigate, but nothing really changes. In the last decade the number of temporary work permits granted to employers has tripled. The current federal government has provided the tools for employers to import 500,000 migrant workers and all of this at a time of continuing high unemployment in Canada.”

Georgetti says that both migrant and Canadian workers are being abused as a result of the TFWP. “Migrant workers do not have the same level of workplace protections and rights as members of the national workforce and are forced to perform under conditions that undercut the security of other workers. That is no way to build an economy based on good jobs that pay family-supporting wages.”

Georgetti adds that the labour movement is concerned that employer abuses of  TFWP could turn migrant and other workers against one another. “The Canadian labour movement wants to see a return to a robust federal immigration regime that increases annual immigration numbers. If we need workers, then we should offer them a path to citizenship. But in the interim, we want a full, open and transparent review of the TFWP.”

The CLC will hold its 27th constitutional convention in Montreal between May 5-9 and delegates will debate several resolutions regarding the TFWP.

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“Canadians will forever remember the courage and dignity of a statesman who devoted his life to end South Africa’s system of apartheid, the legalized racial discrimination against black South Africans,” says CLC President Ken Georgetti.

“One of my proudest moments as a trade unionist is when I met Mr. Mandela and he told me that without the solidarity and the pressure of the international labour movement, and in particular the Canadian trade union movement, apartheid would have continued longer in South Africa,” Georgetti says.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, thousands of Canadian trade unionists took part in anti-apartheid actions in their workplaces and their communities to pressure the Canadian government to take action against South Africa. “The fight against apartheid will go down in history as one of the most visible demonstrations of international solidarity by workers in Canada and around the world,” says Georgetti.

In 1994 a CLC delegation was sent to observe South Africa’s historic first multi-racial elections. “Our delegation watched as millions of South African lined up for hours to cast their votes as citizens for the first time in their lives,” Georgetti says. “We watched with pride when Mr. Mandela was inaugurated on May that year as South Africa’s first truly democratically elected president. He led South Africa’s first elected non-racial government from 1994 to 1999.”

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nelson Mandela in 1993, and symbolized the great respect and admiration he had earned from the world community. Georgetti adds, “His legacy, a united South Africa, and inspiration to us all to be better citizens, will live on.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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“The government is trying to patch gaping holes in the integrity of the TFWP with half-hearted reforms,” says Georgetti, “but this falls far short of what is needed.”

Earlier this year it became clear that RBC, Canada’s largest bank, was displacing part of its Information Technology (IT) workforce by using the TFWP.  Financial sector workers pointed out the practice of off-shoring and displacing workers was a common practice among the banks, who used either temporary work permits under the TFWP or another mechanism called the Intra–Company Transfer (ICT) visa option.

The ICT option was designed for employers to secure temporary work permits for senior managers and specialized IT personnel, but the number of temporary work permits being issued to potentially offshore and displace workers increased from over 7000 in 2006 to nearly 14,000 in 2011. Georgetti says, “Nothing in the reforms now announced by the government address this situation.”

He also points out that despite claims by the government that a cost recovery fee would be applied to employers and brokers using the program, the individual fee rate the government has established is less than the costs of processing applications.

“In 2009-10, the cost to process an application was calculated to be $342,” says Georgetti.  “The changes now will only levy a fee of $275 per worker.”

He adds, “Earlier this year, when it was revealed that employers have benefited from a subsidy that amounts to $35.5 million annually, then Minister Jason Kenney promised to put in place measures to cover the costs and provide a financial disincentive for employers to default to using the TFWP. This new measure falls far short of a meaningful disincentive.”

Georgetti says that other reforms, such as increasing the length of time employers must advertise or adding questions to the application forms that will attest to employer’s integrity to not displace workers, will rely on having employers and labour brokers act with integrity. “With less than 14 staff in the TFWP unit dedicated to investigations and over 340,000 temporary work permits issued in 2012 alone, this translates into a case load of more than 24,000 applications for each worker to monitor. In addition, there are just too many cases that have been well documented illustrating that brokers and some employers simply don’t follow the rules that this program operates under. Nothing in the government’s announcement shows a real commitment to cracking down on the abuses that remain with this program.”

The CLC continues to ask for comprehensive reforms.  These include: closing the loophole that allows employers access to migrant labour for unskilled or semi-skilled occupations, which are predominantly low wage jobs; using an objective and transparent methodology to verify labour shortages, so that only when shortages are proven will an employer be allowed to apply for a temporary work permit; establishing hard caps on the number of temporary work permits by occupational sector; requiring detailed plans that are regularly monitored to ensure a transition that utilizes the national workforce; investing seriously in job training, workforce development and apprenticeships; providing migrant workers currently in the country with an accessible pathway to permanent resident status, while returning to a national policy of permanent immigration.

“We want to see real reforms to this program rather than tinkering with temporary migration schemes that continue to exploit all workers,” says Georgetti.

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“Roughly 75% of the new jobs created in Canada in 2010 and 2011 were filled by temporary foreign workers despite the fact that 1.4 million Canadian residents were unemployed,” says Ken CLC President Ken Georgetti. The CLC research used numbers from the Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey and from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The federal government was forced in April to make changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) after clear evidence that employers were using the program to import vulnerable migrant workers at a time of continuing high  unemployment in Canada.

“Employers and the federal government have tried to deny what is happening but we have crunched the numbers and the trends are clear. In most provinces the importation of migrant workers accounts for more than 50% of net new jobs in the years 2008-2011,” Georgetti says. “We believe that employers and Ottawa are using the import of vulnerable migrant workers to promote a low wage strategy in Canada.”

Georgetti provided examples of migrant workers and job creation in Canadian provinces:

• In British Columbia, the influx of temporary foreign workers exceeded the net number of jobs created between 2008 and 2011. B.C. created 52,100 net new jobs in those years, and in 2011 there were nearly 70,000 temporary foreign workers in the province.
• In 2009, Alberta imported 28,547 temporary foreign workers as the provincial  economy shed 28,500 net jobs.
• In Saskatchewan, on average between 2008 and 2011, 65% of net new jobs created were held by temporary foreign workers.
• In Manitoba for 2011, approximately 70% of the net new jobs created were held by temporary foreign workers.
• In Ontario, the economy shed over 164,000 jobs in 2009, but 60,000 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province. In 2011, 56% of net new jobs were held by temporary foreign workers.
• In Quebec, 90% of the net new jobs created in 2011 were held by temporary foreign workers.
• New Brunswick lost 3,400 jobs in 2010 and 4,100 jobs in 2011, but the number of temporary foreign workers arriving in the province increased to 1,819 in that year.
• Nova Scotia created only 300 net new jobs in 2011, but over 2,800 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province.
• Prince Edward Island created 1,400 net new jobs in 2011, and 42% of these jobs were held by temporary foreign workers.
• Newfoundland and Labrador lost over 6,000 jobs in 2009, yet nearly 1,400 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province that year. In 2011, 22% of net new jobs created were held by temporary foreign workers.

Georgetti adds, “Let me be clear. We welcome migrant workers when there are demonstrated shortages of workers in Canada, but we want to ensure that those migrant workers are protected on the job and welcomed into the community. They should be placed into the permanent immigration stream, not exploited in temporary migration schemes.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca  Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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“Roughly 75% of the new jobs created in Canada in 2010 and 2011 were filled by temporary foreign workers despite the fact that 1.4 million Canadian residents were unemployed,” says Ken CLC President Ken Georgetti. The CLC research used numbers from the Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey and from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The federal government was forced in April to make changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) after clear evidence that employers were using the program to import vulnerable migrant workers at a time of continuing high  unemployment in Canada.

“Employers and the federal government have tried to deny what is happening but we have crunched the numbers and the trends are clear. In most provinces the importation of migrant workers accounts for more than 50% of net new jobs in the years 2008-2011,” Georgetti says. “We believe that employers and Ottawa are using the import of vulnerable migrant workers to promote a low wage strategy in Canada.”

Georgetti provided examples of migrant workers and job creation in Canadian provinces:

• In British Columbia, the influx of temporary foreign workers exceeded the net number of jobs created between 2008 and 2011. B.C. created 52,100 net new jobs in those years, and in 2011 there were nearly 70,000 temporary foreign workers in the province.
• In 2009, Alberta imported 28,547 temporary foreign workers as the provincial  economy shed 28,500 net jobs.
• In Saskatchewan, on average between 2008 and 2011, 65% of net new jobs created were held by temporary foreign workers.
• In Manitoba for 2011, approximately 70% of the net new jobs created were held by temporary foreign workers.
• In Ontario, the economy shed over 164,000 jobs in 2009, but 60,000 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province. In 2011, 56% of net new jobs were held by temporary foreign workers.
• In Quebec, 90% of the net new jobs created in 2011 were held by temporary foreign workers.
• New Brunswick lost 3,400 jobs in 2010 and 4,100 jobs in 2011, but the number of temporary foreign workers arriving in the province increased to 1,819 in that year.
• Nova Scotia created only 300 net new jobs in 2011, but over 2,800 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province.
• Prince Edward Island created 1,400 net new jobs in 2011, and 42% of these jobs were held by temporary foreign workers.
• Newfoundland and Labrador lost over 6,000 jobs in 2009, yet nearly 1,400 temporary foreign workers arrived in the province that year. In 2011, 22% of net new jobs created were held by temporary foreign workers.

Georgetti adds, “Let me be clear. We welcome migrant workers when there are demonstrated shortages of workers in Canada, but we want to ensure that those migrant workers are protected on the job and welcomed into the community. They should be placed into the permanent immigration stream, not exploited in temporary migration schemes.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca  Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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Ken Georgetti was responding to an announcement made on April 29. “First with Employment Insurance and now with the TFWP, this government has had to back peddle to fix problems they’ve created because they have failed to listen to the warnings of those with experience and expertise on these issues,” Georgetti says.

Georgetti says, “We met with the government about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2012 and warned them that it was open to abuse. At the time they accused us of fear mongering but now they are making some of the changes that we suggested.”

Georgetti is pleased with the government’s promise to end the practice of paying migrant workers less than other workers. “We see that the government and even the Bank of Canada Governor have realized, as we warned, that this policy was having the effect of driving down wages overall.”

Georgetti also says he is pleased that employers will now have to pay for the cost of processing applications when migrant workers are recruited under the TFWP. Previously, the government absorbed the cost of that fee.

The CLC president warns, however, that monitoring and enforcement will be key to making the announced changes work. “Much of of what the government is now proposing is already on the books but is not being enforced. They promise to make employers shape up but they have said that before without doing it. If we don’t see real and effective monitoring and enforcement, the changes being proposed will not improve upon the existing situation.”

Georgetti adds, “When there are demonstrated shortages of workers, we want to ensure that migrant workers who come to Canada are protected on the job and welcomed into the community. They should be placed into the permanent immigration stream, not exploited in temporary migration schemes.”

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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Georgetti was responding to news that 45 existing RBC employees, who will soon be displaced, are having to train migrant workers from abroad to do their information technology jobs. The temporary workers on visas are employed by a labour broker called iGATE. After being trained most of those workers will leave Canada and perform their work from abroad.

“This is yet another case of employers and labour brokers abusing the federal government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program,” says Georgetti. “This is absolutely flagrant abuse of the program and the federal government should not allow it.”

Georgetti says there are similarities between the RBC case and that of work permits issued to Dehua International allowing the company to import workers under the TFWP for a coal mine in Northern British Columbia. “In both cases, there were enough people in the existing workforce to do the job but the companies in question chose to abuse the TWFP to the detriment of workers.”

There are an estimated 300,000 workers in Canada under the TFWP, triple the number from a decade ago. Legislation introduced along with the 2012 federal budget makes it easier for employers to import workers and to pay them as much as 15 per cent below the average prevailing wage.

“The government always promises to investigate abuses and to crack down on unscrupulous employers but we have no confidence in that promise,” Georgetti says.

The CLC is calling for the establishment of a National Migrant Worker Commission with authentic regulatory and enforcement powers to protect migrant workers rights and ensure that our national labour force is fully utilized. Georgetti adds, “It is long overdue for Ottawa to ensure that employer’s claims of labour and skill shortages are genuine and that migrant workers and all newcomers can access a clear and transparent path to citizenship.”

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“The Conservative government is allowing employers to abuse the TFWP to the detriment of both migrant and Canadian workers,” says Ken Georgetti, CLC president. “The Auditor General reviewed the program in 2009 and requested a thorough evaluation of it. The government promised to do that with results to be released in 2010-11 but that has not happened. We want to see all the documentation about what government departments have done to comply with the Auditor General’s recommendations.”

The TFWP was originally designed to import temporary workers in those cases where real and proven labour shortages existed. But the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada has risen from 101,000 in 2002 to 338,000 in 2012. Between 2007 and 2011, 30% of all net new jobs went to migrant workers. The Conservative government made it far easier to import workers by reducing the employers’ advertising requirement from six weeks to 14 days. In the federal budget of 2012, the government made it possible for employers to pay migrant workers up to 15% less than prevailing wage rates.

“The government is using the TFWP for purposes it was never intended to serve,” says Georgetti. “Changes made to the program since 2007 have actually opened it up to further abuse. We want to see the paper trail and that is why we will file an Access to Information request.”

The Immigration department created a website that promised to provide the names of employers who have failed to provide the promised jobs, wages and working conditions as set out in their job offers to workers under the TFWP. There are no employers listed on that website even though many cases of employers abusing the program have been raised by unions and the media: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/list.asp#ftn01

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca  Follow us on Twitter @CanadianLabour

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