By Evan Johnston On June 5, the Ontario government introduced Bill 124, the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019. Peter Bethlenfalvy, current Treasury Board President and former Wall Street executive, claims that the bill “allow[s] for reasonable wage increases, while protecting the province’s front-line services, restoring the province’s financial position and Continue readingFour things you should know about Bill 124
Ontario
Read Part 1 of this look into the conditions of long term care in Ontario here. By Zaid Noorsumar On Jan. 23, 2007, 73-year-old Betty Moseley-Williams testified to the legislative standing committee about Bill 140, the Long-term Care Homes Act. Moseley-Williams, who had worked as a nurse for 50 years, harkened back to a conversation Continue readingIs it Time to Care Yet?
By Ritch Whyman Picket lines went up across cities, towns and worksites in Ontario this week as 12,000 members of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters walked out on strike. This is the first major strike under the Ford government and could have serious effect on several major industrial and infrastructure projects in Ontario. Continue readingPlumbers and Steamfitters Strike Against Concessions
By Zaid Noorsumar Punched. Groped. Kicked. Violence in long-term care homes has to stop. Staff and residents are caught in a vicious cycle of violence in Ontario’s nursing homes. Caregivers who are punched, kicked, and spat on as they tend to residents. Caregivers who are scratched and bitten. Accustomed to bruises and burns. Groped and Continue readingBreaking Point: Violence in Long Term Care
By Greg Albo, Bryan Evans and Carlo Fanelli The eminent conservative scholar of public budgeting Aaron Wildavsky characterized annual budgets as a record of “victories, defeats, bargains, and compromises.” The province of Ontario’s 2019 Budget, the first of the new Conservative government of Doug Ford, does indeed tell us something of this – additional fiscal supports for Continue readingAnother Round of Punishing Austerity in Ontario
By Haseena Manek “Our thing is that, as front line work is being cut, overall it affects the people of Ontario being served. I mean, what are they to do? If they’re being discriminated [against] in a human rights matter, what do they do? It’s not just impacting our front line people, it’s impacting the Continue readingHuman rights support centre workers fight back against provincial cuts
By Kevin Taghabon “General Motors is not the solution. General Motors is the problem,” loud applause followed autoworker Tony Leah’s declaration at the front of the room at IBEW Hall. His speech was part of an event, Nationalize General Motors: Oshawa’s Green New Deal. The evening served as the first organizing meeting for a grassroots Continue readingNationalize GM
By Jesse McLaren Just a few weeks after thousands of teachers, students and others rallied against Ford’s cuts to education, the Ontario Health Coalition is hosting another mass rally at Queen’s Park on April 30—this time against Ford’s attacks on healthcare. Ford was elected on a mandate to support the people, listen to health providers Continue readingDecent work and the fight to protect healthcare
By Zaid Noorsumar In an opinion piece by members of the transit advocacy group TTCriders written in January, the authors warned that the Eglinton East LRT could be a casualty of Doug Ford’s transit plan. Shelagh Pizey-Allen and Suhail Barot wrote that in partnering with developers to build transit – as this government plans to Continue readingFord’s transit delays: Riders organizing against takeover
Tiffany Balducci President, Durham Region Labour Council It started off like many of our recent protests and pickets have: local groups of unions, parents of autistic children, students, community members, everyday people coming together to voice our concerns and opposition to the Ford agenda and government cuts. We found out Finance Minister Vic Fedeli would Continue reading“Keep going”: Tory MPP tries to drive through pickets
By Zaid Noorsumar Employees at the Rainforest Café in Niagara Falls began striking on Sunday after voting overwhelmingly to reject the employer’s latest offer. The 95 staff members, including servers, bartenders and hostesses, are represented by Workers United Local 2347. The workers are looking for their first collective agreement after forming a union in April Continue readingRainforest Café workers striking for first contract
By David Bush The political ground in Ontario is shifting. On April 4, 150,000 high school students from 700 schools across the province walked out of class in protest of the Tory government’s proposed cuts to education. Just two days later, over 30,000 teachers, education workers, and allies rallied at Queen’s Park against the cuts. Continue readingHow is labour going to fight Ford?