By Denise Leduc, Rankandfile.ca writer Just as Canada was signing the Paris Climate Treaty this spring, the LEAP Manifesto was continuing to generate discussion about renewable energy and a new national economic strategy based on shifting away from the fossil fuel and extractive industries. The NDP convention this year amplified the relevance of LEAP even Continue readingThe Future of Iron and Earth in Saskatchewan
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By David Bush and Gerard Di Trolio In the wake of Britain’s shocking vote to leave the European Union, a recent polls shows that only 1 in 4 Canadians believe that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is good for the country. This poll was timed to coincide with the “Three Amigos” summit in Continue readingLet’s hate NAFTA like we used to
by Doug Nesbitt and Dan Darrah With another lockout or strike looming at Canada Post, management is once again relying on huge amounts of public misinformation to turn the people against the postal workers, and sap confidence in our public postal service. Here are seven big myths about Canada Post that you’ll find repeated in Continue readingSeven myths about Canada Post
By Drew Garvie On Wednesday, June 16, Chrystia Freeland, the Liberal Minister of International Trade visited her own riding of University-Rosedale in downtown Toronto in order to “listen” to the public as part of her promised consultation tour on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The message Freeland heard at the meeting was a clear and resounding Continue readingChrystia Freeland confronts anger over TPP in her own riding
By a GM Oshawa assembly line worker On Friday, June 10th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a celebratory visit to Oshawa, Ontario for the announcement of 1,000 new Canadian engineering jobs– an announcement that drew both praise and ire from the production workers of General Motors’ car and feeder plants, who find themselves in a Continue readingGM holds Oshawa hostage after bailout & concessions
By Dan Darrah The internship, especially with the rise of the so-called “knowledge economy” since the 1980s, has become an unavoidable part of the college- and university-age experience for many young Canadians. For good reason, too: internships offer students practical on-the-job experience in many of the fields they will one day work in. They offer Continue readingReform Unpaid Internships Now!
By James Wilt 30 years ago this month 1,080 meatpacking workers at Edmonton’s Gainers meatpacking plant went on strike. Peter Pocklington, the infamous owner of the plant who pleaded guilty to perjury in 2010, had attempted to use the economic downturn and alleged price manipulation by the hog marketing board as an excuse to slash Continue readingRemembering the Gainers strike
By Orlando Buonastella and Kathrin Furniss, Injured Workers Consultants. Injured workers and supporters will rally at Queen’s Park on June 1, Injured Workers’ Day, to challenge the most recent scandal involving the workers’ compensation board. Recently, the mainstream media discovered something injured workers had been warning about all along. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Continue readingWSIB’s Reforms: Smoke, mirrors and broken workers
By Alia Karim On October 1 Ontario’s minimum wage will increase to $11.40 an hour, a mere 15 cents increase from the current wage. As Trish Hennessy astutely pointed out we’ll have to wait until 2040 for Ontarians to finally achieve a $15 minimum wage. This raise, if we can even call it that, is Continue reading$15 and Fairness on a finite planet
By Robert Devet Rankandfile.ca’s Atlantic correspondent Something very much out of the ordinary is happening in Newfoundland and Labrador. People are so angry about the recent provincial austerity budget that even long-time activists say they have never seen the likes of it. The newly elected Liberal government, facing huge drops in oil revenues, cut public Continue readingNewfoundland is Rising Against Austerity
by Daniel Tseghay Rankandfile.ca’s BC correspondent Last week, British Columbia’s Liberal government announced it would raise the minimum wage in two stages. From the current minimum wage of $10.45 – the lowest in Canada – the government will increase it to $10.85 in September of 2016, and then to $11.25 the following September. This increase Continue readingBC’s piece rate farm workers left out of minimum wage increases
By Evan Johnston If you’ve never heard of bossnapping, it’s exactly how it sounds: workers kidnapping or detaining their bosses with the aim of pressuring them to concede to their demands. But who, exactly, are the targets of bossnapping, and what does it look like? It varies depending on the context, but the “bosses” being kidnapped range Continue readingThe wonderful world of bossnapping