On November 10, newly-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in Ottawa with the leadership council of the Canadian Labour Congress, the federation of trade unions in English-speaking Canada. Amazingly, this was the first meeting of a Canadian prime minister with a national labour body since 1958. The event was very cordial, according to a report published in the Globe and Mail. The CLC group numbered some 120 delegates.
So there we have it. Harper is gone. The Liberals surged from third place to win in this marathon election. The NDP, which was leading in the polls in August, slowly lost steam after they promised to prioritize balancing the budget and refusing to tax the rich. Ever the opportunists, the Liberals seized on this opening and ran a campaign that rode of a wave popular discontent with the Harper government, drilled home the message that they would tax the rich and spend money on infrastructure to pull the economy out of recession.
Lars Henriksson is a Swedish auto worker, unionist activist, and author of the 2011 book Slutkört.
At the COP 19, the even-more-depressing-than-usual climate summit that took place in Warsaw in 2013, one small ray of light made it through the dark corporate clouds that were otherwise suffocating even the slightest effort to address the ongoing environmental disaster.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Longshore workers and marine clerks who have moved cargo at the Ports of Oakland and San Francisco since 1934 have rejected a developer’s plan to export coal through former Oakland Army Base. International Longshore and Warehouse Union elected officials say coal is an undesirable, low-value cargo and a broken promise on the part of the developer, and longshore workers are standing by community members who do not want the worry and risks of nine million tons of coal passing through their neighborhoods on trains each year.
The G7 nations have committed to eliminating the use of fossil fuels by 2100.
What Canada’s premiers said in July is wrong — there are simple answers to developing a national energy strategy — but what’s difficult is making tough decisions.
While the need for a Canadian energy strategy should be a key federal election issue for all political parties, it’s not just a national version that’s required.
July 4, 2015 - Newly established WORKERS 4 THE PLANET (W4P) believes workers and our organizations—especially unions—must play a major role in stopping climate change, fighting for climate justice, and creating the necessary transition to a post-fossil-fuel economy.
A group of B.C. environmentalists is about to have its day in court in a high-profile case against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Beginning in Vancouver on August 12, the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), an oversight body, will begin hearing a February 2014 complaint that alleges CSIS illegally spied on activists and First Nations people.
The B.C. Liberal government’s claim that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will create 100,000 jobs is a vastly exaggerated forecast, says a report by a think tank that has touched off a controversy about how much of an employment boon the sector will actually create.
“We find that this claim is not credible and that potential employment impacts have been grossly overstated,” said the study by the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
