Striking Back for Striking Workers: Hundreds of CUPE Ontario Members to Rally Thursday for Fellow Workers
TORONTO — CUPE Ontario members and allies from across the province will march to the Ministry of Labour tomorrow to offer their support and solidarity to fellow members from three separate CUPE locals that are currently on strike.
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Marit Stiles, leader of the Ontario New Democrats, and Laura Walton, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, will also attend the rally to demand a fair deal for the workers.
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The striking workers are all employees of vastly different employers, but all find themselves facing similar battles with hostile, short-sighted, and ill-intentioned employers who have forced workers into strike action by refusing to bargain meaningfully with their union.
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CUPE 2073: More than 200 members at Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) have been on strike since April 28, fighting back against low wages that impact the quality and depth of services that Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians receive. Meanwhile, the salary of CHS president and CEO Julia Dumanian topped $340,000 last year.
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CUPE 1750: In the first-ever strike in their local's history, some 3600 workers at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) are demanding their employer take steps to reduce the dangerously high workloads that are driving up rates of depression and anxiety among them. WSIB has given rebates of $4 billion to employers this year but won't invest any of the remaining billions of dollars of surplus to improve working conditions for staff.
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CUPE 5525: A local of 25 personal care assistants at Villa Colombo Homes for the Aged are the most recent to take strike action. This small but dedicated group of twenty-five workers has been fighting for a first collective agreement since 2022. Rather than bargain a fair deal, Villa Colombo has put continuity of care for elderly residents at risk by paying scab labour more than it pays its existing staff.
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- CBC
I learned to confront difficult truths about life by photographing Dad's last days and hunting
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CBC
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Vancouver's set to co-host World Cup next year. Who stands to benefit?
World Cup soccer is just a year away from descending on Vancouver. And while some are thrilled about international football stars coming to their backyard, others are concerned about the potential negative effects of hosting one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world. "There's a concern that the city is really not seeing this as an opportunity to bring the community in ... but an opportunity to shut the community out in order to invite particular kinds of visitors to the expectations of FIFA," Meg Holden, an urbanist at Simon Fraser University, told The Current guest host Catherine Cullen. Holden's concern stems from a 98-page document detailing the stipulations of Vancouver's deal with FIFA to host part of the 2026 World Cup, which was made public on July 15 thanks to a three-year legal battle from independent journalist Bob Mackin. Vancouver and Toronto will both represent Canada as co-host cities during the tournament, jointly hosted in 2026 by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. But even though just seven games will be played at BC Place in Vancouver, some people have big concerns about its impact on the community, and who will actually see the profits. Branding, traffic, 'beautification' rules applied According to the document, Vancouver will have to enforce what's called a controlled area on a match day, as well as the day before a match day, within two kilometres of BC Place. That means the city will be required to cover up or remove "any advertisement and commercial identification located within the controlled area," though what that will look like is unclear. The document also says that public sales of food, beverages, fan items, souvenirs or similar products in the controlled area "must be in accordance with the restrictions defined, and further instructions provided by FIFA." In an emailed statement to the CBC, the Vancouver Host Committee said the controlled area "is in place specifically for the purpose of preventing unauthorized marketing to ensure protection of the FIFA Intellectual Property (IP), also known as their brand." It said that it will not require businesses in the area to close. City beautification, which involves making the city "as attractive as possible," is also mandatory within that same radius, along with traffic restrictions. Holden says this is especially alarming, as that includes Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, which has struggled with crime and homelessness, and could make life difficult for the most vulnerable. "Air quality inside can be terrible. Air quality outside could be terrible if we have a bad forest fire season. What are the plans to make life tolerable for people?" said Holden. 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According to Vancouver's 98-page contract, FIFA will keep the revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships. "So they have money and they could spread it around, but they tend to be quite miserly with it and look out for their own interests, not the city in which they're visiting," said Boykoff. City accountability Meg Holden says the City of Vancouver already took a big misstep when it originally promised a field at Memorial South Park as training grounds for the Canadian men's national team, switched to the existing National Soccer Development Centre at UBC following public outcry. The host committee says it's working with major businesses within the area to minimize disruptions, and will be ramping up that outreach to include local businesses, stakeholders and residents over the next year. Holden says the city could benefit from doing something similar to what it did ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. It hosted a plebiscite about the Winter Games, giving people a chance to voice their concerns and hopes for the big-time event.
CBC
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The Eastern Energy Partnership: Atlantic Canada's big pitch for Carney's nation-building list
Social Sharing On a gravel road by the side of the Trans-Canada Highway, New Brunswick's natural resources minister, John Herron, gazes down a long clearing cut through the forest. He sees poetry — national poetry, that is. Herron hopes one of New Brunswick's proposed "projects of national interest" will connect to an existing natural gas pipeline running under that clearing. "This is a nation-building project that checks every box," Herron says. The plan is to extend a gas line that now ends in Quebec City into New Brunswick to link with the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline beneath the minister's feet. The line carries Alberta gas routed through the United States, or gas extracted in the U.S., into Atlantic Canada. But the Quebec extension would bypass American territory completely, creating an all-Canada route. "The poetry kind of goes like this: You have Western Canada gas going into Ontario, through the province of Quebec, [by] adding additional pipe from Quebec City into Atlantic Canada," the minister says. "That additional pipe, aspirationally speaking, would be made of Ontario steel.… This is a made-in-Canada solution. This is energy sovereignty." The proposal is on New Brunswick's list of projects submitted to Mark Carney's government for expedited regulatory approval under Bill C-5, which was adopted into law in June. Carney underscored his own build-Canada agenda again on Friday, after the deadline passed for a trade agreement with the U.S. and U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on many Canadian exports. "Canadians will be our own best customer," Carney said in a statement. The Eastern Energy Partnership The prime minister's call for proposals has stirred interest from provincial governments across the country, not least in Atlantic Canada, where premiers see a new opportunity to boost their economies and meet a growing demand for electricity. Many of their proposals fall under the label of the Eastern Energy Partnership, which envisions the four Atlantic provinces generating more electricity and transmitting it to each other, to Quebec and to other buyers. They range from upgrading the subsea cable between Prince Edward Island and the New Brunswick mainland — likely one of the quicker, simpler projects — to a Nova Scotia proposal to build enough offshore wind turbines to generate a quarter of Canada's electricity needs. Winning the "project of national interest" designation gets proponents a faster regulatory review process but doesn't guarantee federal funding. It's also not a sure thing that Ottawa will approve the Eastern Energy Partnership projects as a whole. "I don't want the perfect to be the enemy of the good," says Nova Scotia Liberal MP Sean Fraser, the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. "I think we have an opportunity — and in fact an obligation — to move as quickly as possible on the components of the partnership that are ready," he says. Many of the projects face obstacles. Bill C-5 has provoked a skeptical reaction from some First Nations leaders concerned that accelerated reviews will compromise their right to be consulted. In New Brunswick, however, some chiefs are open to making deals. Pabineau First Nation Chief Terry Richardson supports the New Brunswick government's proposals, which include an expansion of nuclear power generation in the province. "I'm OK with it, because we need a solution. We need a baseline source of energy and right now we don't have any," says Richardson. "I mean, renewables are great, but what do you do when the wind don't blow, the sun don't shine, and the water don't flow?" Assembly of First Nations regional chief Joanna Bernard says many bands are keeping an open mind but will insist on equity stakes in projects. "Back in the day, it was 'Here's some scholarships,' or 'Here's capacity building so maybe your people can work on the pipeline.' Those days are gone," Bernard said. "We're going to own part of the company. We're going to be there on the ground, making sure environmental issues are of the highest priority. And the profits will go to the First Nations." Wind and nuclear power Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston's Wind West plan to develop thousands of offshore turbines and export the electricity to other provinces could be a boon for national efforts to decarbonize its power sources, if it came to fruition at that scale. Scott Urquhart, the Cape Breton-born CEO of a Copenhagen-based wind energy company, says the project is doable, with the wind off Nova Scotia being "pretty much best in the world." WATCH | How challenging is Nova Scotia's offshore wind project? What it will take to get Nova Scotia's offshore wind project off the ground 2 months ago Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has plans to license enough offshore wind farms to produce 40 gigawatts of electricity — which could supply 27 per cent of Canada's total electricity demand. But what will it take to get there? The CBC's Tom Murphy spoke with Thomas Arnason McNeil of the Ecology Action Centre. But it may take a decade or more to get turbines turning, and at a considerably higher cost than the $5 to 10 billion the premier is forecasting, according to Halifax energy consultant Heidi Leslie. "The estimate is really low," she says. Wind power prices in a recent U.S. bidding process were far higher than what Ontario customers are now charged on their residential power bills, Leslie says. At that rate, "you're losing money on every kilowatt" from Wind West, she says. "And the further away it is from the place that's using it, the more expensive it is, because you need to build the transmission to get it there." New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are doubling their transmission links, but "that will certainly not be enough to handle what is required," says Larry Hughes, an energy expert at Dalhousie University in Halifax. New Brunswick's ambition to expand nuclear generation is also provoking questions. The province's existing nuclear power plant, Point Lepreau, has been plagued with costly problems since it began operating in 1983. It is responsible for a large part of the provincial power utility's $5-billion debt. More nuclear power — whether that is a second large reactor at Point Lepreau or small modular reactors — will only add to the financial burden, says David Coon, leader of New Brunswick's Green Party. "It's insane," Coon says. "We all get nuclear power bills of a size that no one is happy with because of the extremely expensive cost of owning a nuclear power plant." Affordability top of mind New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says she gets it. Holt won a big majority last year after campaigning on affordability issues, and she's already faced blowback from residents about their power bills. She hopes neighbouring provinces will share the expense of more nuclear generation in exchange for some of the electricity that will be produced. "When I'm trying to deliver affordability for New Brunswickers, I'm looking at who's shouldering the burden with us," she says. "How do we reduce the cost to New Brunswick ratepayers while still pursuing our objectives of clean power and reliable power?" In addition to nuclear power, New Brunswick's electricity is generated by a combination of fossil fuels, hydro, and to a lesser extent, wind and biomass. Without its emissions-free nuclear reactor, the province would need to burn four times as much coal, making it even harder to lower emissions, says Brad Coady, its vice-president of business development. Meanwhile, the province's largest hydro dam, Mactaquac, needs a major upgrade that could cost up to $9 billion. Lori Clark, the CEO of N.B. Power, says there's an onus on the federal government to help defray the costs of decarbonizing the power supply, rather than passing costs on to customers. "I do really believe that the federal government has a role to play in this as well. They've set the deadlines for net zero," Clark says. Herron is also looking for federal support, invoking the possibility of a government ownership stake in the natural gas line extension. "I think there's an opportunity to de-risk the project if the project is initially state-owned and First Nation-owned," he says. That would speed up permitting "and it de-risks that investment for the private sector at a future date." Fraser would not commit to that — but he didn't close the door either, citing the precedent of the federal government's 2018 takeover of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in British Columbia. "More often, the right outcome will be that we create the environment that will incentivize investment, that will allow private companies to set up to succeed and to employ people in the region," he adds. "But we don't want to write off the possibility that certain kinds of investments may be required for particular projects to make them viable if we believe the long-term interests of Canadians will be served."
