Latest news with #Bill124
Global News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Guelph, Ont. council formally condemns resolution letter on Bills 5 and 17
A Guelph, Ont., city councillor's criticism of the Ford government's controversial Bill 5 will be heard at Queen's Park. On Tuesday, city staff unanimously approved Ward 5 Coun. Leanne Caron's resolution of bills 5 and 17. The letter formally condemns the Bills. However, Caron said she's not confident it'll land in the hands of Ontario Premier Doug Ford. 'Bill 23 and Bill 124 did not get more housing built and those were bills in the last term of this government that were promised more housing. So, I just don't believe that this government is listening, and this letter will fall on deaf ears,' Caron said. Bill 5 received royal assent on June 5, and it includes legislation that gives the Ontario government the power to designate some areas as special economic zones to speed up economic development projects. Story continues below advertisement Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, was passed in May and focuses on the province's goal of building more homes, infrastructure and businesses. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Caron said the bill doesn't build economic growth, as it overlooks provincial laws and ignores environmental protections. Critics argue Bill 5 takes away rights from Indigenous groups. Caron said the federal government has a role to play, including Dominique O'Rourke, a former councillor and current MP for Guelph. 'As a former city councillor, she (O'Rourke) was a champion for some of these protections and local land-use planning regulations that we've put in place to build great cities,' Caron said. Global News attempted to contact O'Rourke, but she was unavailable to provide comment by the time of publication. Mike Schreiner, MPP for Guelph and leader of the Green Party of Ontario, said he's happy to see council pass the resolution against the bill. He refers to Bill 5 as a 'power grab' by Ford. 'He's essentially given himself and his hand-picked cabinet ministers the power to select hand-picked companies or projects who can operate in special economic zones and have laws applied or not applied to them,' Schreiner said. Caron also believes Schreiner's voice is being heard in Ottawa. Story continues below advertisement Schreiner said multiple groups of people are expressing their concerns over the bill, including Indigenous organizations, environmental and labour groups, and farmers, and he said it's going to take that kind of citizen mobilization to put pressure on Ford to repeal Bill 5. 'People are mobilizing to oppose Bill 5 in the same way they mobilized to force the premier to backtrack on his plans to open the Greenbelt for development,' he said. Moving forward, Caron said the city will take a wait-and-see approach and continue to focus on issues surrounding affordability and housing. 'There's still a lot that this city needs to do to move forward on our city-building agenda and we're going to need the province to be partners on that,' she said.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Strike at WSIB Stretches as Employer Dawdles
TORONTO, June 03, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the strike at the WSIB approaches its second week, the WSIB management is dragging its heels on issuing a pass. The OCEU/CUPE 1750 bargaining team issued a complete pass back to the employer on June 1, but have yet to receive a fulsome response. "It's like they aren't taking the strike seriously," said Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750. "Our members are out on the picket lines because they are overworked and feel disrespected by the employer, and these delay tactics are just a manifestation of that disrespect." "The employer made the union wait four days for a pass last week," added Nicole Francis, OCEU/CUPE 1750's chief steward. "Their lack of meaningful engagement in this process is deeply frustrating." The union is hoping to get a meaningful solution to the workload problem that is causing elevated rates of burnout and mental health leaves among OCEU/CUPE 1750 members, as well as a deal that will allow the members to catch up to the spending power they had before Bill 124 froze their wages. "We have been told the Treasury Board is telling the employer not to offer us a fair wage deal," said Goslin. "Seeing as the WSIB isn't taxpayer-funded, we're not sure why the Treasury Board is involved at all." phw/cope491 View source version on Contacts Bill ChalupiakCUPE Communications Representativewchalupiak@ 416-707-1401 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Strike at WSIB Stretches as Employer Dawdles
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the strike at the WSIB approaches its second week, the WSIB management is dragging its heels on issuing a pass. The OCEU/CUPE 1750 bargaining team issued a complete pass back to the employer on June 1, but have yet to receive a fulsome response. 'It's like they aren't taking the strike seriously,' said Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750. 'Our members are out on the picket lines because they are overworked and feel disrespected by the employer, and these delay tactics are just a manifestation of that disrespect.' 'The employer made the union wait four days for a pass last week,' added Nicole Francis, OCEU/CUPE 1750's chief steward. 'Their lack of meaningful engagement in this process is deeply frustrating.' The union is hoping to get a meaningful solution to the workload problem that is causing elevated rates of burnout and mental health leaves among OCEU/CUPE 1750 members, as well as a deal that will allow the members to catch up to the spending power they had before Bill 124 froze their wages. 'We have been told the Treasury Board is telling the employer not to offer us a fair wage deal,' said Goslin. 'Seeing as the WSIB isn't taxpayer-funded, we're not sure why the Treasury Board is involved at all.' phw/cope491
Business Wire
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Months Of Organizing Pays Off as CUPE 2189 Members at YWCA Toronto Ratify Landmark New Deal
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Over the course of months, a small cadre of dedicated labour activists turned a large but largely untested group of workers at the YWCA Toronto into a union prepared to fight for fair pay. It took hundreds of in-depth and often emotional conversations, union education, and strike training. The result was weekly informational pickets at rotating locations, record setting membership participation, and the ultimate prize: a new contract that workers are proud of. Last week, members of CUPE 2189 voted to ratify their new collective agreement. These roughly 250 members work at the YWCA Toronto as child care workers, housing support staff, settlement workers, violence against women counsellors and in other critical roles supporting the most vulnerable women and gender diverse people in the city. They entered this round of bargaining in desperate need for a fair raise in the shadow of Bill 124 but YWCA Toronto's first offer would have done little to help workers catch up. 'Workers are going to food banks, missing rent payments, struggling just to get by. This was a make-or-break negotiation for us and I am so incredibly proud of the effort and care our members put into organizing and mobilizing for what is fair,' said Amanda Kinna, a business administrator with the YWCA Toronto and president of CUPE 2189. 'Nearly every person who works at the YWCA Toronto has a second or third job. We have families. We have the daily stress of trying to survive at the poverty line in this city. Despite that, we showed what is possible when workers build their power.' The contract includes a flat rate raise amounting to an average increase of 11 per cent over three years, money which will go a long way to helping the 70 percent of CUPE 2189 members who struggle to pay their monthly bills. The deal also ends the practice of double on-call at the Woodlawn location, provides an additional day of union work for the president so they can continue to strengthen the local, and includes a one-time signing bonus on top of the annual grid increases. 'The effort that went into getting these workers educated, informed, and prepared to fight is a much-needed reminder that all workers can fight for what they deserve. Regardless of the size of the local, when workers organize and fight together, we win together,' said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario. 'Frontline community workers are among the lowest paid in the province and this win is going to serve as a north star, motivating other workers to fight for fair wages while giving negotiators support to ask for more at the table.' Widespread community support was key to this securing this deal, with hundreds of community members attending rallies and over one thousand community members sending messages to the YWCA Toronto Board of Directors. 'We are a group of mostly women supporting some of the most marginalized women and gender diverse people in the city. We've felt ignored for so long. To suddenly be seen, embraced, and supported by the community was deeply meaningful,' said Kinna. 'We're proud to work at the YWCA Toronto. We're going to keep doing our jobs, keep supporting the people who need us, and keep building our power.' od/COPE491
Cision Canada
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Cision Canada
/R E P E A T -- OPSEU/SEFPO and CUPE Ontario workers picket Conservative MPP offices demanding a 'piece of the pie' in Ontario's budget/
TORONTO, May 21, 2025 /CNW/ - As Members of Provincial Parliament return home for constituency week, Conservative MPPs are being met by daily protests and pickets. Frustrated by years of underfunding that was exacerbated by Doug Ford's wage supressing Bill 124, a coalition of OPSEU/SEFPO and CUPE workers are demanding a piece of the provincial pie in the form of more funding to provide a critical lifeline for the frontline community services they provide and justice for stolen wages. Together, OPSEU/SEFPO and CUPE represent over 50,000 workers who serve their communities every day as developmental service workers, child protection workers, mental health and addictions workers, and in myriad other critical roles. While they have watched workers across other public sectors receive backpay from the provincial government since Bill 124 was struck down, they have been ignored and their services have been slashed. Since Ford was first elected in 2018, per capita spending for children, community and social services and postsecondary education has shrunk each year. The Financial Accountability Office estimates that the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services programs were underfunded by $3.7 billion in 2024. This underfunding has devastating real world impacts, translating to more than 50,000 adults waiting for developmental services, more than 70,000 children with autism waiting for core therapy, and hundreds of children in the care of child protection agencies left sleeping in motels, hotels, and offices for want of proper facilities. It also means that community support workers remain among the lowest paid workers in the public service as rates of burnout skyrocket. Highly organized and motivated, workers are now demanding redress directly from the funder of the agencies they work at – the provincial government. That is the message being delivered at pickets across Ontario this week and at the bargaining table as more than 70 OPSEU/SEFO and CUPE locals are negotiating new collective agreements with identical demands. OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn will be on-site at the picket outside Minister of Community, Children and Social Services Michael Parsa's constituency office on May 23 from 12 pm – 1 pm. Media spokespersons will be available at all picket locations. Pickets will take place at the following locations: Wednesday, May 21 BELLEVILLE Date: May 21, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Tyler Allsopp's office – Unit 8, 5503 Hwy 62 S., Belleville BRACEBRIDGE Date: May 21, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Graydon Smith's office – 230 Manitoba St., Bracebridge LINDSAY Date: May 21, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Laurie Scott's office – 14 Lindsay St. N, Lindsay NORTH BAY Date: May 20-23, 2025 (daily) Time: 9am - 2pm (CUPE 2073 picket line) Location: MPP Victor Fedeli's office – 219 Main Street East, North Bay OWEN SOUND Date: May 21, 2025 Time: 5pm – 6pm Location: MPP Paul Vicker's office – 345 8 th St. E., Owen Sound PETERBOROUGH Date: May 21, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Dave Smith's office – Unit E, 864 Chemong Rd., Peterborough ST. THOMAS Date: May 21, 2025 Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm Location: MPP Rob Flack's office – Suite 201, 750 Talbot St., St. Thomas Thursday, May 22 NORTH BAY Date: May 20-23, 2025 (daily) Time: 9am - 2pm (CUPE 2073 picket line) Location: MPP Victor Fedeli's office – 219 Main Street East, North Bay OAKVILLE Date: May 22, 2025 Time: 3pm-5pm Location: MPP Stephen Crawford's office – 53 Bond St., Oakville Friday, May 23 FERGUS Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Joseph Racinsky's office – 181 St. Andrew St. E, Fergus HAMILTON Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Donna Skelly's office – 2000 Garth St., Hamilton KENORA Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 11am – 2pm Location: MPP Greg Rickford's office – 610 Lakeview Dr Suite B., Kenora KINGSTON Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 9am - 2pm (CUPE 2073 picket line) Location: Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services – 11 Beechgrove Ln, Kingston NORTH BAY Date: May 20-23, 2025 (daily) Time: 9am - 2pm (CUPE 2073 picket line) Location: MPP Victor Fedeli's office – 219 Main Street East, North Bay OTTAWA Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 12 – 1:15 pm Location: MPP Lucille Collard's office, 237 Montreal Rd., Ottawa RICHMOND HILL Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Michael Parsa's office – Suite 201, 13085 Yonge St., Richmond Hill SARNIA Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: MPP Robert Bailey's office – Suite 102, 805 Christina St. N., Point Edward TORONTO (North) Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 4pm – 5pm Location: MPP Michelle Cooper's office – 2882 Dufferin St., Toronto THUNDER BAY Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 11:30am – 1pm Location: MPP Kevin Holland's office – 774 James St. N, Thunder Bay WALLACEBURG Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 10am-11am & 4pm-5pm Location: MPP Steve Pinsonneault's office – 81 Front St. W., Strathroy WOODSTOCK Date: May 23, 2025 Time: 12:30 – 1:30 pm Location: MPP Ernie Hardeman's office, 12 Perry St., Woodstock SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
