The Workers' Centre of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) salutes the workers from coast to coast to coast who are making their mark against an increasingly reactionary ruling class which is using its positions of power and privilege to escalate its anti-social offensive and nation-wrecking. Governments at both the federal and provincial levels are going to great lengths to present unacceptable nation-wrecking projects as "nation-building" to justify implementing policies which harm the natural and social environments. It is the struggles of the workers across the country to lay the claims on society which they must and uphold the dignity of labour which are crucial to hold governments to account.

The demands of the working people across the country contribute to humanizing the natural and social environments. The program to Stop Paying the Rich; Increase Funding for Social Programs! together with the demands to uphold the hereditary and treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples, Métis and Inuit; oppose the militarization of life and war preparations and for Canada to stop supporting U.S./Zionist genocide in Palestine; and the so-called international rules-based system of the U.S. which promotes murderous regime changing programs on all continents, are decisive to opening society's path to progress.

Behind the self-serving talk of the Carney government and the machinations of provincial governments lurk anti-people, anti-worker, racist and divisive anti-national positions. This includes blaming workers, young people, and all those fighting for their rights for endangering national security, wrecking supply chains, and threatening national prosperity and security. The Carney government's support for U.S./Zionist genocide in Palestine and neo-Nazi rule not only in Ukraine but encouraging the same in other European countries will find no acceptance no matter how much the government uses its positions of power and privilege to fund these regimes. Corruption within government circles increases as those with positions of privilege and power pay the rich in the name of security, human rights, democracy, greening the economy and other high ideals. The deeds of governments at all levels and the cartel parties in power reveal the need to renew the political processes, including for elections, which permit party governments to come to power and use their police powers with impunity. The recent passage and content of Bill C-5 is but one example.

In the past year, broad opposition is increasing to the claims of the rich and the cartel parties which serve them in the Parliament that they have a mandate from the people. People are fed up with their marginalization and the disinformation campaigns which lower the level of political discourse to personal attacks, lies, slanders and defamation. People reject the response of the ruling class to the growing impoverishment of the working class – which is to make workers disposable, to be thrown on the streets. Increasingly it is evident that it is the rich who are unfit to rule, and it is the workers who could do a much better job and do so when they can take control of the decisions which affect their lives.

The fights the workers are waging coast to coast to coast are evidence that attempts to silence the voice of the people will not succeed. The democracy of the rich is sinking into ever greater disrepute, disgrace, and corruption. It provides no solutions while integrating Canada into the U.S. war machine which also means dragging the youth into the U.S. imperialist wars.

Carney's use of prerogative powers to rule by decree is already integrating the economy of Canada into the U.S. war economy providing unimpeded access to the U.S. oligopolies. In the name of nation-building, the Carney government's modus operandi of passing omnibus legislation without permitting MPs and Canadians the time and possibility to properly assess, let alone have a say, in the ramifications of what is being enacted, is typical of previous nation-wrecking governments but on a more destructive scale. Carney's restructuring is not a break from that of the previous Trudeau and Harper governments. On the contrary, he seeks to consolidate more police powers in the executive while expanding on handing over Canada's natural and social assets to foreign, mainly U.S. oligopolies whose motive is profit and greater control to benefit their narrow interests. This is the aim of the Carney government no matter what fraudulent claims are made.

As the new session of Parliament gets underway on September 15, CPC(M-L) calls on working people and youth to vigorously oppose Carney's omnibus Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act which tramples underfoot the rights of the people on a horrific scale, and demand its withdrawal. CPC(M-L) will continue to put the full weight of its press to support the just demands workers are fighting for and to support the opposition to Bill C-5, the One Economy Act which received Royal Assent after being fast-tracked through Parliament in June.

We salute the workers countrywide fighting against provincial legislation as well which deprives them of their right to speak and organize, confident that our security lies in the fight for the rights of all.

Stop Paying the Rich; Increase Funding for Social Programs!

All Out to End Nation-Wrecking!

End Canada's Integration into the U.S. War Machine!

Make Canada a Zone for Peace!

Matters of Concern

Carney Launches Major Nation-Wrecking
Projects Office

– Peggy Morton –

On August 29, the Office of the Prime Minister announced that the Major Projects Office (MPO) was established and would be headquartered in Calgary with offices in other major Canadian cities. The MPO is "a single point of contact" for projects the ruling class deems to be of national interest" – a concept synonymous with increasing the profits, power, and control of the oligopolies. The executive claims it will participate in identifying such projects. Towards that end, it is tasked with "creating a single set of conditions" to reduce the approval timeline for projects to a maximum of two years.

The executive claims it will help structure and co-ordinate financing, attract domestic and foreign investment, and will help streamline approvals for all major projects across government, not just those designated under the Building Canada Act.

Dawn Farrell, who the workers of Alberta are familiar with as a longtime leader and spokesperson for the oil and gas industry, former President, CEO and Board Chair of Trans Mountain Corporation, was appointed CEO of the MPO. The MPO website portrays her as fit for purpose by pointing to her "over 35 years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors" which says nothing about what this sector has accomplished during those years and who it serves.

Up to her appointment, Farrell has been Independent Chair of the Board at the Chemours Company (a chemical manufacturing company), Board Chair of Trans Mountain Corporation, Board Director at ATCO Ltd. and Portland General Electric.

In her role at Trans Mountain, Farrell oversaw the enormous pay-the-rich scheme where the federal government paid $34 billion to build a pipeline which was supposed to provide alternative markets and jobs, jobs, jobs. These are funds not spent on education, on health care, in guaranteeing security in retirement, or investments in public enterprise to serve the needs of the people and build a self-reliant economy. Her new role is to do more of the same. It will line the pockets of the rich and continue to serve the U.S. war machine.

Carney's schemes show his extreme hubris and arrogance. All the talk of making Canada an energy superpower and ending reliance on the U.S. market is based on what? After spending $34 billion, the Trans Mountain pipeline is running at two-thirds capacity at best, and the majority of the oil has gone to the U.S. The only consistent buyer in Asia has been China, and only in very modest amounts, while Carney dismisses China as a country which "does not share our values." This is the experience which workers can expect will guide the MPO.

Many projects have been cancelled in recent years, whether pipeline or bitumen mines because the proponents decided they were not profitable enough, or because no market exists. That is why Canadians and Quebeckers were saddled with a $34 billion debt for Trans Mountain. The role of this Major Projects Office is to seize public funds where the oligopolies don't want to invest, or where they will invest only if major funding comes from governments.

In his megalomania, Carney thinks Canada is going to out-compete China and India, and keep Russia and other countries sanctioned in order to access their current, former or potential markets. He seems to be in denial that new arrangements such as those through the BRICS countries have come into being and will further develop, all the while he declares that "they do not share our values."

No wonder the accolades are rolling in from the likes of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the CEO and President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. The workers of Alberta and Saskatchewan are supposed to jump for joy, even though experience tells them that an economy built on oil and gas extraction is an economy which guarantees an insecure life for workers and their families. They even suggest that putting the office in Calgary makes this a "national" endeavour.

The Prime Minister's announcement reiterates that an "Indigenous Advisory Council" will be set up to advise the MPO and its membership will be confirmed in September, with representatives from "First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Modern Treaty and Self-Governing partners."

While the monopoly-controlled media doesn't miss a beat in repeating assurances that no project would go ahead without consultations with Indigenous groups, Carney and his ministers have made two announcements in recent days that contradict that and indicate what kind of backroom deals are already being made.

How decisions will be made is already clear, as can be seen from the announcements that port infrastructure would be announced in the next two weeks, referring specifically to building up the Port of Montreal, and "a new port, effectively, in Churchill, Manitoba." He said that his government is in the process of releasing half a trillion dollars of investment in energy infrastructure, port infrastructure, particularly intelligence infrastructure, as well, with AI which, he said, "would open up enormous [liquefied natural gas], plus other opportunities, and other East Coast ports for those critical minerals." How much public money is involved in "releasing" this investment he did not say.

For Carney to present himself as Defending Champion and Standard Bearer of the Free World is presumptuous to say the least. All the better to fleece the peoples of Canada, Quebec, and the Indigenous Peoples, Métis and Inuit.

Demonstration in Ottawa against Bill C-5, June 17, 2025

Federal Government Increases Investment in North America's Only Operational Graphite Mine

– Fernand Deschamps –

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced on August 26, an investment of $6,225,000 in Graphite Nordique's Lac-des-Îles expansion project that they claim will extend the mine's life and sustain its operations by seven to 10 years. This is the only operational graphite mine in North America. The announcement was made in a news release from Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions while Joly and Hodgson were in Berlin as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's trip to Germany and Poland.

The statement quotes Joly saying that this will "strengthen the Canadian economy and security while keeping good jobs in Quebec." The statement quotes Hugues Jacquemin, CEO of Northern Graphite Corporation, saying it will further Canada's goal of "becoming a key supplier to growing defense and battery markets in North America and farther afield. Lac-des-Îles is the foundation of our growth strategy, and this support shows that Canada is serious about turning its critical mineral potential into global leadership."

"Backed by a $3.8 billion investment, the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, led by NRCan [Natural Resources Canada] in collaboration with other federal organizations, aims to accelerate the development of critical minerals and their supply chains to support clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Funding for the project is being provided by NRCan and delivered by CED [Canada Economic Development]. This support is an interest and collateral free repayable contribution under CED's Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program. By enabling Northern Graphite Corporation to extend the life of its Lac-des-Îles mine with the expansion of its current pit and to optimize its operations, the project will: Help Canada meet rising demand for natural graphite Support supply chain autonomy for the battery and defence sectors Stabilize 55 existing jobs," the statement added.

In related news, the Globe and Mail published an opinion piece by the former deputy minister at NRCan, George Anderson, on August 25 in which he argues that, given China's recent suspension of exports of rare earth minerals and rare earth magnets and the need for critical minerals for defense and other industries, Canada has an opportunity to become an international leader in the field.

Mining, Anderson says, is one of the few areas where Canada is in the big leagues with more than 1,000 mining companies listed on the Toronto stock exchange and TSX Venture Exchange. But until now Canada's critical mineral strategy has been mainly domestic, he says, with the exception of co-operations between the Geological Survey of Canada and its U.S. and Australian counterparts in critical minerals mapping and modelling.

Anderson proposes creating a critical minerals program as part of Canada's foreign aid that would mobilize Canadian expertise to work with developing countries. As well, Export Development Canada should enhance its critical minerals support for Canadian companies and international mining clients.

He says Canada should also address the issue of international co-operation and claims the recent G7 declaration on critical minerals provides an opening for this. The G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan announced at Kananaskis on June 17 states that the shared national and economic security interests of the G7 countries "depend on access to resilient critical minerals supply chains governed by market principles," that are threatened by "non-market policies and practices in the critical minerals sector. " The G7 agreed to work together "to address potential shortages and coordinate responses" to what they call "deliberate market disruption," and diversify and onshore, where possible, mining, processing, manufacturing and recycling.

The G7 tasked relevant ministers with producing a roadmap "to promote standards-based markets for critical minerals, in collaboration with industry, international organizations, resource producing nations, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, unions, and civil society." According to the G7 statement, the roadmap "will establish a set of criteria that constitute a minimum threshold for standards-based markets, strengthening traceability as a necessary measure. As part of these efforts, we will evaluate potential market impacts."

Taking his cue from the G7 statement, Anderson says Canada should "seek to lead a review of international arrangements for critical minerals, including a possible global agency for such commodities." He says that neither the G7 nor the UN have mechanisms to implement action on critical minerals and that a "Canadian-led review of options for enhanced arrangements for critical minerals could consider different options, including expanding the IEA's [International Energy Agency] mandate, creating a small parallel agency in a collaborative relationship with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as the IEA has or a stand-alone agency [for which Toronto would be the logical host city]."

Anderson proposes that at the upcoming Conference on Critical Materials and Minerals, hosted by the U.S. in September, Canada should begin its "outward push on critical minerals."

Ontario Government Begins Construction on Highway 413 Megaproject

– Barbara Biley –

The Ontario government of Premier Doug Ford announced on August 27 that the first two contracts for its megaproject to build a new highway across the north of Toronto have been awarded and expropriation notices have been issued to some property owners. It will pass through the municipalities of Vaughan, Caledon, Brampton, and Halton Hills.

The two contracts are for an approximately 51.5-kilometre extension of Highway 413, expected to cost around $6 billion as of 2021 estimates. The entire 59-kilometre project will connect Highway 400 (between Kirby Road and King-Vaughan Road), to the interchange area of Highways 401 and 407, located near the northern end of Highway 403. Ford claims it will reduce drivers' travel time by 30 minutes

The highway goes through Ontario's protected Greenbelt and endangered species habitat. It was designated by the federal government for an impact assessment in 2021 but that review was dropped in 2024. Instead, a federal-provincial working group was established in 2024.

Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, passed by the legislature on June 5, gives the province the power to create "special economic zones" where regulations can be circumvented, and rewrote the Endangered Species Act. Also in 2024, the Ontario government passed Bill 212, the Reducing Gridlock, Saving Your Time Act which allows it to exempt projects like Highway 413 from requiring a provincial environmental assessment. Its passage means that the project could undergo an "accelerated" assessment with a more limited view of the highway's environmental impacts as well as allow the province to start on work like bridges before the assessments are completed.

The province does not have to publish the studies done as part of the assessments. While the province still has to comply with federal legislation including the Species At Risk Act and the Fisheries Act, it remains to be seen what responsibility the federal government will take to protect habitat for federally listed endangered species.

Besides the massive pay-the-rich schemes this project involves, health and safety and the working conditions of the construction workers will be matters of major concern.

Workers Uphold the Dignity of Labour Countrywide

Air Canada Flight Attendants and Pilots Oppose
Air Canada's Boundless Arrogance

Flight attendants rally, Toronto, August 17, 2025.

Speaking for themselves, Air Canada flight attendants demonstrated the value of their contribution to people's lives and, in doing so, earned respect. They expressed, with one voice, their demand to be treated with respect. The company's response was one of disrespect.

On August 29, the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employee's (CUPE) Airline Division newsletter announced that Air Canada has just announced that it has not properly processed the September pay advance for flight attendants and pilots. In other words, Air Canada has not paid them. The union writes:

"Once again, Air Canada has demonstrated its inability to treat its employees with the dignity and respect we deserve. The Company has just announced that they failed to properly process September's pay advance for both flight attendants and pilots.

"As a result, thousands," especially the junior flight attendants below the poverty line, earning less than the federal minimum wage, and "who live paycheque to paycheque will now face unnecessary financial strain, forced to wait until after the long weekend to access the money they rightfully earned and should have had paid prior to the holiday Monday."

The union again points out: "For many of our members, this is not an inconvenience, it is a crisis. Rent, bills, groceries, and other essentials do not wait because of "human error." We all know that had this mistake affected shareholders or executives, it would have been corrected immediately.

"This is not an isolated problem. It is part of a larger pattern of disrespect which includes the failure to agree to pay fair wages and full compensation for unpaid work in this most recent round of negotiations."

Air Canada flight attendants are dedicated to their profession and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. As CUPE reminds us: "Air Canada claims to care about 'employee engagement,' but their actions tell a very different story. They fall short of where it matters most: in fair wages, in respect for our labour, and in ensuring that every paycheque is accurate and on time."

Flight attendants say their battle is far from over, despite the "tentative agreement," which will undoubtedly end up in arbitration. To this end, they have called an action on Parliament Hill between noon and 2:00 pm on Tuesday, September 16, to demand that our so-called representatives in Parliament "End Unpaid Work"!

All out to support the Air Canada flight attendants for respect of the dignity of their labour, and for the rights of all!

(Photo: CUPE)

Flight Attendants Continue to Defend
Their Rights!

— Garnet Colly —

Flight attendants' picket line, Edmonton, August 18, 2025

The 10,615 flight attendants employed by Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Rouge began voting August 27 on the tentative agreement reached through "mediation" after their vigorous, unprecedented mobilization and strike struggle. Voting continues until 3:00 pm EDT on September 6.

From the time negotiations opened in December 2024 at the request of the Air Canada Component of the Airline Division of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) on behalf of these members, the Company dragged its feet, refusing to deal with the core issues of wages and its refusal to pay for the unpaid labor of flight attendants involving safety and customer service- related responsibilities that are an integral part of the job. The previous 10 year contract expired on March 31, 2025, and the flight attendants were determined to recover the losses they had suffered during that time. After five months of fruitless negotiations, the Union requested conciliation. Air Canada‘s intransigent refusal to respect the contribution of the flight attendants to the success of the company ensured that process failed, too.

The union called a strike vote to show the Company the determination of the members to defend their interests and to encourage it to return to the negotiating table. On August 5, an unheard of 96.4 per cent of the members voted 97.3 per cent to give the union a strike mandate.

The strike vote limited the company's initiative and meant it had to negotiate. It returned to the bargaining table on August 8 and some minor improvements to pensions were negotiated, but it remained entrenched in its position on wages and ground pay. On August 11, it proposed voluntary arbitration, which was refused by the union because it would deny the flight attendants "rights to ratify a tentative agreement."

It was obvious from the beginning that Air Canada was counting on the government in service of the monopolies to step in and do its dirty work. The stage was sent in the spring when Maryse Tremblay, a former longtime Air Canada lawyer and subsequently associated with, the company, was named as president of the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).

On August 12, even before the union began strike action, Air Canada appealed to the Minister of Jobs and Families, Patti Hajdu, to invoke Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to prevent the flight attendants from taking job action. Nevertheless, on August 13, at 12:58 am the Union provided strike notice and the Company responded with a lockout notice 32 minutes later. Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code allows the government to bypass Parliament and order an end to a strike, which the government did. The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issued a return-to-work order. Flight attendants boldy defied the order and were joined by other unions in a massive show of support. As part of defending rights, CUPE has called for Section 107 to be removed from the law.

Air Canada refused to return to the bargaining table and continued spreading false information about what their offer to the flight attendants consisted of. Despite the fact that the union had proposed, early during negotiations, to establish a wind-down process should strike action occur, the company refused to discuss it. Now it began viciously attacking the flight attendants for the "inconvenience" experienced by travelers, rather than accepting its rightful responsibility due to its refusal to pay the flight attendants a wage commensurate with the important safety and service work they perform and to pay them for all the work they perform.

On August 15, the Minister of Jobs and Families convened a meeting with CUPE and to encourage them to reach a settlement, but the Company stuck with the position that had already been presented to the flight attendants.

On August 16 at 12:58 AM the Union began strike action. At 1:30 AM, the Company locked them out. At 12:30 PM, Minister Patty Hajdu invoked Section 107 and called on the CIRB to end the strike and refer all matters to binding, arbitration, which would eliminate the flight attendants' "constitutionally protected right to strike and any right to vote on a proposed contract."

The former Air Canada lawyer at the head of the CIRB refused to recuse herself from the case and ordered the strike to be ended. The CIRB subsequently acquiesced to Air Canada's August 17 "request" that the strike be declared illegal. But the flight attendants were determined to reach a negotiated settlement and continued picketing.

A news conference was held on August 18, where Mark Hancock, National President of CUPE, said that "the only deal that would be accepted is one reached at the table." The flight attendants defied the government, with the backing of the whole labour movement and, that evening, Air Canada buckled and requested a return to the bargaining table with the help of a mediator. At 4:23 am, when everybody must surely have been at their most alert, a four-year tentative agreement was reached.

Oddly enough, the agreement indicated that if it were rejected, it would go to arbitration, but only the aspect of wages would be dealt with, while all else would remain in place. In any case, the flight attendants are discussing it seriously and the impact it will have on their future.

They have shown in this battle that it is time for us to speak in our own names and determine how we can become the decision makers and take the power out of the hands of the monopolies. They are the first union that has defied the federal government and it's imposition of Section 107, winning the support of the entire labour movement and the travelling public with the justice of their cause. Their battle has made it increasingly clear that the so-called democratic institutions are organized to keep us from having any sort of power over any of the decisions that affect our lives on a daily basis.

End Unpaid Labour!

(Photo: CUPE)

Federal Public Service

Postal Workers Struggle Continues

Hands Off My Post Office! rally in Brampton, May 31, 2025

In the latest update from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) about their negotiations with Canada Post, the union reports:

"Despite members' decisive rejection of Canada Post's 'best and final offers,' the Corporation has refused to move from its so-called 'final offers' of May 28, 2025. The Employer has not even bothered to provide a meaningful response to the comprehensive proposals submitted by CUPW on August 20.

"Instead, Canada Post demands concessions from postal workers, while ignoring solutions CUPW has put forward that would address service needs, improve working conditions, and secure the future of the postal service for the public.

"Postal workers have been clear: we are not here to make concessions that erode jobs, rights, or the public service.

"If Canada Post is serious about reaching agreements, it must stop insisting that only CUPW move and begin engaging seriously with the Union's proposals. Negotiations require both parties at the table, not one side dictating terms and demanding that workers pay the price for Management's failures."

(Photo: OFL)

Mass Layoffs in Federal Public Service

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) notes that in 2024, there were altogether more than 10,000 federal public service jobs cut, with no plans to maintain the services provided by the workers who lost their jobs.

The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) informs that nearly 3,300 call centre workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have lost their jobs since May 2024. They point out that 15 per cent budget cuts announced as part of a spending review in July indicate that more cuts are on the way. UTE estimates that only some 3,500 to 4,000 call centre workers remain at the CRA. Wait times for those calling the CRA presently run between 30 minutes to 3.5 hours, and less then five per cent of callers reach an agent due to lack of staff.

They have launched a campaign to stop the cuts. To keep informed and join in, visit: https://www.foryoucanada.ca/canadaonhold.

Nova Scotia

Dalhousie University Faculty Locked Out

Locked-out faculty at Dalhousie University, August 26, 2025.

The Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) on August 28 rejected a proposal by Dalhousie University's Board of Governors to participate in binding arbitration on their contract. DFA represents almost 1,000 teaching, research, librarian and counselling faculty at Dalhousie University. Its members have been locked out since August 20. The DFA said the arbitration would have focused solely on the issue of wages, and participating in that process was conditional on the union dropping all of its other proposals.

"Our members have told us loud and clear, this is not a fight about wages," said DFA President David Westwood. "Wages are a part of the story. Cost of living is an issue. It's not the only issue. And we still have a lot of talking left to do at the table and I wish the Board would just come back and have a conversation with us."

Issues on the table include the conversion of limited-term appointments to career-stream appointments, expanded parental leave benefits, expanded access to childcare and more flexibility in class scheduling policies.

Regarding cost of living increases, the union has said that the last three collective agreements have not kept pace with inflation. Its proposals are to make up for lost ground and keep up with inflation. At the start of bargaining, wages were already nine per cent behind the cost of living.

(Photo: @alecstrat)

Quebec

Paramedics Continue Indefinite General Strike

— Pierre Soublière —

Paramedics at the Montreal Grand Prix

On July 6, approximately 3,300 paramedics in Quebec went on an indefinite general strike. Their collective agreement expired on March 31, 2023.

The strike is proceeding according to the parameters established by the Administrative Labor Tribunal in an August 29 decision. Services that are essential to maintain public health and safety are thus being maintained in full throughout the strike, which has two components. On the one hand, paramedics are no longer performing non-essential tasks, administrative work that does not affect patients. On the other hand, paramedics carrying out rotating strikes, during which time they are replaced by management. A few years ago, the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) succeeded in having the need for management to participate in maintaining essential services during a strike formally recognized.

Among the paramedics' demands is a pay increase that fully reflects their responsibilities and skills. They are also demanding management's compliance with work schedules to combat the explosion of overtime, and an improvement in the pension plan to take into account the reality of this physically and mentally demanding profession. With regard to compensation, the government's current demands would result in a decrease in paramedics' income.

Jean Gagnon, Representative of Pre-Hospital Sector of Health and Social Services' Federation, Confederation of National Trade Unions (FSSS-CSN), representing paramedics, indicated that negotiations will continue on September 5, with many issues still to be clarified: "The sticking point right now is that, on the one hand, we want the salary increases that were granted to the entire public sector in the negotiations that just ended, but the problem is that during the last negotiations, we accepted a five per cent wage advance because we couldn't agree on what paramedics are worth." Gagnon has been a paramedic in Montreal since 1982.

The government has left paramedics without an agreement, recognition or respect. It is proposing cuts to their salaries, vacation time, pensions, and working conditions. Negotiations are progressing slowly, and the legitimate demands of workers remain unanswered. Many are leaving the profession. Yet, the public counts on them in the most critical moments, Gagnon pointed out.

Since then, these workers have taken numerous actions to press their demands for improved wages and working conditions. Paramedics from the Montreal, South Shore, and North Shore regions held an action in mid-June at the Montreal Grand Prix. They made the point that if race car drivers must be able to count on paramedics ready to respond at any moment, the same should be true for the entire population. Unfortunately, this is not the case, so paramedics are taking action to change that.

Striking paramedics at the International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Saint-Jean-Sur Richelieu make their voices heard, August 7, 2025.

Paramedics in Abitibi-du-Nord, August 7, 2025

The essential work of pre-hospital workers and the Quebec government's refusal to act in accordance with the essential nature of this work throughout the year raises fundamental questions not only about the future of public services, but about the very future of society. One of these questions is the exercise of power that is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the executive and a few "elected officials." They use their positions of privilege to act in favour of private interests and destroy essential care for the population and show profound contempt for those who, unlike them, fulfill their social responsibilities. The crux of the problem is this: people who rise to power through elections rigged in their favour as a result of a cartel party system, are not elected to assume their social responsibilities. On the contrary, the democratic institutions are used to eliminate all public authorities by attacking those who assume their social responsibilities to the highest degree. This is a problem that must be addressed and resolved.

In a context where paramedics have very limited room to manoeuvre in asserting their rights and those of the population, the support of unions and the public is of the utmost importance. These front-line workers, whose working conditions are already very demanding and are made even more difficult by the retrogression that the government has imposed over the years and wants to continue to impose, deserve our full support.

Paramedics hand out flyers in front of the Botanical Garden in Montreal, August 29, 2025, to raise public awareness of the issues at stake in their ongoing negotiations.

(Photos: FSSS-CSN)

Strike Announced at Longueuil Transit Network

On August 27, the union representing Longueuil Transit Network (RTL) bus drivers, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3333, which represents 714 members, filed a three-day strike notice, covering September 9, 10, and 11. A 99.03 per cent of the workers recently voted to give their union a mandate for pressure tactics that could lead to a strike. Their collective agreement expired on December 31, 2024.

"Despite approximately 40 meetings, we have not been able to reach an agreement. We are proud of our work and the importance of our role, but we refuse concessions that would impoverish our members and reduce their purchasing power. The City and the RTL must show greater sensitivity to our reality," declared Marc Gingras, President of CUPE Local 3333. The main obstacle remains wages.

Workers at Six Hydro-Québec Unions Authorize Strike Action

At the end of June, workers at six of the ten unions representing workers at Hydro-Québec authorized strike action. Most of their collective agreements expired at the end of December 2023 and 2024. These unions, mostly affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labor (FTQ) through the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), represent a majority of Hydro-Québec's roughly 23,000 workers. These unions represent specialists, professionals, those who work on Quebec's electrical grid, site nurses, technologists, tradespeople, and special constables.

The workers' main demands are substantial wage increases to make up for inflation, greater financial security for long-term employees (including measures to protect workers' incomes in the event of retirement or disability), and greater flexibility in work schedules.

Workers are also calling for measures to limit outsourcing and protect jobs. They emphasize that the expertise of Hydro-Québec employees is essential to the smooth operation of the company. They oppose the structural changes imposed by the employer, particularly those affecting job titles, job descriptions, work schedules, and work locations. They are calling for the existing statuses and functions to be maintained to preserve workers' stability in the workplace.

Members of the union SERHQ, who plan, operate and maintain Quebec's electrical grid, are also demanding improved working conditions, including recognition of the critical nature of their duties. They are also demanding appropriate compensation for overtime and increased responsibilities.

Hydro-Québec workers have taken a firm stand against the Legault government's plans to privatize Hydro-Québec, including Bill 69, An Act to ensure responsible governance of energy resources and to amend various legislative provisions, which was passed by closure on June 7. In concert with the vast majority of Quebec's population, they consider Hydro-Québec to be a key public service, essential to Quebec's electricity, economic, and energy sovereignty. They argue that privatization risks reducing service quality and increasing rates for consumers, increasing subcontracting, and reducing social and wage protections.

SERHQ announced that its members reached a tentative agreement with the employer during the night of June 30 to July 1, that will be voted on in the fall.

(With files from CUPE, Hydro-Québec, news agencies.)

Ontario

Hamilton Rally for Community and
Social Services Workers

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and CUPE Ontario have called a rally in Hamilton on September 4, as part of its Worth Fighting For campaign in defence of public sector workers and the services they provide. OPSEU writes:

"Workers in community and social services -- working as social workers, child therapists, addictions counsellors, shelter workers, legal aid staff, and many other roles -- are some of the lowest paid workers in the public sector.

"Ford's Bill 124 capped public sector workers' wage increases at one per cent at a time of skyrocketing inflation, forcing workers to turn to food banks, moonlight in second jobs, and rack up debt. While the legislation was struck down in 2022, many workers have been left out -- including workers in community and social services.

"OPSEU/SEFPO and CUPE Ontario members are fighting back. We're demanding fair pay for workers and funding for the services that kids, families and communities rely on."

Ontario Government's Plan to Eliminate Elected School Boards Universally Condemned

In an August 21 press release, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) condemned the plan of the provincial government of Doug Ford and its Education Minister Paul Calandra to eliminate elected school boards. This is part of a broadening assault on the right of the people to decide their affairs and the Ford government's privatization of public education.

Under the pretexts of "transparency" and addressing purported "failures" regarding use of public funds, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board was put under provincial supervision at the end of June, while the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board were all put under provincial supervision in April.

Meanwhile, as the new school year is set to get going, the chaos, anarchy, violence and incoherence in all the schools in Ontario goes from bad to worse. Teachers, education workers, staff and school administrations know the government is underfunding education and that it is deflecting from the fact that it is the main culprit misusing public funds to pay the rich. It is the one which engages in corrupt practices and is to blame for the plight of the public school system which is getting worse and worse.

"This isn't about fixing schools -- it's about deflecting blame," said OFL President Laura Walton. "Minister Calandra knows parents, students, and workers are outraged over overcrowded classrooms, violence in schools, recruitment and retention, and crumbling infrastructure. Instead of admitting responsibility, he [Doug Ford] is dangling the elimination of school boards to stir up controversy and distract Ontarians from his government's failures."

The OFL warns that "dismantling school boards would silence local voices, undermine community accountability, and hand even more unchecked power to a government already seizing control of Ontario's largest boards."

"This is distraction, plain and simple," Walton continued. "The Ford government is trying to convince Ontarians that trustees are the problem, when the real crisis was created by their own cuts and chronic underfunding. Our communities deserve real solutions -- smaller classes, more supports for students, and safe schools -- not another cynical power grab."

The statement from the OFL was co-signed by the presidents of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation and the Ontario School Board Council of Unions.

Ontario's Industrial Workers Fight for What Rightfully Belongs to Them

Titan Tool & Die ships raw materials out of its Windsor plant, past pickets of locked out workers.

Titan Tool & Die in Windsor, part of the supply chain for auto parts manufacturing, on August 21 escalated its lockout of 25 workers by hauling the last remaining raw materials out of its Windsor plant. Union representatives witnessed the removal and suspect the material is being taken to the company's operations in the U.S. No government action is taken to prohibit such things.

Unifor Local 195 President Emile Nabbout pointed out that the owners have "fed off the skill and loyalty of our members for decades, and now they think they can just suck this place dry and move on. Our members see through the lies, and we're not about to let this company drain the life out of Windsor on its way across the border."

In Bradford, workers at Toromont, a heavy equipment manufacturer, ended a seven-week strike on August 25, when the company and union agreed to send outstanding wage issues to arbitration. This agreement comes shortly after the Toromont Bradford members overwhelmingly rejected the company's "final offer," on August 20 by a vote of 87 per cent, after Toromont forced a vote through the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Notably, while governments never hesitate to legislate workers back to work, the same pressure is absent when it comes to what the government calls private business decisions, especially at a time when the Carney and Ford governments claim to be acting in "the national interest" and in defence of Canadian jobs and workers.

(Photo: Unifor Local 195)

Alberta

Teachers Stand Firm Against Government Intransigence

— Kevan Hunter —

Education workers' rally during educational assistants and support staff strike, October 24, 2024

Alberta teachers represented by the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) are united in their determination to fight for their students and their right to education, for the resources needed to deal with class size and complexity, for a sustainable workload, where more work and data gathering are not piled on them year after year, and for salary increases which address the enormous wage cuts of the past 12 years. As school is about to begin, the Alberta government continues to refuse to address the demands of the teachers, and instead has resorted to defamation, threats and outlandish claims about what happened in negotiations.

Teachers represented by the Alberta Teachers' Association voted to reject the report of the mediator in June by an overwhelming 94 per cent vote. Their contract expired one year ago.

The mediator recommended a three per cent annual wage increase over four years, and a unified grid across the province effective in 2027. There has been no change to the wage offer since that time, yet the government is feigning outrage that it has offered everything the teachers asked for and now they are demanding more.

However, it's not the 19th century for the Minister of Education to pose as a workhouse master, and the teachers are not saying "please sir." Far from it, they are fighting for their working conditions which are students' learning conditions, their demands are pro-social, and they have broad support across the province. For its part, the UCP government is trying to blame the teaches for its own wrecking which has greatly exacerbated the crisis in education, including the shameful distinction of providing the lowest per student funding in all of Canada.

The President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Nate Horner and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides issued a statement on the negotiations which said in part,

"They [the ATA] have been offered what they asked for. They have been offered what they said was needed."

"A 12 per cent salary increase over four years was also offered, as well as an additional increase that would further improve the salaries of 95 per cent of their members over the next four years. This would result in greater salary increases for newer teachers to help address recruitment and retention issues.

"On August 27, the ATA's bargaining team rejected this offer, and suggested that a contract with fewer teachers would save money and that funding could be funneled into even higher salaries.

"The union's strategy and tactics have been exposed and called out. We cannot sit idle while the public, parents and students are manipulated into supporting a union that has shown its primary interest is in diverting supports away from the classroom to further drive up teacher compensation."

The only thing the Ministers got right is that Albertans are standing with the teachers, as they did with the educational assistants and support staff. Of course the negotiating committee rejected the offer, because it was the same offer the teachers voted down in June. Presenting the offer without context, the Ministers do not inform that Alberta teachers have received a total of 5.75 per cent in wage increases since 2012, while the cost of living in Alberta has risen by 30 per cent during this time.

The UCP government and its Minister of Education must be desperate indeed to make up the absurd claim that the teachers suggested fewer teachers be hired. The government also fraudulently claims that it has taken serious steps to address class size and complexity. Bald-faced lying is one of its main characteristics.

According to the Teachers' Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA):

"On August 26, the TEBA made an offer to the ATA that included hiring 1,000 more teachers every year for the next three years at an estimated total cost of $750 million over the term; an offer that provides the exact request the union made in June of 2025. Three thousand more teachers would certainly have a significant impact in alleviating classroom pressures and improve the education landscape for teachers and students."

ATA President Jason Schilling responded that the promise to hire 1,000 teachers a year over three years is barely enough to cover population growth, let alone reduce class sizes. "When half of new teachers in our profession leave within the first five years of their career, the message is clear: the education system in Alberta is unsustainable," Schilling said.

There are approximately 51,000 teachers in public, separate and francophone schools in Alberta. Adding 1,000 teachers a year is around a two per cent annual increase, while Alberta's population grew by seven per cent in the past two years alone.

Facts speak for themselves.

The UCP government appears to have learned nothing from the long strike of education assistants which should have taught them that education workers are serious when they say conditions are not sustainable, that they are serious about defending their rights and the rights of the students and their families, their communities and the society. The people of Alberta stand firmly with the teachers and education workers.

It is the teachers who can be trusted to defend the needs and right of students as they do day in and day out. It is the government which is exposed as unfit to hold the future of the youth in its hands. All out to support the teachers!

(Photo: AUPE)

Government of Alberta Workers Voting
on Mediator's Report for New Collective Agreement

— Peggy Askin —

For more than one year, the Government of Alberta (GOA) workers, members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) have been negotiating for a new contract. Their contract expired on March 31, 2024. The 22,000 workers who are direct government of Alberta employees are now voting whether to accept the mediator's recommendations for a new collective agreement. Voting began on August 29 and will continue until Wednesday, September 3 at 4:30 pm.

The workers continue to hold pickets and rallies to show where they stand in their fight for wages and working conditions acceptable to them. AUPE news releases say that pay increases are their number one goal. These workers are negotiating with a government that is waging a brutal anti-social offensive against the working people of Alberta. The militancy of the AUPE workers at their actions during negotiations shows that they are determined to fight for wage increases that are necessary to deal with the ever increasing cost of living. They are also determined to improve their working conditions, which directly impact the services needed by the people of Alberta. They are working in conditions where massive funding cuts have taken place to the services they provide and which Albertans need.

From 2017 to 2024 when their agreement expired, the GOA workers received a total of only 3.8 per cent in wage increases, while the cost of living increased by 19 per cent from 2017 to July 2025, which means their real wages were cut by more than 15 per cent. Workers have also faced job insecurity and increased work loads for those remaining.

Since the UCP government came to power in 2019, AUPE has lost nearly 3,200 members within the Government Services Unit. More than half of this loss has been specifically in Locals 001 and 002, which represent Administrative and Support workers. This is what is happening across the country with the wrecking restructuring taking place with workers now disposable. It is up to the working class to hold government's to account for their pay-the-rich programs which simultaneously cut funding for social programs.

The Mediator's Report recommends a three per cent general wage increase in each of four years between 2024 and 2027. In addition, the steps on the grid based on years of service will also be increased from the current three per cent to four per cent. Any wage rates below the Alberta-wide living wage rate of $22.65 are to be amended to that amount, and any employees with 20 or more years of service will receive an additional 2 per cent increase. Most classifications would also receive variable "market adjustments" affecting nearly all employees, resulting in additional pay increases.

Other monetary improvements include a $300 increase in Health Spending Accounts as well as an additional paid personal day. The recommendations would also establish a Recruitment, Attraction and Retention Fund, with an initial $11.4 million annual budget set to increase by four per cent each year. The fund would be jointly administered by the union and the government.

The union's bargaining committee has not made a recommendation on the mediator's report. AUPE's government members voted in May to authorize a strike mandate with over 90 per cent voting in favour. The union's strike mandate expires on September 9. If the mediator's recommendations are rejected by AUPE members through the ratification vote, the union will serve strike notice before September 9.

All public service workers in Alberta are on high alert about the need to unite to lay the claims which they must. More than 12,000 Alberta Health Services (AHS) General Support Services workers and over 500 AHS Nursing care workers are in negotiation and have not yet begun mediation, due to delays in completing the Essential Services Agreements. Their contacts expired on March 31, 2024.

(Photos: AUPE)

British Columbia

Government Employees Vote 92.7
Per Cent in Favour of Strike

On August 29, the BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU) wrote: "The bargaining committee representing more than 34,000 members of the BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU) who work for the BC Public Service will issue 72-hour strike notice this afternoon, following the conclusion of their strike authorization vote and an overwhelming strike mandate. Members voted 92.7 per cent in favour of taking job action. Job action could begin as early as Tuesday morning. Over 86 per cent of eligible members voted."

Bargaining chair and BCGEU president Paul Finch said, "Frontline workers in the public service are facing an affordability crisis that must be addressed in this round of negotiations." He added that the "Government's current offer doesn't meet the urgency of this crisis, and this emphatic strike vote result reflects workers' deep concern over the lack of progress at the bargaining table. Their message to government is clear: we are united and ready to act to secure a fair contract that keeps BC's public services strong."

Members of the Professional Employees Association (PEA) who also work for the BC Public Service also announced on August 29 that they have voted in favour of taking job action and are issuing a 72-hour strike notice. Melissa Moroz, Executive Director of the PEA and lead negotiator for the union, said, "We made a strategic decision a year ago that we would stand beside the BCGEU. Their fight is our fight, and we are united as workers in the public service."

BCGEU members report that their economic situation is increasingly precarious. The union explains that 70 per cent of its members "report spending more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on housing costs. Approximately half are living paycheque to paycheque while 30 per cent are relying on savings to pay living expenses, and 22 per cent report working a second job to make ends meet."

BC Hotel Workers' Resolute Fight for Demand
for Living Wages and Proper Staffing

Striking workers at the Coast Victoria Hotel, August 22, 2025

Frontline workers at the Coast Victoria Hotel in Victoria, members of UNITE HERE Local 40, have walked off the job for the second time this August, escalating their call for urgent action on living wages, safe workloads, and proper staffing levels.

The union writes that workers are "being pushed to the brink, unable to afford to live in the city they serve and forced to shoulder unsafe workloads due to chronic understaffing."

"Victoria is booming for hotel owners, but for the people doing the work, the city is becoming impossible to live in," said room attendant Melissa Irvine. "We're not asking for the moon, just enough to live where we work and to do our jobs safely, with adequate staff," she said.

"Our workloads are unsafe, our wages are unsustainable, and our patience has run out," said Mike Hull, a server at the Blue Crab Restaurant, located at the Coast Victoria Hotel. "With tourism this strong, there's no excuse for Coast Victoria not to invest in the staff who keep our hotel running."

Workers say the front desk and restaurant are understaffed, forcing employees to juggle multiple roles with little support. Room attendants report being pressured to clean newly renovated rooms, which take longer to service, at unsafe speeds, risking injury and burnout.

The resolute struggle of hotel workers elsewhere in BC has won important improvements in wages and working conditions for workers in the hospitality sector. For example, UNITE HERE Local 40 explains that in March, Radisson Blu Vancouver Airport hotel workers won their 1,411-day strike and ratified a new collective agreement. This ended "Canada's longest-running labour dispute which sets a new standard for hotel workers in the Metro Vancouver area," Unite Local 40 pointed out.

"The new agreement between workers, represented by Local 40, and Radisson Blu hotel management provides a pathway back to work for the 143 workers terminated during the pandemic, strong job security protections, a new wage standard for Metro Vancouver area hotel workers, and new workload and tip protections. Workers will earn the highest wages in the Vancouver Airport market and surrounding metro area markets."

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