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Ontario Health Care

Rally organized by the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC)

For more information: https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/index.php/safeguard-health/

What is “Ford Nation” doing to the Public Health Care Services?

A massive bill, Bill 74, was recently tabled by the Ford Government to reorganize health care services in Ontario:

Not a Single New Service or Improvement to Care
We have excellent health care in that province. We just don’t have enough of it. Yet Doug Ford’s new health care omnibus bill does not open a single new health care service. Not a single surgery to help tackle wait lists. Not one new nursing home space. No more health professionals, vital support staff, nurses or doctors.

Ontario funds health care at the lowest rate in Canada. We have a long way to go even just to reach the average of the rest of the country. We are asking the Doug Ford government to refocus attention on actually expanding and improving access to care. No to privatization and mega-mergers.

New Powers to Force Mergers and Privatization

The new approach of this Conservative Government is to centralize 20 existing agencies into one big one called the “Super Agency”. It will create many problems because of the disparate mandates, histories, levels of effectiveness, and cultures of the existing ones that are well implemented in their communities.

Restructuring powers are defined in the legislation as not only service coordination but also mergers, amalgamations, transfers of all or part of a service, closures of a service, and entire closures of local health services. In other words, this bill is a gift to giant CEOs and large chain corporations to take over health services in Ontario.

New Bureaucracy but No Public Oversight

At the end of the years of mergers and takeovers and partnerships and so on, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care envisions 30 – 50 giant health care conglomerates running virtually all services for up to 15 million Ontarians. Each conglomerate will need a new tier of administration to run the relationship between its various parts of the new health care structure. With this new governance approach, it will mean that overtime public oversight will disappear, and any decision made will be business driven, NOT made in the interest of the public.

No Public Consultation: Virtually All Community Control Taken Away

Virtually all the democratic protections that were won in previous legislations have been stripped in this bill. There are NO open board meetings. NO public right to access restructuring documents. NO appeals.

Upheaval for Care Workers

Another half decade or more of upheaval and takeovers will be devastating to a workforce that has stretched itself for decades to do ever more.
We urge the Ford government to hit “pause”, to engage in proper public consultation and to make a new priority of actually improving access to public health care services for Ontarians.

Source: https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/index.php/briefing-note-doug-fords-omnibus-health-bill-bill-74/

 

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E-Petition to the Federal Government – Parks Canada and Historical and Cultural Artifacts

E-2048 (Canadian Heritage)

The Petition is open for signature until June 25, 2019, at 4:56 p.m. (EDT)

Whereas:

  • Parks Canada holds in stewardship a large collection of historical and cultural artifacts created by diverse communities across Canada;
  • Understanding these traditions is a key part of celebrating and continuing unique cultural, regional and ethnic identities, such as the Metis;
  • These collections have been maintained in regional centers (e.g. Winnipeg) so that they can be accessed by researchers, members of their originating communities, and local historic sites;
  • Plans to centralize all Parks Canada collections in Gatineau will prevent local scholars and community members from accessing, studying, or understanding their own past;
  • The removal of local history will irrevocably damage the diverse regional and cultural traditions that have created a multicultural Canada; and
  • The forcible removal of cultural property from the reach of Indigenous communities is an act of colonization which is wholly incompatible with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada and Kildonan-St Paul, call upon the Government of Canada to (a) commit to keeping all historical objects in their context so that they may be readily available to scholars, scientists, and the members of their originating communities; (b) cancel plans to centralize the historical artifacts and resources held by Parks Canada in one facility in Gatineau; and (c) commit to maintaining regional facilities for artifact storage and curation in Manitoba.

SIGN THE PETITION

 

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Budget 2019: Phoenix funding improves, but falls short of ending pay nightmares and compensating workers

PSAC welcomes the new funding commitments made in today’s budget to address the Phoenix pay disaster, but they fall significantly short of what is required to end the pay nightmares of Canada’s federal public service workers.

The over 200,000 workers that have been impacted by Phoenix need long-term funding dedicated to: eliminating the backlog of pay problems; stabilizing Phoenix; compensating workers for their many hardships; and providing enough resources to properly develop, test and launch a new pay system. The amounts budgeted for the next 4 years will not be sufficient to meet those objectives, and over 70% of that funding is earmarked for this fiscal year, leaving little for future needs.

Budget 2019 also does not tie any funding to a timeline for the resolution of Phoenix problems, nor does it commit to a permanent increase in staffing required to stabilize the system for good. It also allocates nothing for the development and launch of a new pay system.

“Our continued mobilization for action on Phoenix has convinced the government to take greater action, but Mr. Trudeau’s wait-and-see approach is not the long-term plan our members need,” said PSAC President Chris Aylward.

“We know we will have to work on stabilizing Phoenix for years to come, and there are hundreds of thousands of cases to still work through. The budget doesn’t even put funding aside for developing and deploying a new pay system or compensating our members. This budget just won’t cut it.”

“Every single day our members show up to work and deliver the critical services Canadians depend on. They deserve for their employer, this government, to pay them correctly, on time – and to compensate them for all the damage done to their lives.”

Source: PSAC

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Racial Discrimination: a Deadly Poison

By Ralph Daguilh

Hello fellow activists!

March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. These past few days, I could not help but think about what March 21 means to racialized people. I thought about the xenophobic comments and policies of the President of USA – I reflected on the ways African French soccer players were discriminated and undervalued during last year’s World Cup. I even thought about the backlash that Naomi Osaka suffered when she won against Serena Williams – Anyway, my list is endless….

Racial discrimination is very much alive in our communities and workplaces. I am frustrated that racial discrimination is very subtle and can’t always be proven. The victim suffers in silence! Racial discrimination destroys the victim’s wellbeing and empowers the perpetrator – it is a silent killer and can have long lasting impacts on the victim and entourage!

In 2014, I witnessed with agony and tears my dear friend, John, a racialized person, experiencing racial discrimination. He was well trained to do the job shortly after he started working in his department. John successfully competed for a position; therefore, he should have gotten the job. Surprisingly, it never happened. The position was given to somebody else and John was left with no true explanation! Our local got involved with no success because management had already made their decision. John filed a grievance but lost because it was said “there is no evidence to prove that he was racially discriminated against”. I am still puzzled until today! Did my friend not get the position because of his skin colour? his accent? Or his religion? Even though the case happened a while ago, I still think of the emotional impacts the whole situation had on John, his family and friends. John must work two jobs to support his family. Therefore, not only has he less time to spent with his family, but he also must share his energy and skills between two Jobs.

It hurts a lot to be discriminated against – I am sure my friend John is not the only one to experience that.

The worst part is the victims of discrimination still have to find the courage and the energy, 5 days a week, to smile at their coworkers, and continue to provide the highest possible quality of service.

Racial discrimination is a poison: it diminishes individuals, perpetuates inequality, feeds anger, hatred, bitterness and violence. It can also lead to all kind of sickness and mental illness.

For my friend, after 5 years of patiently waiting for an opportunity to arise in his department, he decided to create his own. Slowly but surely, he took online courses to better himself and his education. Today he has his degree and more!

However, this is not the best way of dealing with racial discrimination, my friend chose that way because he has a very young family to feed and a mortgage to pay. When face with racial discrimination, stay focused, gather strength from your family, friends and allies and fight back!

I know, together, we can do it! The road to win a fight against racial discrimination is not an easy one. It is like climbing a tall mountain. The top seems unreachable. However, never give up, never give in and never stay silent!

Survey shows that racialized people are hired for entry level positions despite their qualifications and education; 80% of them remain at that entry level until they retire. They are underused. Racialized members represent numbers or quota to be filled by the employer.

My friends, racial discrimination will not disappear overnight. In my opinion, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination should be an every day talk. The fight against racism and all forms of discrimination is a mainstay of peace and social cohesion, especially in our increasingly diverse communities and workplaces. Let’s learn to live and work together!

Ralph Daguilh
Alternate to the UNE National Equity Representative for Racially Visible People

Sources:

http://www.un.org/en/events/racialdiscriminationday/background.shtml

https://gryphlife.uoguelph.ca/event/87491

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247565_eng

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International Francophonie Day – #MyMarch20

By the Francophone Committee

On International Francophonie Day, the Francophone members of the Union of National Employees (UNE) want to tell you how the permanent Francophone Committee was created within our Union.

It was in 2008 at the National Component Convention in Toronto—today UNE—that this initiative began to take root in the minds of some Francophone members of our Union, following the bad treatment of one of Canada’s two officials languages. Two years went by before concrete actions were taken.

On Saturday, August 14, 2010 at the Human Rights Conference held in Saskatoon, further to the dissatisfaction of Francophone participants, it was agreed to gather some 15 members of the Union to address problematic situations and try to find fair and equitable solutions to them. Daniel Kinsella, the National President at the time, was invited to attend this meeting. This is how the first Francophone Committee meeting took place.

Some situations that occurred during this conference were deemed unacceptable and drove Francophones to act. Here are some examples:

– Once the French electronic registration to the Convention was completed, the computer program always redirected us to the English site;
– The Saskatoon Coop travel agency offered neither bilingual nor French services;
– The names of some Francophone participants were badly written on the pass identifier;
– The workshop facilitators were not bilingual. The supporting documents were only available in English;
– During workshops, non-bilingual Francophones had to share the services of one single interpreter;
– The lack of simultaneous interpretation at the caucuses and elections;
– The journalist in charge of press was a unilingual Anglophone. When the person he would interview would answer in French, he would cut the conversation short and say “Sorry, I don’t speak French.”

Faced with these numerous findings, the first objective of the committee was to become a permanent committee that was an integral part of the Union’s structure. The National President gave his approval to this initiative.

This is how, during the 2011 National Convention in Saint-John, with the support of a resolution received from the floor of the Convention and adopted by the members present, the creation of UNE’s first permanent Francophone committee took place.

Since its creation, this committee has continued to promote and defend the use of the French language in the operations, activities and events of our Union, as well as everyday society. The major presence of UNE at the various demonstrations supporting Franco-Ontarians last fall—protesting the cuts in French services in Ontario by the Ford Government—illustrates this commitment.

The Committee ensures the representation of a Francophone member in the steering committees of every national conference and convention. A Montreal-based firm is also responsible for translating documents and makes sure that the translators are Francophones. The W.E. Travel, whose services have now been retained by UNE, offers its services in both official languages.

The Francophone Committee wants to thank the people who took the decision to create a Canada-wide Francophone Committee: Louise Patrice, Jean-Pierre Ouellet and Daniel Toutant, as well as the precious contribution of Georges St-Jean, Technical Advisor, and Nicole Clermont, for her administrative support, as well as the entire UNE team for the support and efforts made to make sure that services provided by our Union are done in both official languages of our country.

Happy Francophonie Day!

The Francophone Committee

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International Women’s Day, March 8 – #BalanceforBetter

March 8 is International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter, promoting a more gender-balanced world, where women’s actions and accomplishments are valued and recognized.

Canada is far from being from a gender-balanced society. However, there have been a few improvements for the past few years. In the federal public sector, the current government has put a large emphasis on gender equality. Part of the new Department for Women and Gender Equality’s mandate, whose workers are UNE members, is the “government-wide implementation of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+)”. It is going to take years before the various federal departments fully adopt that public policy approach and before we can observe the impact of GBA+.

A lot of work remains to be done at the community level as well, where women can thrive both economically and in leadership positions. A recent report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) focuses on gender gaps in Canada’s 26 most populated cities. Based on four criteria, “economic security”, “education”, “health”, “leadership” and “security”, they ranked the cities where a lot of UNE members live and work. The top 3 cities where the gender gap is the lowest are:

1. Kingston, ON
2. St. John’s, NL
3. Victoria, BC

The Labour movement also needs to reflect on the reality of a persistent gender gap in leadership roles. As part of promoting leadership roles for women within our Union, UNE delegates voted on an important resolution at the 2017 Triennial Convention. The first UNE Women’s Conference will be organized in the fall of 2019. UNE female activists will gather to share ideas and experiences, and learn from each other to develop Union leadership skills.

Together, in our roles as Union activists, UNE members continue to contribute to building inclusive communities and are promoting gender equality.

There are many Labour events on March 8. Take part in an International Women’s Day event in your community!

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Phoenix: PSAC escalates pressure on government with buildings shutdown

This morning, over 500 PSAC members rallied and blocked entry into two major federal government buildings in Ottawa as they expressed their mounting frustrations with Phoenix and urged the Trudeau government for more action.

“We have told this government that if they do not make more progress in paying our members correctly, and compensate them for the massive impacts of this disaster, that we would escalate our actions. That’s why we’re here today.” said PSAC President Chris Aylward.

“Federal Public Service workers have been showing up to work every day, delivering the services Canadians rely on, despite the mess Phoenix has created in their lives. Our members have been paying for the government’s mistakes for years. It’s time for the government to start paying them back.”

The union is calling on the government to remedy the situation by:

  • Paying damages to all public service workers for the great financial and emotional hardship they have endured
  • Providing the additional staffing and training needed to:
  • assist members at the Client Contact Centre and the Public Service Pay Centre;
  • reduce Phoenix cases by ensuring HR data is entered on time;
  • eliminate the backlog of Phoenix cases, including implementing collective agreements and delivering retroactive pay
  • Delivering a clear and accountable timeline to stabilize Phoenix, eliminate the backlog, and transition to a new pay system

Damning figures from the recent Public Service Employee Survey provided overwhelming support for the union’s demands.

“To add insult to injury, while our members continue to wait to be paid correct, this government has also delayed delivering a fair deal for over 100,000 PSAC members at the bargaining table. We won’t allow this government to keep taking our members for granted.”

Source: PSAC

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SSO victory: Arbitration panel awards 4% market adjustment

On 15 February 2019, an Arbitration Board issued its final, binding decision on outstanding issues pertaining to negotiations for the Regional Offices (RO) and Field Interviewers (FI) bargaining units of Statistical Survey Operations (SSO).

Two important gains were awarded by the Board:

  1. New language in Article 2 (Definitions) requiring the employer to provide, in a letter to employees, an explanation for changes to an employee’s Average Work Week (AWW); and
  2. In addition to the 1.25% annual economic increase for the four year collective agreement, there is now a 4% market adjustment applicable to all rates of pay, effective December 1, 2016, and applied prior to the 1.25% economic increase for that year.

The Board granted the employer 120 days—i.e., until June 16—to implement the retroactive pay and 4% market adjustment for all members of both bargaining units.

The arbitration award lists all items settled by the parties prior to the hearing under Annex A. The award states that “all items, whether agreed to by the parties or awarded by the board, are effective the date of the award unless specified otherwise.” In other words, the terms of new collective agreement are in full effect as of February 15, 2019.

PSAC is now working with the employer to proofread all changes in the new agreement prior to signing and distributing it to members.

Download the arbitration decision ⬇

Background

After two years of negotiations with SSO, the union and employer reached impasse and filed for arbitration. On January 29-30, 2019, an arbitration hearing was held in Ottawa and on February 15, 2019, the Board issued its award.

As this new agreement is retroactive to a four year period that ended on November 30, 2018, PSAC is already in the process of initiating a new round of bargaining. More information on this will be provided soon; please sign up for SSO bargaining updates here.

Source: PSAC 

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The Legacy of a Woman: Viola Desmond

By Céline Ahodékon

February is Black History Month (BHM) in Canada. Every February, Canadians are invited to participate in BHM festivities and events that honour the legacy of Black Canadians, past and present.

In December 1995, the House of Commons officially recognized February as BHM in Canada following a motion introduced by Jean Augustine, the first Black Canadian woman elected to Parliament.

People of African descent have been part of shaping Canada’s heritage and identity since the arrival of Mathieu Da Costa, a navigator and interpreter, whose presence in Canada dates back to the early 1600s. Many Loyalists who came to Canada from the States in the early 1800s were also Black people and most of them settled in Africville, Nova Scotia. As Canadian soldiers, Black Canadians made many sacrifices in wartime as far back as the War of 1812.

People of African descent contributed fully to the development of the Canadian society. Lawyers, doctors, politicians, teachers, hair dressers, barbers, just to name a few, were Black people. However, life wasn’t always easy for them. Black communities faced discrimination, racism, hatred and racial segregation.

In 1846, Viola Desmond took a stand for what she believed in, social justice: “Viola Irene Desmond was a Canadian businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946 she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre. For this she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat she had paid for and the seat she used. Desmond’s case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history. Her case helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada”.

Viola Desmond’s courageous refusal to accept racial discrimination that day has shaped Canada’s history. In 2018, the Bank of Canada issued a new $10 bill featuring her likeness. This is the very first time ever in Canadian history that a Canadian woman, a racialized woman, and her story are featured on the money we all carry every day.

Viola Desmond is teaching all of us to do what is right! Stand up for those who face discrimination and unjust treatment. Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. Her story is also a rich proof that Black Canadians, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada the culturally diverse, inclusive, compassionate and prosperous nation it is today.

Brothers, Sisters and fellow activists, I hope that when you see the $10 bill you will reflect on Viola’s story and stand up, and fight injustice and systemic discrimination. Let’s fight for human rights and social justice, and equality. These are paramount in the advancement of a healthy society and we all need to do our part. Please take time to celebrate and learn more about people of African descent and their contributions to society. There are many activities organized across the country to celebrate BHM.

Happy Black History Month!

Céline Ahodékon is the UNE National Equity Representative for Racially Visible People.

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Treasury Board bargaining resumes February 12 — PSAC demands new mandate from Trudeau

PSAC will be resuming face-to-face bargaining sessions from February 12 to14 on behalf of the 90,000 federal public service workers covered by Treasury Board bargaining. The union’s top priority is to obtain a fair wage settlement, and improvements in areas such as work-life balance, workload, leave provisions, and the use of temporary workers.

After many months of frustrating talks with the government, PSAC members are still waiting for a proper response to the union’s bargaining proposals. In December, the government insulted federal public service workers by coming to the table with a proposal for a two-year wage freeze.

“We will mobilize members to pressure Prime Minister Trudeau to live up to his promise of a new relationship with public service workers – one of respect,” said PSAC National President, Chris Aylward. “His Government is betraying our members and Canadians who depend on high quality public service.”

“New Treasury Board President, Jane Philpott must get a new mandate from the Prime Minister – one that will allow a fair deal. Our members have been waiting three years to get paid correctly under Phoenix – they shouldn’t also have to wait for the decent working conditions they deserve.”

Next week’s sessions will cover four bargaining units under Treasury Board: Program & Administrative Services (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operations Services (SV), and Education & Library Science (EB).

Source: PSAC’s website