Author: Aurelie McDonald

July 29, 2021

Slavery was abolished throughout the British Colonies via an act for the abolition of slavery that was given Royal Assent on August 28, 1833 and took effect on August 1, 1834. The act abolished enslavement in most British colonies, freeing over 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean, South Africa as well as Canada.

Many Commonwealth countries have acknowledged and designated this day as Emancipation Day. On August 1, 2021, for the very first time Canada will recognize this day. It comes on the heels of a unanimous vote in Parliament on March 24, 2021.

Emancipation Day is an opportunity for Canadians to learn about Canada’s role in the slave trade as well as providing the chance to acknowledge the systematic racism and discrimination that has led to multi-generational trauma affecting the lives of Black Canadians up to this present day.

Despite the fact that slavery has been abolished since 1833, it has left an endowment of systemic practices of racism and discrimination; barriers that Black Canadians encounter in their daily lives. The legacy of enslavement speaks to the fact that the work to eradicate anti-Black sentiments. It includes racist rhetoric and practices continuing almost 200 years after the end of slavery as an institution.

Oftentimes, Canadians are not always aware that the history of Black people in Canada is one that includes enslavement and that those who fought against the practice of slavery were pivotal in shaping Canada as a nation. Descendants of the African diaspora continue to add to the mosaic of Canada’s diversity through their cultures and traditions, their involvements and contributions, achievements and innovations, as well as through their leadership.

We all have a role to play in lending our voices and efforts to the dismantling of the systemic barriers faced by Black Canadians. It is important to educate and to include the history of Blacks in Canada, ensuring that this is captured in the history books, and that it is taught in schools as part of the curriculum. Change is tantamount to our minds and to our hearts as we navigate the process of healing, as communities, individuals and as a nation.

Jamaican musician Bob Nesta Marley, who was also an advocate for the rights of Black people, and spoke up against poverty and western oppression sang,

‘’Emancipate yourself from mental slavery

None but ourselves can free our minds”.

As activists and citizens of the world, we should all be prepared to align ourselves, in allyship or leadership, in the forefront of this fight for true equality and inclusion in all aspects of life. As such, I invite our Union members and leaders alike to reflect, educate and involve yourself in the ongoing fight against anti-Black racism and discrimination.

Hayley Millington
UNE National Equity Representative for Racially Visible People

June 23, 2021

On June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, two important bills received Royal Assent. Bill C-15, titled United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and Bill C-8.

The first piece of legislation “provides that the Government of Canada must take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and must prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of the Declaration.”

The second piece of legislation “amends the Citizenship Act to include, in the Oath or Affirmation of Citizenship, a solemn promise to respect the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, in order to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to action number 94.”

We wish to acknowledge the passage of these bills as part of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s recommendations. We also acknowledge remembrance of centuries of hostilities, persecution, and attempted assimilation of Indigenous peoples in Canada through colonization.

We condemn unequivocally the resistance and angst portrayed by many Conservative federal politicians regarding the adoption of Bill C-15. These matters took too long to be addressed, but these are necessary steps toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and towards building a society that enhances Indigenous-government relations.

Respectfully and in Solidarity,

Kevin King
UNE National President

June 9, 2021

Members of the Union Family,

We have now entered Pride Month and you will be seeing many activities happening across the country.  I wanted to take a moment to celebrate this great country.  Pride in Canada starts around the end of May and happens across the country until September.  Pride means something different to each person.  For some it is a protest for change, a festival to celebrate what has been achieved, a time that we can explore and find out who we are, be our authentic selves, be with our chosen family and many more personal ways and reasons.  Those journeys and thoughts on pride are personal and varied.  I hope that in this difficult time that we all stay safe, know you are not alone and there is union family out there for you if you need us.  We are all here in solidarity for a diverse and inclusive Canada.

Here are a few sites that you can use to explore and some comments from other members of our union family:

Fierté Canada Pride     

Pride at Work Canada   

Queer Events – Queer History   

Canadian Virtual Hospice – Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Proud, Prepared, and Safe    

I love that Pride just gets bigger and brighter each year and that it celebrates every part of our diverse community and gives us all a platform to be visible and open with each other and with our many incredible allies.  That being said, there are still people who aren’t fully or fairly represented, and we need to keep pushing the envelope by ensuring we are being as inclusive as possible to enable historically marginalized queer voices to be heard, validated and celebrated too.

Andrew Shaver – UNE National Executive Vice-President (he/him)

Pride for me means members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community being healthy as their authentic selves. Locally, private online discussions are used to find doctors that are friendly to the gender diverse. This should not be necessary; we should have equal access to healthcare without fear! UNE can advocate for improved healthcare and Pharmacare for the 2SLGBTQ+ community within their workplaces and beyond. It should also include expanded mental healthcare. Current access to the healthcare needs of the 2SLGBTQ+ community is limited and includes long wait times. The Yukon recently developed a new gender-affirming healthcare policy. I would love to see this same comprehensive transgender and gender diverse health and wellness policy advocated for Canada-wide! 

Danielle Palmer – UNE Regional Representative for Human Rights, Alberta & NWT & NU

Each year, in June, the LGBTQ2+ community celebrates Pride month. We march every year, to help create awareness and support from the community we live in. We continue our fight year after year because of oppression, and the fight for equality to live our lives as our true selves. It’s also an opportunity to acknowledge that the fight for equality is not over. As long as discrimination on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other forms of discrimination exist we will continue to use our voices loud and proud.

Keith Lemoine – UNE President and Human Rights Representative, Local 10512

Pride was originally a riot, a fight for equal rights, to love who you love, to be who you truly are.  52 years later we are still hearing stories of people attacked for being their authentic self, of people being murdered for living as the gender they are instead of the gender society has assigned them, and of youth being forced from their homes and their family for not conforming.  Our fight for equality is not over.  We, as Union members, need to educate ourselves and others, so that we may all truly be equal. We all deserve respect, access to medical care, mental health resources, housing, community, and family support. Real love is just love, regardless of gender, or sexual orientation.

Janet Eileen Connor – UNE Regional Representative for Human Rights, Ottawa-Treasury Board

Yours in Solidarity,

Chris Little-Gagné (he/him)
UNE National Equity Representative for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People

June 2, 2021

The UNE membership has been deeply affected by the discovery of 215 Indigenous children’s remains at the site of the former residential school in Kamloops BC.

Not only is this an almost unspeakable atrocity, within the nation we call Canada, but this has deeply affected many of our members, especially those who work as public servants with Indigenous Services Canada, (ISC) and Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC).

It is most difficult for our members to concentrate on work and family-related tasks when this pall of shame confronts them in dealing with their employer and to Indigenous peoples they serve.

Everyone needs to do more than display a backdrop, draped in orange, that states “Every Child Matters”.

We demand that the federal government search all residential school sites, and repatriate all those buried at Kamloops, and all other residential school sites, regardless of cost, and as expediently as possible. We also demand the federal government stop fighting St. Anne’s Residential School survivors in court over the release of documents.

You can read PSAC’s statement on this critical issue.

Respectfully submitted and in Solidarity,

Kevin King
UNE National President

May 31, 2021

To enter the conversation around disability inclusion, first consider the concept of disability exclusion. Have you ever experienced it?

Have you ever been excluded because of disability? I have.

Have you ever been unconsidered because of disability? I have.

Have you ever just been left out and not understood why? I have.

Persons with  a disability have struggled to be included into the fabric of society on an equal and equitable keel. Things that some take for granted are barriers to others.

A single step in front of a building doesn’t seem like much of a barrier, unless you have a mobility disability.

A movie theatre seems to be barrier free, unless you are deaf and there is no closed captioning.

An elevator seems to be an accessibility tool, unless you are blind and braille is absent from the floor indicator keyboard.

What does accessibility mean? Is that ever a concern or even a consideration for most people?

Accessibility is about more than removing barriers. It is about creating spaces and situations where everyone feels welcomed, even invited, so that they can participate obstruction and discrimination free.

National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) is an opportunity to:

• celebrate the valuable contributions of persons with disabilities,

• acknowledge the accomplishments of individuals, communities and workplaces to remove barriers to accessibility and inclusion,

• recognize the ongoing work we all have to do to counter discrimination against persons with disabilities, and

• promote a culture of inclusion.

I was recently contacted by a student from about 28 years ago. He was a student in the school where I taught, but was not a student in my class. He recounted one of his remembrances. He shared the following:

“One day he observed a student making fun of me behind my back. I had heard the student, and addressed them. I explained why my gait was as it was. I offered them an opportunity to experience, in a limited way, what I experience with every step. I suggested that the student place a lift under their shoe equivalent to the size of a 2×4 to create a leg length discrepancy and to then walk around and observe the changes to their gait. They explained that that moment had a profound affect on them and was the moment when they learned about empathy, to view things from another’s perspective, and to not judge. They stated that they went home and tried the experiment themself.”

If we are going to affect a cultural change with respect to the perception of accessibility, we need to focus the conversation on removing barriers, enhancing inclusivity and recognizing the diversity of contributions by persons with disabilities. As was the student, we all need to become participants in the change.

It is only by working together that we will achieve a truly accessible and inclusive society that leaves no one behind.

Michael Freeman,
UNE National Equity Representative for Persons with Disabilities