Posted on

Black History Month Quiz

February 9, 2021

As we are celebrating Black History Month, we invite you to take this quiz by UNE National Equity Representative for Racially Visible People Hayley Millington to learn more about the legacy of Black Canadians.

Question #1: The first black man to set foot on Canadian soil was a free man. True or False?

Answer: True. His name was Mathieu Da Costa, a free man who was hired by Europeans to act as a translator.

Question #2: Where did the first shipload of enslaved Africans arrive in British North America (BNA)?

  • Jonestown
  • Jamestown
  • Georgetown
  • Trenchtown

Answer: The first shipload of enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown.

Question #3: What is the connection between Father Paul Le Jeune and Olivier Le Jeune? 

Answer: Olivier Le Jeune was the first enslaved African of New France. Olivier was 6 years old when he arrived in New France and was the property of Sir David Kirke. He received his education by Jesuit priest Father Paul Le Jeune. Father Le Jeune was his last owner.

Question #4: In which code was slavery for economic reasons stipulated?

Answer: Louis XIV’s Code Noir permitted slavery for economic purposes.

Question #5: This King of France permitted colonists of New France to own Black slaves and Pawnees, Aboriginal slaves. True or False? 

Answer: True. For more information on slavery in New France: Slavery.

Question #6: This slave set fire to her master’s Montreal home and destroyed 50 homes in Montreal. She was tortured and hanged as an object lesson for all blacks. Who is she?

Answer: Her name was Marie-Joseph Angélique. She allegedly set fire to her master’s Montreal house and destroyed nearly 50 homes.

Question #7: Runaway slaves fled to Canada via:

  • Greyhound bus
  • Via rail
  • Underground Railroad
  • Horse and buggy

Answer: The Underground Railway was created in the early 19thcentury by a group of abolitionists based mainly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The term Underground Railway began to be used in the 1830s. It was a complex, clandestine network of people, secret routes and safe houses.

Question #8: What was the Imperial Statute?

A. A statue of King Louis XIV

B. A statute about the enslaved only having to be fed and clothed

C. A statute about any child born of enslaved parents be free at 25

D. Anyone released had to ensure that she/he could be financially independent

E. A only

F. All the above

G. Number B-D

Answer: G

Question #9: This group of Blacks left Halifax to relocate to which African nation?  

Answer: Black Loyalists realized they would never find true freedom, so they left Halifax, almost 1200 of them, to relocate in Sierra Leone.

Question #10: Upper Canadians were shocked when Chloe Cooley, an enslaved woman from Queenstown, was beaten and bound by her owner and transported across the Niagara River to be sold in the US. This incident convinced Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe that the abolition of slavery was necessary. True or False? 

Answer: True. Upper Canadians were shocked when Chloe Cooley, an enslaved woman from Queenstown, was beaten and bound by her owner and transported across the Niagara River to be sold in the US. English law made prosecution impossible and the incident convinced Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe that the abolition of slavery was necessary. The Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada was enacted in 1793.

Question #11: Who were the maroons and where, in Canada, did they settle? 

Answer: A group of 600 freedom fighters landed in Halifax in 1796. These immigrants, called Maroons, came from a Jamaican community of escaped slaves who had guarded their freedom for more than a century and fought off countless attempts to re-enslave them.

Question #12: Slavery was abolished everywhere in BNA in 1834, and in 1793, Upper Canada (now Ontario) passed the Anti-Slavery Act. True or false?

Answer: True. Slavery was abolished throughout the British colonies by an Imperial Act, called the Slavery Abolition Act, which became effective as of August 1834.

Posted on

PSAC welcomes long overdue federal public service staffing review

February 3, 2021

Recently, Treasury Board outlined their strategy to increase diversity and inclusion in the federal public service. One of their key commitments was to review the Public Service Employment Act to improve diversity in their hiring practices.

PSAC welcomes this review. An overhaul of the federal government’s staffing system is long overdue to address systemic barriers that impact our members from marginalized groups.

Staffing issues are one of the most important issues raised by employees, and we hear countless stories from our members who’ve experienced racism, sexism, ableism and discrimination during the hiring process. Many members also feel like they don’t have proper recourse to deal with discrimination because they fear retaliation if they file a grievance or a complaint.

But sweeping legislative changes to the Act can’t be made without meaningful consultation with PSAC and other bargaining agents as well as federal public service workers who have been negatively impacted by the hiring process. We must also strengthen the Employment Equity Act, which the government has promised to review  as well.

New report charts path towards diversity and inclusion

A report on employment equity released by the Public Service Commission this week confirms that employment equity groups are not proportionately represented throughout the recruitment process. The report offered three recommendations:

  • A call to action for departments to review their hiring practices, identify and remove barriers and improve the success of employment equity groups in the various stages of hiring.
  • For the Public Service Commission to look at system-wide barriers across the public service to uncover and address the root causes of those barriers.
  • To require mandatory training on unconscious bias in recruitment for all public service managers and strengthen supports for those managers.

We fully support these recommendations to address the unfair and opaque staffing practices in the federal public service that disproportionately impact our members from marginalized groups. But these recommendations alone are not enough. These barriers are not new, and under-represented groups have waited far too long for action to be taken to improve representation in the public service.  

PSAC will continue to tackle systemic racism and discrimination in the federal public service. Canada’s public service is stronger and better-served when it is made up of workers with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences.

Source: PSAC welcomes long overdue federal public service staffing review | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

Posted on

UNE Triennial Convention Update – Going Virtual 2021

The 2021 UNE Triennial Convention has been rescheduled to be held virtually September 13-17, 2021.

If you have already registered, you will be contacted with updated information as it becomes available. Please note the new deadlines below if your Local has not yet elected delegates, alternates or observers.

Locals are encouraged to hold elections through virtual membership meetings.

NEW DATE – May 13, 2021 is the deadline for resolutions, delegate registration and for your Local to be in conformance.

Make sure your Local is in Conformance
You can only attend Convention if your Local is in conformance. For a complete list of documents needed from your Local, see the Convention section of the UNE website.

Elect Delegates and their Alternates
Delegates and alternates are elected during general Local meetings. The number of delegates per Local is determined by the number of members in good standing six months before the start of Convention as per UNE Bylaw 6, Section 11:

  1. Four to 100 members = one delegate;
  2. One delegate for each 100 members or portion thereof to a maximum of five delegates for any given Local.

Observers
Locals in conformance can also send observers to Convention at the Local’s expense. These members can attend Convention, but they cannot participate in debate or vote.

Submit Credential Forms
Credential forms for each delegate, alternate and observer must be submitted to UNE. Credential forms for delegates and alternates must include a copy of the general Local meeting minutes showing the election of those members. The credentials forms are available for download on the Convention section of the UNE website.

Registration Deadline

To be recognized as a delegate to Convention, members must complete the online registration and submit the following documents by May 13, 2021:

  1. Credential forms, including meeting minutes showing election of delegates and alternates;
  2. Local financial documents in conformance with UNE Bylaws and Policies.

Members who miss the deadline will not be able to participate on Convention committees and are considered late delegates. Late delegates are seated at Convention by way of procedural motion during the early stages of the opening of our Convention.

Questions about Convention Logistics and Registration?
We hope you will find all the answers on the Convention section of our website.

If you require additional information, please contact Suzanne Boucher, Convention Coordinator, at events@une-sen.org or at 613-560-4359 or 1-800-663-6685.

RESOLUTIONS

Option 1

Locals should appoint a Convention resolutions committee; these are normally made up of three to five members. Some Locals may prefer to appoint a committee for each resolution topic: constitution and bylaws, finance, and general resolutions. Your Local should issue a notice asking members to submit resolutions to your Convention resolutions committee. Allow plenty of time for the committee to prepare a report. Members of the committee should also be encouraged to submit their own resolutions. Each committee’s report and additional resolutions should be presented during a general membership meeting. This meeting should provide ample time to debate resolutions before members cast a vote.

Option 2

Any member in good standing can submit a resolution to Convention by having it co-signed by five other members in good standing.

Submit Your Resolution Online

You should submit your resolutions electronically on our website. Completing this process significantly reduces the time required to prepare resolutions for committee review in June. If you do not have internet access, you can submit your resolutions by mail or fax.

Submit Supporting Documentation

The resolutions you submit online must also be supported by hardcopy versions of either the signed minutes verifying that the resolution was adopted during a general membership meeting or the resolutions form co-signed by five other members in good standing. You can download the resolution template on our Convention page here.

Please send these hard copies to the attention of Ateau Zola by email at resolutions@une-sen.org.

You can also submit by fax at 613-560-5208, or by mail at: Union of National Employees 900-150 Isabella St. Ottawa (ON) K1S 1V7.

Resolutions received after May 13, 2021 will be deemed late and will be dealt with after all other resolutions.

Questions about resolutions?

Please contact Ateau Zola at resolutions@une-sen.org or at 613-560-4343 or 1-800-663-6685.

In Solidarity,

Kevin King
National President
Union of National Employees

Posted on

Black History Month

February 1, 2021

During the month of February, Canadians are invited to participate in Black History Month (BHM) activities and events that honour and recognize the legacy of Black Canadians, both past and present.

For 2021, as February approaches, the focus centers on Black History Matters: Listen, Learn, Share and Act, which recognizes the important legacy of people of African descent and the long-standing history in the development of Canada.

February signals a time for Canadians to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians who, throughout history have contributed to Canada’s rich mosaic.

It is important to bring awareness to the fact that persons of African descent have been a part of shaping Canada’s heritage and its identity since the arrival of Mathieu Da Costa, a free black man who acted as a navigator and interpreter for the Europeans back in the early 1600s.

Notably, the role of people of African descent in Canada has not always been highlighted in Canada’s historical landscape. As such, we see little mention of the Loyalists who came here after the American Revolution and settled in the Maritimes and that they were people of African descent. Not to mention the patriotism and sacrifices made in wartime by soldiers of African descent as far back as the War of 1812.

Surprisingly enough, few Canadians are aware of the fact that African people were once enslaved in the territory that is now referred to as Canada. Furthermore, they are unaware, that those who fought enslavement also helped to lay the foundation of Canada’s diverse and inclusive society.

Black History Month is a time to learn more about these Canadian stories and the many other important contributions of Black Canadians to the settlement, growth and development of Canada, and about the diversity of Black communities in Canada and their importance to the history of this country.

The commemoration of Black History Month dates back to 1926, when Harvard-educated African American historian Carter G. Woodson proposed setting aside a time devoted to honour the accomplishments of African Americans and to heighten awareness of Black history in the United States. This led to the establishment of Negro History Week in 1926. Celebrations of Black history began in Canada also shortly thereafter. During the early 1970s, the week became known as Black History Week. It was expanded into Black History Month in 1976.

In December 1995, the House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month in Canada following a motion introduced by the first Black Canadian woman elected to Parliament, the Honourable Jean Augustine. The motion was carried unanimously by the House of Commons.

In February 2008, Senator Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Senate, introduced the Motion to Recognize Contributions of Black Canadians and February as Black History Month. The motion received unanimous approval and was adopted on March 4, 2008. The adoption of this motion completed Canada’s parliamentary position on Black History Month.

With all that being said I encourage you to take some time and delve into the History of people of African descent… Black History Matters.   

Hayley Millington
UNE National Equity Representative for Racially Visible People

Posted on

Treasury Board bargaining survey: You can shape the future of work in the public service

January 26, 2021

The pandemic has radically changed the way many PSAC members work. We have experienced the challenges of working remotely from home; the impact of technological changes;  the effect of an uncertain economy on job security; and the major inequalities that remain for women, racialized workers, and many other marginalized groups. These are some of the key issues that can be addressed in the next round of bargaining that begins this summer.

This next round of talks will be all about the future of work in the federal public service and you can help decide what your union bargaining team brings to the table.

Take 15 minutes to fill out our survey to make sure we address your workplace concerns at the table. Your input is essential. We need to hear directly from you about what has changed over the last year. And we need to know more about you so that we can make the case for a contract that equitably addresses our members’ diverse needs.

Your participation in this survey and the broader bargaining process is key to our success in the next round of talks.

The survey is for members in the Program and Administrative Services (PA), Technical Services (TC), Operational Services (SV) and Education and Library Science (EB) groups. It will be open until February 25, 2021.

We are also still accepting your specific proposals for improving your next contract until January 31. Your component union and PSAC will review your proposals and they, along with the survey’s results, will be discussed at a bargaining conference of member delegates from across the country who will decide the bargaining priorities.

The current collective agreements expire on the following dates:

PA: June 20, 2021
TC: June 21, 2021
SV: August 4, 2021
EB: June 30, 2021

Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to receive more updates as we prepare to negotiate your next contract.

Source: Treasury Board bargaining survey: You can shape the future of work in the public service | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

Posted on

Help improve accessibility in the federal public service

January 22, 2021

Our members have told us that lack of accessibility and accommodation are major barriers preventing them from fully participating in the federal public service. Despite the progress PSAC has achieved through grievances and advocacy, there is still a great deal of work to be done before we have fully inclusive workplaces. 

A new study by Carleton University aims to identify these barriers – as well as the support systems available to workers with a disability – to improve employment accessibility across the federal public service. 

You can take part in the study, “Career Transitions and Accessibility in the Federal Public Service”, if you have a disability and have ever worked or applied to work in the federal public service. 

We encourage all PSAC members with a disability to take part in this research. 

How to participate: 

You’re welcome to participate in a quick survey, an interview, or take part in both.  

  1. Complete the anonymous survey online 
  2. Register for a virtual interview with Carleton’s research team 
    • You can also register by phone by calling 613-520-2600 ext. 7310 
    • You will be interviewed on Zoom or by phone, and your feedback will only be recorded with your consent. Accommodations are available for accessible participation.  

The deadline to participate in the study is March 31, 2021. A report on the research project will be published by the end of the year and shared with PSAC and the federal government.  

For more information, reach out to Carleton University’s project officer Mirvat Sanaallah. 

Source: Help improve accessibility in the federal public service | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

Posted on

PSAC and Parks Canada Agency sign new collective agreement

January 18, 2021

The new collective agreement between PSAC and Parks Canada Agency was signed late last week. The deal was ratified by Parks members on November 4. The new collective agreement gives over 6,000 Parks workers a competitive economic increase, greater parity with the core public service, no concessions, and improved working conditions and job security.   

Implementation period begins

The formal signing of the agreement means new contract terms are now in effect, with the exception of monetary provisions which are retroactive. Parks Canada has 180 days to implement wage increases, wage adjustments and allowances.

As explained in the contract ratification kit, in view of this extended implementation timeline, PSAC negotiated a $500 lump sum payment for members into these new contracts. An additional $50 will be added for every subsequent 90-day delay.

Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to continue receiving information about implementation of collective agreements and the Phoenix settlement.

Source: PSAC and Parks Canada Agency sign new collective agreement | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

Posted on

Update on the Taxability of Phoenix Damages

January 13, 2021

Treasury Board has provided PSAC with a letter from CRA setting out its preliminary view that the general damages in the Phoenix settlement agreement are taxable. This letter, which was prepared at Treasury Board’s request and without PSAC’s input, is not a formal tax ruling and PSAC is contesting this conclusion.

PSAC maintains that general damages paid to all employees for “stress, aggravation, and pain and suffering” and for the late implementation of collective agreements are non-taxable, as CRA has acknowledged other specific damages in the settlement should be treated.

We carefully negotiated an agreement that reflects a wide range of impacts suffered by PSAC members, including the significant emotional toll that the implementation of the Phoenix Pay System had on them. The tax treatment of the general damages should reflect the purpose of that compensation. The letter from CRA contains numerous critical factual errors and misapplies the relevant income tax principles on this issue.

We have communicated with both Treasury Board and the CRA about our concerns and will continue to work to resolve these issues. Our goal is to ensure PSAC members receive the full compensation they deserve and that we avoid any time consuming and complex tax disputes for individual members.

The resolution of these issues is of extreme importance to PSAC and we will continue to update members as we work to bring this to a conclusion. We will also update members as soon as we receive a projected timeline from Treasury Board as to when members can expect to receive their payments.

Source: Update on the Taxability of Phoenix Damages | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)

Posted on

699 leave: PSAC files additional policy grievances, human rights complaint

PSAC has filed policy grievances with Treasury Board, CFIA and other agencies for restricting the use of 699 leave for members who are unable to work because of the pandemic. These grievances are in addition to two 699 policy grievances that were filed against Treasury Board in October.

Treasury Board and other agencies changed their guidelines around the use of 699 leave — leave with pay for other reasons — in November, forcing federal public service workers to exhaust all of their paid leave before they can use 699 leave.

The changes disproportionately impact marginalized groups who have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, including women, racialized employees, workers with disabilities and public service workers with family obligations.

Parents who need to pull their sick kids out of school or daycare, or workers caring for elderly loved ones are now expected to use up their vacation and sick leave because of circumstances out of their control. And recent lockdowns in provinces across the country have made the crisis for workers even more difficult.

This violates both our members’ collective agreements and workers’ rights under the Canadian Human Rights Act. PSAC will also be filing a human rights complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Workers have a right to use 699 leave because we negotiated it into their collective agreements; it cannot be taken away arbitrarily by managers. Treasury Board’s changes are out of touch with the public health crisis facing Canadians and impacts the well-being of public service workers.

PSAC is committed to ensuring that all our members, and especially women, caregivers, racialized workers and workers with disabilities, continue to have the necessary support and leave with pay they need during the pandemic.

Source: http://psacunion.ca/699-leave-psac-files-additional-policy-grievances

Posted on

Canadians working from home can claim new tax deduction

December 18, 2020

Canadians who have been working from home during the pandemic will be eligible for a new tax deduction of up to $400 to cover their home office expenses in 2020.

Employees who worked from home at least 50 per cent of the time, over a period of at least four consecutive weeks or more due to the pandemic will be eligible for the deduction. Workers can claim $2 for each day they worked from home, up to a maximum of $400, without the need for employers to sign additional paperwork.

Those who still want to make larger claims for home office expenses can still do so with a new simplified process.

The streamlined expense claim will simplify the lives of workers while allowing our members at the Canada Revenue Agency to focus on providing financial relief to other vulnerable Canadians.

Source: Canadians working from home can claim new tax deduction | Public Service Alliance of Canada (psacunion.ca)