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Solving Homelessness

solving_homelessnessFebruary 20 is Social Justice Day, and we thought it would be interesting to talk about one of the social justice issues facing many nations: the issue of homelessness. In Canada, 30,000 people are homeless on any given night; of these, over 2,800 remain unsheltered, sleeping in cars, in parks or out on the street.

Among those most at risk of homelessness are youth, aboriginal people and victims of domestic violence.

During last year’s National Conference on Ending Homelessness, Minister of State for Social Development Candice Bergen said the Harper government is “committed to working with our partners to address this complex issue.”

And that’s how homelessness is usually presented: a complex issue without an easy solution, without a 10-step plan. But could it be as simple as giving apartments to the homeless?

Well, that’s precisely what one of the most conservative states did – and they’re on track to end homelessness by 2015. In just eight years, Utah has managed to reduce homelessness by a whopping 78 %.

The program got its start in 2005, just a few years before the worst recession since the Great Depression. And yet, the program wasn’t torpedoed in the name of austerity. In fact, despite the additional challenges posed by the economic downturn, it got amazing results.

If your brain hasn’t kablooey’ed by now, you’re probably wondering how exactly this works.

“The model allows homeless citizens freedom in their use of the system. The homeless are given access to their own apartments, while the state provides job training and offer social services, including substance abuse programs, to help residents assimilate to a steady job and social life.”

To house the homeless, the state initially drew “579 [units] from existing rental inventory, 952 from refurbished structures, and 683 [from] new construction”. If the resident is able to land a steady job, 30% of their income goes back into the state coffers as rent. If they can’t, “they still get to keep their apartment”.

“It’s actually a cost-effective way of doing it,” explained Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks. “The annual cost of E.R. visits and jail stays for each homeless person is $16,670 per year. They found out that if you provide them housing, it’s actually much cheaper; the annual cost of providing an apartment and social worker for each homeless person is $11,000 per year.”

If you’re thinking this is only cost-effective because of the high cost of health care in the U.S., you’d be wrong.

“The Wellesley Institute’s Blueprint to End Homelessness (2007), Shapcott argues that the average monthly costs of housing people while they are homeless are $1,932 for a shelter bed, $4,333 for provincial jail, or $10,900 for a hospital bed. Compare this with the average monthly cost to the City of Toronto for rent supplements ($701) or social housing ($199.92).”

Turns out solving homelessness isn’t as complex an issue as we keep being told by politicians. Investing in homelessness prevention and housing would not only cost taxpayers less, it would be the moral and ethical thing to do.

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Congratulations Local 50773

cmhr_rat

There’s some exciting news coming from the Museum of Human Rights: our members there have just ratified their first collective agreement.

“It’s been a lengthy process,” admits Regional Vice-President Martin Kaminski. “But it’s also been a very positive one.”

Close to 100% of members voted in favour of ratifying the new collective agreement, said Kaminski.

“We got really great comments from members,” explained Local President Stephen Carney, who was part of the bargaining team. “People are happy with the ultimate result.”

From the anonymous comment cards received, it’s clear that the members really appreciate the bargaining team’s hard work:

 

“Sounds good to me. Thanks to [the bargaining team]. I trust that they did their best and I’m happy with it,” wrote one member.

“Kudos to the bargaining team for a fair agreement!” wrote another.

 

For his part, Carney said he feels fortunate to have been part of the museum’s first collective agreement.

“It’s not something I had been involved in before,” admitted Carney. “I’ve worked in a union environment, but I had never been involved at the Local level or in the bargaining process.”

“It can be a really engaging experience. You end up becoming really close with your teammates.”

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will officially open in September 2014.

Congratulations to the bargaining team: Stephen Carney, local president; Travis Tomchuk, local vice-president; Isabelle Masson, human rights officer; Tracy Thor, PSAC regional representative; and Stephen Bedingfield, negociator.

 


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Inuit Language Week


by Geoff Ryan

Too often, Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are grouped into a category: Aboriginal Peoples. While this makes it easier to talk about a community that generally faces similar challenges and shares a common heritage, it does leave the impression that the group is homogenous. As we know, it’s anything but!

Our most recent census revealed that Canada is home to over 60 aboriginal languages. Of these, Inuktitut is the language of Canada’s Inuit.

But the language isn’t immune to modern pressures. In 2011, 63% of Inuit reported being able to carry a conversation in Inuktitut; a 6% drop from just five years earlier.

Luckily, the Nunavut government recognizes the importance of keeping the language alive and thriving.

For 10 years now, the territory has been celebrating Uqausirmut Quviasutiqarniq (Inuktitut Language Week), each year. It’s just one of many ways the government is trying to encourage its population to learn about the language’s history and its importance to the community.

This year, Nunavut is celebrating its language from February 17 to 28, under the theme of: “Our Language Keeps Our Culture Strong”.

There are over 35,000 people who speak Inuktitut and over 28,000 who use it as the primary language in their home. Most of these people live in Nunavut, Nunavik (northern Quebec), Inuvialuit (N.W.T.) and Nunatsiavut (Labrador), but there are Inuktitut speakers in every province and territory in Canada.

So do you want to learn some Inuktitut?

Well, there is an app for that… seriously! Developed by Pinnguaq, a Nunavut-based company, Singuistics teaches Inuktitut though songs while showing you images of Inuit art. It also features traditional and original songs by Inuit musicians alongside illustrations by Nunavut’s best artists.

The app is available to download on the App Store, for iPhone and iPad. Pinnguaq Director Ryan Oliver says iPod and Mac versions of the app are coming soon.

“We’re hoping to have an Android and Windows App Store version of the App available by the end of 2014,” added Oliver. “By that time, we’re also hoping to have versions of Singuistics in 5 other Indigenous languages. We’re aiming to do Cree, Mi’kmaq, Ojibwe, Dene and Gwech’in versions of Singuistics this year.”

Oliver is also looking forward to the end of March, when Singuistics will feature four new songs, three of which are from an Iqaluit band named The Jerry Cans.

“It will provide a more contemporary look at how Inuktitut is being spoken and sung these days,” explained Oliver.

But there’s one thing an App can’t teach you: if you are looking for the Inuktitut word for “hello”… sorry, you won’t find one.

Inuit say hello with a smile.

This article was written by Geoff Ryan as part of our member journalism program. Geoff is the UNE’s national equity representative for persons with disabilities, president of Local X0150 and a resident of Nunavut for over 30 years.

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Time to submit resolutions!

The Union of National Employees sent a call for resolutions earlier today. Locals have until April 11 to submit resolutions.

“We really want to emphasize what an important step this is,” declared National President Doug Marshall. “Resolutions are what empower our members at all levels to pave the way forward for our union – to decide to how we run our organization.”

Typically, Locals appoint a resolutions committee to solicit draft resolutions from their members. The committee reviews all the resolutions and prepares a report, which is presented to the membership during a general meeting. Members present debate each resolution before casting a vote. Any resolution adopted by the Local is then sent to the UNE.

But this time around, there’s a second option for members to get a resolution to convention.

“Any member can get five other members to co-sign their resolution – and that resolution will make it to our convention committees for review,” explained Marshall.

“In fact, this option exists thanks to a resolution presented during our last convention – it just goes to show how one resolution can really change how our union operates.”

Later this spring, the Union of National Employees will strike its own convention committees; these will be charged with reviewing resolutions, eliminating duplicates and drafting their own reports to convention.

These documents will be a huge focus of convention; several days are dedicated solely to debating and voting on resolutions.

To view the resolution callout letter, click here. If you missed the convention callout letter, click here.

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Skippy's attack on democracy

If you can’t win the battle of ideas, rig the game. That’s basically what conservatives are up to with their latest coup: the “Fair” Elections Act.

And to demonstrate their commitment to democracy, the Conservatives are dedicating several days to debate this very important bill…. Oh wait, no. That would be in an alternate universe that makes sense.

In actual fact: the Conservatives are rushing the bill through parliament and limiting debate.

The 252-page bill makes substantial changes to the Canada Elections Act; some of which have been called Orwellian.

For starters, the bill would muzzle the chief electoral officer – only allowing him to speak about “how and where to vote.”

During an interview with CBC Radio last weekend, Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand said the act would limit his ability “to provide information to the public.”

And Elections Canada would be stripped of its outreach activities: no more ads encouraging citizens to vote – because the Conservative government believes that a 60% voter turnout is good enough in this country and because Pierre Poilievre believes that “political candidates who are aspiring for office are far better at inspiring voters to get out and cast their ballot than are government bureaucracies.”

Then again, Poilievre (AKA “Skippy”) believes that the root cause of terrorism is terrorists….

But if you weren’t convinced that the Conservatives are trying to stack the deck in their favour, consider that they’re increasing donation and spending limits… because, as we know from looking at the U.S., getting more big money into politics really enhances our democracy.

The Act also borrows another Republican strategy; enacting stricter voter ID laws to disenfranchise low-income earners, students, the homeless and Aboriginal Peoples. The Conservatives are crying wolf over the issue of “vouching”, which enfranchises voters without the proper paper identification.

From Policy Debrief:

Minister Poilievre cites a study commissioned by Elections Canada, written by Harry Neufeld, which claims that the “irregularities” for vouching voting was around 25%.  Yet when one looks at the report, Neufeld is using the term “irregularities” in reference to electoral workers ‘irregularly’ applying policy, not confirmed cases of voter fraud by vouching.

But just like in the U.S., the Conservatives are going to use the widespread voter fraud bogeyman argument to make their case. Many Republican-controlled states have introduced strict voter-ID laws to “prevent voter fraud” – but really, the goal is to disenfranchise the economically-disadvantaged, students, blacks and Latinos; all of whom are likelier to vote Democratic. As many as 11% of American voters are without government-issued photo ID.

These new voter ID-laws have been heavily criticized; civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton has compared these laws to the Jim Crow-era poll taxes that prevented newly-enfranchised blacks from voting.

Pennsylvania and Arizona have seen their voter-ID laws overturned by the courts; Florida and Iowa launched costly investigations into the issue “widespread” voter fraud and turned up zip.

When the Brennan Institute studied voter fraud, they came up with fraud rates of 0.0002% in Wisconsin and 0.0006% in New Hampshire. Hardly a “widespread” problem.

The real threats to democracy take the form of well-orchestrated misinformation campaigns. During the 2012 presidential elections, voters in Florida, Indiana and Virginia received calls telling them to vote by phone.

These misinformation tactics aren’t all that different from what many Canadians experienced at the hands of “Mr. Pierre Poutine”. But does the so-called Fair Elections Act do anything to crack down on that type of voter suppression?

“With another election coming soon, Canadians still don’t know what really happened in 2011 or who was responsible,” wrote the Ottawa Citizen’s editorial board. “Mayrand has said that the Commissioner of Canada Elections should have the power to compel testimony; this bill does not create that.”

“The removal of investigative powers from Elections Canada is the most revealing change,” wrote the Ottawa Citizen’s editorial board.

The Council of Canadians has a petition on their website calling for a truly fair elections act here. The NDP also has its own petition calling on Parliament to reject Bill C-23.

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Liar, Liar, Pants on fire!

Ooooooops!

Turns out, Tony Clement was “wrong” about sick leave! Turns out, public servants aren’t taking 18.26 sick days per year, after all.

Today, the parliamentary budget office released a report showing that public servants take 11.52 sick days per year.

To be clear, 11.52 sick days is in line with our counterparts in the private sector, who take on average 11.3 days per year.

Help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t let Tony lie to Canadians… again!

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Looking towards the future

The Outside Canada region held its regional seminar last weekend. The region includes union members working at the departments formerly known as the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Canadian International Development Agency and Pɑssport Canada.

Given the major changes at these departments, there was a lot to talk about.

“With Pɑssport Canada being split in two and CIDA merging with DFAIT, I think it’s fair to say that my region is affected,” said Assistant Regional Vice-President Karl Lafrenière.

Lafrenière noted that the CIDA Local has been hit especially hard; it’s become the smallest Local in his region, a spot formerly occupied by his pɑssport Local.

Even the Foreign Affairs Local isn’t immune to all these changes. There’s still some uncertainty about what the amalgamation will mean for the members at 125 Sussex Dr.

“As both organizations come together, we can’t help but be nervous about possible reductions,” explained local president Gordon McAllister, who represents members at DFAIT. That said, he’s hopeful that last weekend’s seminar has paved a better future for members of DFAIT and CIDA.

“On a positive note, both Locals have agreed to work closely together,” explained McAllister. “I invited their executive as guests to our next annual general meeting.”

He’s also planning other joint meetings with the CIDA Local’s president to better understand each workplace’s issues.

“From my perspective, that’s one of the bigger wins from the seminar; having both Locals work closely together.”

Also notable about this seminar was the great number of young workers present. For Anna Borgognoni, a young worker from Local 70044, this seminar was her introduction to the UNE.

“Going into the event, I was quite nervous and unsure of what to expect,” admitted Borgognoni. “I was quickly embraced by the group, who provided me with information, answered my myriad of questions, and made me feel like an integral part of the team.”

“It was a great first taste of union activities for me, a newcomer to the union scene.”

Borgognoni added that she especially enjoyed drafting resolutions, the mock debate that followed and brainstorming outreach campaigns.

“Saturday’s presentation on Twitter and Sunday’s presentation on political action got a lot of high marks,” declared Regional Vice-President Heather Brooker.

“We had such an enthusiastic crowd; I think it’s clear now that political action using social media is in our future.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Karl Lafrenière, who also believes his members were able to build a bridge between the two presentations.

“People don’t understand how many tools we have at our fingertips to communicate with our members,” said Lafrenière. “At least ten people told me they’re leaving with some great ideas; I know they’re related to social media.”

“People were really happy. It energized them.”

But just in case you’re leaving with the impression that the seminar went off without a hitch, we should point out that on Saturday, the hotel moved an entire family into our hospitality suite. Ayayay!

Luckily that got sorted out, and members were able to enjoy themselves without having to share the room with strangers trying to catch some shut-eye.

“We normally don’t have a lot of opportunities to meet, all three Locals together,” explained Lafrenière. “It was nice to be able to connect.”

Psst! We have photos from the seminar on our Flickr page.

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National Executive – update

A pretty jam-packed national executive meeting was held last month in Ottawa. While the city was caught in the deadly grip of a deep freeze, our union leaders were fired up and ready to get to the important business of running our union.

“I found it rather intense,” admitted Hayley Millington, who was just recently elected the national equity representative for women.

Understandably, it was particularly intense for Millington because this was her first time attending a meeting of the National Executive.

“There’s a lot of information to process,” Millington added. “But I also found it really impressive. There were so many different characters around the table, but they were able to work together to get the job done.”

“Everyone is different but everyone’s goal is the same.”

And, certainly one of the key goals, as of late, is engaging our membership­­­. During the meeting, the National Executive recommitted itself to reach out to as many members as possible as part of the pledge card campaign.

Related: Watch Robyn Benson’s video about the pledge card campaign

Like many, Millington fears that union leaders at all levels have to contend with a certain level of apathy. That’s why she feels engagement is so crucial.

“I’m trying to be active in my Local,” she said proudly. “When it’s time for those pledge cards, I speak to members in the lobby. I call them over and do my best to engage them.”

“For those of us who are active, sometimes it’s hard to bridge that gap to reach them,” explained Millington. “Sometimes we can become sort of uneasy about approaching because we’re unsure about how they’ll respond. But now is a good time to engage.”

The National Executive also gave the thumbs up to an improved bargaining process aimed at single bargaining units. Unlike Treasury Board and Parks Canada bargaining units, single-bargaining units have to draft bargaining demands without the help of a program of demands.

“Locals shouldn’t be left on their own to figure out what changes should be brought to their collective agreement,” explained National President Doug Marshall.

“From now on, we’ll play a much more active role in helping these locals craft bargaining demands,” he added.”

For example, if a particular issue keeps being grieved, the UNE may suggest bringing a bargaining demand to address that issue. Since each workplace has its own culture (and its hiccups), this tailored approach at dealing with bargaining should help win stronger collective agreements.

“We’ve gotten some really great feedback on this,” added Marshall. “We’re looking forward to providing more support and working a lot more closely with local leaders.”

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Brace yourselves: Convention is coming!

That’s the gist of today’s convention call-out, the letter officially announcing the 2014 convention’s imminent start. This year’s convention will take place in Victoria, British Columbia from August 10 to 15.

The call-out letter was sent to all locals earlier today – it contains important information for all Locals who wish to attend convention (that should be all our Locals!).

“At this point, the main focus should be to have your Local in conformance,” explained National President Doug Marshall. “The next steps would be to hold elections for convention delegates and start thinking about resolutions that ought to be presented at convention.”

A separate letter dealing solely with resolutions will follow shortly.

The Union of National Employees has also developed a convention package that complements the call-out letter; it contains an important checklist for Locals and delegates, and all the forms needed for delegates, alternate delegates and observers.  Those of you who have yet to step foot on Vancouver Island will be happy to hear that the package includes some breathtaking photos of Victoria.

Given that this is a convention year, we’re encouraging all our members to stay tuned to their emails and our website for more information. Don’t want to miss a beat? Consider following us on Facebook and Twitter or signing up for our e-newsletter.

Members who wish to update their contact information can do so by clicking here.

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What happened to Africville?

A piece by Céline Ahodekon

I knew nothing about the black community of Africville until Ben René, the UNE communication officer, recently asked me to write an article on Africville. I was shocked to find out that not long ago, some very basic human rights were denied to the people of that community.

Now, close your eyes with me and imagine for a moment: the house you are living in right now is being bulldozed because someone decided that your living conditions do not meet their standards. And, to add insult to injury, your land is taken away from you.

How do you feel?

That’s exactly what happened to Halifax’s oldest and largest black community of Africville, which was established hundreds years ago.

Even though, the black community of Africville was left to suffer with no basic services, such as clean water, paved roads, and electricity, they managed well on their own – that is, until the Halifax city council declared the community a slum and dump trucks roared into Africville to evict its residents. The people of Africville were quite literally moved to their new homes on the back of dump trucks.1

One man returned home from the hospital only to find out there was no home for him to return to.2

The community was destroyed. Ironically, some residents weren’t forcedly moved to a better area, but into “derelict housing or rented public housing.”3 Why was that? Shouldn’t governments always try to change things for the better?

In this case, the people of Africville went from bad living conditions to worse ones….

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what people think or say; home is where your memories are. Africville was home for these people. Yes, it might have been one of the worst slums in the country, but was still home to its residents.

As one former resident put it: “We lost more than a roof over our heads: the black community of Africville lost their happiness, their culture, their identity and, therefore, their soul”.4

“Africville didn’t have an organization to fight for Africville people,” said one the participants in a documentary.5 Again, brothers and sisters, this episode reminds me that to win a fight, we need to stand together to show that injury to one is injury to all.

Together we are strong!

What was the real reason behind the destruction of the black community of Africville in Halifax, NS and the relocation of its residents? We will never know for sure. However, many things have changed since then; the former site of Africville is now a park. The black community that was evicted, however, is still grappling with the impact of the homes they lost.

Brothers and Sisters, February is Black History Month; let’s take the opportunity to read and learn more about the history of  black people in Canada, their stories and their achievements.

Céline Ahodekon is the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for racially-visible people. She is also a chief steward for Local 20278, which represents members at Fort Langley National Historic Park and the Vancouver Parks office, in British Columbia.

At Fort Langley, Ahodekon says she’s often asked if she’s a historian, to which she laughs and replies, “I am a business woman, I got my degree in business administration with concentration in marketing-sales from Laval University. I can sell anything I believe in and trust.”

“I believe in protecting and presenting Canada’s rich and beautiful natural and cultural heritage for Canadians’ enjoyment, today and for the years to come.”

If you’d like to find out more about Africville, Sister Ahodekon suggests watching “Remember Africville,” a 35-minute film by Shelagh Mackenzie, which can be viewed on the National Film Board’s website. We also encourage you to consult the links in the footnotes.

[1] The Canadian Encyclopedia, Africville.
[2] Idem
[3] Idem
[4] CBC Digital Archives, Officials hail Africville relocation.
[5] Idem