When people are hurting, such as after a natural disaster, the normal human reaction is to find a way to help.
In fact, for most people, the immediate reaction is not whether they should offer help, but to think about how they can help out best.
In La Doré, Quebec, where the major employer is a Resolute Forest Products sawmill, the obvious way for them to help victims of a devastating hurricane last August in Florida was to send down some of the softwood lumber they produce at the local mill.
It seems as though some in the aviation business are operating under the impression that fatigue is not a big deal. Some have gone so far as to claim on the record that "[fatigue]'s never been identified as a contributing factor in any commercial aviation accident or incident in recent ... in as long as I can remember."(1) Or how about this: “I don’t know of one cargo accident in North America because of fatigue.”(2)
I’m shocked that anyone in this industry would profess such ignorance.
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO)—an independent, arm’s length, non-partisan research institute—released a paper on September 12th outlining the likely economic impacts flowing from the pending minimum wage increase (see here). The FAO’s findings are already garnering significant media attention and will almost certainly be used by the opponents of Bill 148 as further proof that the Ontario Government is economically reckless.
After a first round of negotiations for a renewed North American Free Trade Agreement two weeks ago in Washington, where all sides mostly outlined their opening positions, talks move this weekend to the place where much of the problem with the deal lies: Mexico.
The federal government is ramming ratification of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) through Parliament in a process as undemocratic as the deal itself.
Bill C-30 to implement the trade deal with Europe was brought before Parliament for second reading this week, and is expected to pass by today. Trade committee hearings into the bill, which normally start after second reading, have already begun, and are due to wrap up November 29.
When Unifor formally opened bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers three months ago, only one thing seemed certain: the future of the industry was at stake.
In the aftermath of the US election, many of us have been thinking and talking about the outcome and what difficulties lay ahead. Although the results may have been a devastating surprise, the voters have spoken. I believe that this outcome is a reflection of a deep mistrust in politics and of politicians. It is also a stark reminder that sexism and racism continue to have a powerful influence in our lives and fuel hate.
We cannot allow this hatred to go unchecked and set us backwards.
There was some welcome news on the west coast this week.
On Monday in Vancouver, Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, officially reopened the coast guard’s Kitsilano Station.
It was the ceremonial completion of a promise the Liberal government fulfilled last May, when it reversed the former Harper government’s decision to close the station in the heart of Vancouver, Canada’s busiest harbour.
Published Wednesday August 3, 2016 in the Huffington Post
In one week, Unifor will begin its first-ever round of bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers in what may be the most important round of bargaining to take place in the sector in more than a generation.
When I and representatives from each of the Unifor bargaining units at the Detroit Three automakers sit down with the companies to formally open negotiations on August 10 and 11, we will have one clear and simple message for them.
Published Wednesday July 27, 2016 in the Huffington Post
Stephen Harper emerged recently from his self-imposed obscurity to say goodbye. I say good riddance.
The former prime minister who once boasted, “You won't recognize Canada when I'm through with it,” lost the federal election last October and stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party, but remained a Member of Parliament.
