(and I would argue moral) ambiguity about the place of unions in Canada.
Conservative governments who can't rewrite the constitution to take that right away will use underhanded tactics to rob Canadians of their rights at work.
For the latest example of conservative politicians working hard to undermine constitutional rights, just look to Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister.
Loren Remillard’s ideological tirade against unions (June 20 “Secret ballots and democracy”) is both under-researched and misleading.
Remillard falsely asserts that workers in Manitoba cannot vote by secret ballot to join a union. In fact, it has been enshrined in Section 40(1)2. of the Labour Relations Act for decades.
Vote with your heart. Vote for the person in your area and the national party you believe will best address your biggest concerns.
That is the ideal of how elections are meant to work, and the guiding principle of those who have long advocated electoral reform to replace our current first past the post system with some form of proportional representation.
This was published in the Huffington Post Friday June 10, 2016.
Unifor’s Auto Council made a momentous decision recently about the all-important contract talks to get underway this summer.
In two unanimous votes, the 120 delegates passed resolutions calling for each company to commit to bringing new products to Canada, and to specific investment mandates for Canada for assembly and powertrain operations.
That means there will be no deals with GM, Ford or Fiat-Chrysler without specific commitments from each that we will have new products made right here in Canada.
This was published in the Huffington Post Wednesday June 1, 2016.
The first few residents of Fort McMurray, including Unifor members, begin returning to their homes this week, with the real work of their ordeal still lying ahead of them.
Forced to flee four weeks ago in the face of a wild fire gone out of control, more than 88,000 people have found shelter in temporary accommodations set in civic centres and hockey rinks, in hotels or with friends and family since the fires pushed them from their homes.
Published in the Huffington Post Wednesday May 25, 2016
Kevin O’Leary premiers his new reality show this weekend – an all-too real show, in fact.
The man who made a name for himself as the loudest and most offensive cast member of the Dragon’s Den reality TV show will be testing the waters at the Conservative Party convention this weekend for a possible leadership bid.
This was published in the Huffington Post on Wednesday May 18, 2016
Much has been written about the immediate negative impact the Trans-Pacific Partnership will have on some of our key economic sectors.
There is no shortage of examples.
Deep and fast cuts to vehicle tariffs and changes to North American content rules would encourage auto companies to move more jobs off-shore to low-wage jurisdictions, costing thousands of jobs.
Published in the Huffington Post Wednesday May 11, 2016
The startling images that have come out of Fort McMurray over the past week have shaken this country to its core.
Flames have engulfed whole neighbourhoods and forced an entire city of 88,000 to flee after a wild fire outside the city suddenly switched direction and grew faster than anyone expected. Dash cam videos of highways lined with fire and embers raining down like snow dominated social media.
This was published on May 5, 2016 in the Huffington Post
The ideal of a democracy such as ours is that we elect governments to enact laws in the general public interest. We may not each like every single law that is passed, but overall the laws passed should be in our general good interest.
Published in the Huffington Post Wednesday April 27, 2016
The digital revolution has brought many wonderful things.
Canadians can plug into international events from the comfort of their own home or office, or from just about anywhere thanks to mobile devices. And the world, we hope, can do the same to find out about the great north – Canada.
The challenge, it seems, is in making sure there’s Canadian content for the world to find and enjoy.
A review of Canadian content rules announced last week is welcome news, as long as it is done right.
