Celebrating the accomplishments of the Trans community and remembering those we’ve lost

Monday, November 20th, we mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance by celebrating how far we’ve come in the fight for trans rights. While transgender people still face significant discrimination, we are also witnessing unprecedented signs of acceptance. Just weeks ago, the small catholic town of Très-Saint-Redempteur in Quebec elected Julie Lemieux as Canada’s first openly…

Shelter workers stand up to bullying by Maison d’amitié by saying “no” to a deal that hurts services

OTTAWA, ON – Despite attempts to intimidate them into accepting a deal that would degrade services at Ottawa’s only francophone women’s shelter, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) at Maison d’amitié are determined to defend the vital services they provide to women and children who are fleeing violence. Despite two days of…

Safeguarding best-quality child care services: child care workers and YMCA-YWCA sign a three-year deal

OTTAWA, ON – Early childhood educators (ECEs), educational assistants (EAs) and support staff at three National Capital Region YMCA-YWCA child care centres have agreed to a contract that will help deliver stable, reliable care to the children enrolled at the agency’s centres. Workers at Taggart Family Y, Ruddy Family Y and Avalon Public School child…

CUPE applauds Campaign for Public Education’s calls for review and overhaul of funding formula

TORONTO – The union representing 55,000 education workers in Ontario is applauding the Campaign for Public Education’s (CPE) latest effort to secure a review and overhaul of the province’s outdated funding formula. “CUPE has been calling for a review and overhaul of the funding formula for years,” said Terri Preston, who chairs CUPE’s education sector…

Putting services at risk part of Maison d’amitié’s tactics to intimidate its workers into accepting cuts, says union

OTTAWA, ON – Maison d’amitié, Ottawa’s only francophone women’s shelter, is creating an environment of fear and intimidation in an attempt to bully its workers into accepting a deal that will hurt them and services to vulnerable women fleeing violence, according to the union that represents frontline staff at the agency. Maison d’amitié is demanding…