“It’s clear that the lives of people who are living in these homes are completely and totally undervalued. My father died in a facility recently – and it is a sad state of affairs. This crisis is not new. We have to do a better job for the people who are spending their last days…
Earlier this month, we lost a member of CUPE Ontario, a 58-year-old cleaner at the Brampton Civic Hospital, due to COVID-19. This is a devastating tragedy for the family and friends of the worker – and the 280,000 members of CUPE Ontario extend our sympathies and share in the deep feeling of loss. Today, on…
TORONTO, ON – A wage increase for some Ontario health care and social service staff is belated recognition by the provincial government of the immense contribution and sacrifice this mostly female workforce is making in the fight against COVID-19, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said today. “It is also, in our view, a…
TORONTO – The Federal Government’s announcement this week of further supports for the post-secondary education sector across Canada is a step in the right direction. The Government’s inclusion of new financial benefits for university students is a welcome, albeit overdue recognition that students and workers in the post-secondary education sector have not been immune from…
(TORONTO, ON) Today, April 24, the Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry announced that the government signed a letter of intent with General Motors to reopen the Oshawa assembly plant in order to produce a million masks a month for essential workers, something CUPE Ontario has advocated and organized for. “Our local community is…
CUPE Ontario Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick said many of the conditions contributing to the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care and nursing homes existed long before the virus emerged. “People can be saddened by what’s happening here, but absolutely nobody who’s been paying attention can be surprised,” she said. Rennick has fought for several years to…
TORONTO, ON – The crisis in congregate living environments, like long-term care, can be solved by following the strategies of nations which are more successful: aggressive testing of all residents and staff and the relocation of those with COVID-19 to specialized facilities, CUPE said today. A limited number of military personnel will bolster hospital staff…
CUPE Ontario’s 280,000 members joins all Canadians in mourning the tragedy that took the lives of at least 22 people in Nova Scotia. Our deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and neighbours of these victims. While we can’t imagine what they’re experiencing, this senseless event has rippled through all our communities, across the country. A former…
There are growing signs that the 2.6 million Ontarians with disabilities are being left behind during this crisis. Underlying medical issues mean people with disabilities are more susceptible to contract the virus and to experience its more severe effects. If they do contract the virus, the province has failed to provide home testing. And while…
We all certainly are in this fight against COVID-19 and its impacts together, but some of us are experiencing the impacts of this crisis more than others. While most Ontarians are stuck inside, others are on our front-lines. They’re in our long-term care facilities caring for the elderly; in group homes caring for people with…
