TORONTO – Ontario did not spend any funds from a new $2.7-billion COVID-19 response program in the first quarter, the province’s fiscal watchdog found, prompting critics to question why the government didn’t use the money during the third wave. A Wednesday report from the Financial Accountability Office found health spending was $691 million lower than…
On this Labour Day, when we are called to celebrate the contributions of workers while recommitting to improving the working conditions communities count on, it’s clear that candidates are being confronted by the question of how to support the workers that have supported us all. They’re discovering that the key issues are the ones workers…
“I’m here from Ontario to show solidarity with our members in New Brunswick. What’s happening here is incredibly inspiring because frontline workers, public sector workers are facing the same challenges. Whether we’re in Ontario and New Brunswick, Alberta, across the country, we’re the folks who got our communities through the pandemic, in incredibly stressful, difficult…
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) released mid-year results for the first time in its history, reporting it posted an 8.8-per-cent return in the first six months of 2021, and 18.2 per cent for the 12 months ended in June. The results were insufficient to quiet a combative union that is calling for an…
The union representing more than 40 per cent of OMERS’ members did not appear placated, instead renewing calls for an independent review of OMERS, saying the mid-year results aren’t enough to draw attention away from the pension fund’s “systemic underperformance.“ “Just like a single cold day doesn’t mean temperatures aren’t rising, half a year of…
The hospital workers are asking for respect and better pandemic protections – safety measures, which will also benefit patients. In addition to getting Bill 124 repealed, they want the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) the umbrella group for hospital employers, to take several concessions, including language around seniority and retirement packages, off the table. In July,…
“Paramedics have been demanding that OMERS allow them fair access to earlier retirement options for over a decade,” said Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario, about the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. “Now OMERS is saying working paramedics can transition to earlier retirement options only at the risk of deep cuts to their pensions. This…
“Our members at this hospital were working very long hours, 14, 15, 16 hours a day,” said Fred Hahn, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees of Ontario. “Then, when they went home, they were so worried and uncertain about infecting their families that they slept in their garages, or in their cars in…
“When the CUPE Ontario executive board learned of the mobilizing happening here, we were so inspired that we voted unanimously to enter into a solidarity pact – and the first step of that is to donate $50,000 to CUPE New Brunswick to support them in this important effort.” –Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario Listen…
And they’re off! It may be almost a year until the 2022 election, but thanks to the new campaign finance rules — for which the PCs invoked the notwithstanding clause for the first time in provincial history — there’s a new 12-month timeline and more onerous requirements for registration. So far, 11 third-party groups have…
