Two-thirds of all approved COVID-19-related claims to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ottawa came from workers at nursing homes and residential care facilities – but the numbers should be much higher. “Many of these [long-term care] workers are part-time. They’ll just go home. They won’t file claims and they’ll wait out … the…
DetailsTORONTO, ON – With Ontario breaking two records this weekend, and logging more than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario is calling on the Government of Ontario to commit to funding immediate and significant actions. The record-setting spike in cases follows budget consultations hosted by Ontario’s Ministry…
DetailsTORONTO, ON – Ontario’s Long-Term COVID-19 Commission released an interim report today, calling on the government to implement a minimum daily care standard of four hours of hands-on care per resident. “We thank the commission for their work and for recognizing the need to institute a staffing standard,” said Candace Rennick, CUPE Ontario’s Secretary-Treasurer. “Residents…
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Candace Rennick, secretary treasurer for CUPE Ontario, says long-term care employees may not file a WSIB claim if they contract COVID-19 at work due to a fear of reprisals from their employer. Watch the video clip here.
Over the course of this pandemic, we’ve seen that people who were already facing systemic barriers are the ones facing the greatest impacts now. Racialized communities, the LGBTQ2S+ community, and others marginalized by a foundationally unequal system have faced the brunt of COVID-19. And so it’s deeply concerning that, rather than extending more robust supports for all Ontarians, the Ford…
DetailsToronto, ON — Ford’s proposed regulation changes come just before Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day on October 22, which acknowledges and thanks the hard work and dedication of workers in the sector. Ford’s proposed changes to the Child Care and Early Years act lowers caregiver to child ratios, erodes important staffing…
DetailsFor over a decade, our international, interdisciplinary team has been studying long-term care in six different countries, including Canada. Our research clearly indicates that minimum staffing is a necessary but not sufficient condition to keep residents, staff and relatives safe. We urge you to support and implement a minimum standard of four hours a day…
DetailsTORONTO, ON – The Ontario government’s proposed changes to the Blue Box recycling program will lead to losses of good jobs in municipalities and a lack of public oversight, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario. The Ford government’s announced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recycling model is touted as one that would result…
DetailsOver the last month, we’ve watched the acts of racist, anti-Indigenous violence in Nova Scotia in horror and with growing concern. We’ve heard the stories and seen the images of Mi’kmaq fishers who’ve been assaulted, threatened, had their traps removed, and have had a vehicle burned down. It’s disgraceful and all of us, everywhere, must…
DetailsToronto, ON—Developmental Services Workers and caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities are shocked and concerned by the abrupt closure of six day program sites by Community Living Guelph Wellington. “The elimination of day programs at Community Living Guelph Wellington is shameful and will leave hundreds of people with developmental disabilities, and their caregivers, stuck at…
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