• Loblaws: Pay your workers a living wage
    Loblaw Companies Ltd owns hundreds of grocery stores across the country: their stores include Loblaws Market, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Shoppers Drugmart, Loblaws Market, Joe Fresh and more. Last year Loblaws enjoyed $11 Billion in revenue and gave $19 Million to their shareholders in the last quarter alone. [1] In 2016 CEO Galen Weston took home $7.5 Million. [2] It takes Galen Weston just one day to earn the annual salary of a starting cashier at one if his stores, while the the people who work for Loblaws are struggling to make ends meet making minimum wage, and are often only given part time work. [3] Vancity Investment Management Ltd. submitted a shareholder proposal at Loblaw’s annual general meeting of shareholders on Thursday asking them to review the feasibility, cost and benefits of implementing a living wage policy for their employees -- but CEO Galen Weston and Loblaw’s board of directors told shareholders to vote against it and the proposal was rejected. [4] Loblaws touts their high level of social responsibility with their President's Choice Children's Charity that gives "support to children with disabilities [and ensures] hungry tummies are filled with nutritious food" but their own employees' children are suffering. [5] Loblaws should be a leader. Canadians should not stand for this and protest with their dollars until they turn their greedy ship around. Sign the petition now if you think Loblaws should pay the people who work for them a living wage. Sources: [1]https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/loblaw-reports-2017-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-year-ended-december-30-2017-results1-674813803.html [2]https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2018/01/Climbing%20Up%20and%20Kicking%20Down.pdf) [3]https://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Loblaw/jobs/Cashier-59274c43308a7674?vjs=3 [4]https://www.thestar.com/business/2018/05/03/loblaw-shareholders-reject-proposal-on-living-wage-for-employees.html [5] http://www.presidentschoice.ca/en_CA/community/pccc/do-it-all-again.html
    15,642 of 20,000 Signatures
    Created by Erin Kastner
  • Ontario: provide funding to rebuild the municipality of Leamington
    Leamington was just hit by the worst storm in decades. Unprecedented flooding swept away roads, 14-foot-high waves knocked over trees, gutted homes and caused record damage. [1] Our community is reeling. Residents are facing tens of thousands of dollars in property damage and the city will need to fix its infrastructure. We need financial support from the provincial government to rebuild, prevent future destruction and keep us safe from fallout when the next storm hits. The mayor of Leamington is already asking for funding from Ontario, but a huge petition teeming with signatures backing him up could push decision makers over the edge and get them to provide funding. Especially now in this election cycle, when the Liberals are more susceptible to public pressure. All signs are pointing to more and more extreme weather systems, and Leamington needs to ready. Add your name to demand the provincial government provide funding to the municipality of Leamington as well as the residents affected by the storm to fix and prevent damage to our roads, homes and public spaces, and keep us safe, before another storm hits. Source: [1] http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/leamington-residents-clean-up-after-extensive-flood-damage
    5 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Rachel Nelems
  • Humber: Don't expel students for needing a payment plan
    Humber College rejected my proposal to use a payment plan to allow me to pay for my tuition in monthly installments, instead of in a one lump sum. This is because of a rule they have just put in place which allows them to expel anyone who can’t pay outright. In 2017, Humber posted a net revenue of $23 million. [1] They can afford to allow students struggling financially, in an economy set up for them to fail, to use a payment plan to finish their accreditation. The semester ends this month. We need to seize this moment while students are still in school to add pressure to the college to reverse this unfair rule. Will you add your name to demand Humber reverse unfair rules allowing them to expel students who need payment extensions? College is a place where people go to make their lives better, so they can compete in an ever-more demanding workforce. But rising costs of living and tuition are squeezing students out. Humber is a leading Canadian college, and they should be setting an example by helping to solve these problems, not making them worse. They have more than enough money to support students who need it. Will you add your name now so we can turn up the heat to reverse these unfair rules before the semester ends this month? Source: [1] https://humber.ca/about-humber/corporate-info/publications/files/humber-annual-report-16-17.pdf
    251 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Madalene Arias
  • Save the Cobalt
    It is a cultural icon of this city that is being destroyed by rampant gentrification and the lack of any will by the city to stop it.
    6 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Alex Jastrzembska
  • 100% Social Housing at 58 West Hastings Now!
    Downtown Eastside residents have struggled for over a decade to get the site at 58 W. Hastings for social housing for low-income community members. Led by Indigenous women community organizers, residents and supporters have marched through the streets, organized two tent cities including the 2010 Olympic tent city and 2016 tent city, guided tours with BC's new NDP Minister of Housing and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, held countless public meetings, demonstrations, and more. About 1,200 homeless people and 3,000 SRO residents live in the Downtown Eastside with no decent housing available for them at rents they can afford. Homeless people have about half the life expectancy of other people in society. Indigenous people, women and children fleeing violence, and other marginalized communities are more likely to experience homelessness. SRO living, where residents share washrooms with everyone on their floor, is not adequate: residents do not have private kitchens, have numerous rodents and bugs, and are often subject to abusive management. SRO residents and homeless people need decent, dignified social housing they can afford. Yet the Mayor and City of Vancouver are planning to reduce the amount of social housing from the promise 100% down to 30%. The plan to build over 200 units of housing in the DTES, with only 70 of them planned to be at welfare/pension rate, is a waste of good housing and further contributes to the gentrification of the DTES. A “social mix” building which includes expensive rentals will exacerbate market pressures on the neighbourhood, create higher rents for SRO residents, and generate the displacement of even more low income people from the DTES. On August 2, 2016, Mayor Gregor Robertson signed a commitment to build 100% welfare and pension rate, community-controlled social housing at 58 W Hastings. Since then, the city has reneged on its promise. Instead of a project that would provide over 300 units to low-income people, the city is moving along with a project that could provide as few as 70 units at a time with record high homelessness. Read more about the Our Homes Can’t Wait Coalition and our community vision for housing on 58 W Hastings here: www.carnegieaction.org/ourhomescantwait/
    278 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Our Homes Can't Wait Picture
  • Save Fish Lake
    In a shocking move, on the eve of the transfer of power, while four of six Tsilhqot’in communities are evacuated due to raging wildfires, and while the communities have engaged in brave efforts to fight for their very survival, the Clark led British Columbian government has granted controversial drilling permits over the objections of the Tsilhqot’in. The Nation is outraged that the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines has issued permits to allow Taseko Mines Ltd. to conduct extensive pre-construction exploration for the New Prosperity mine proposal. This mine cannot be built. It was rejected twice by the Harper-era Federal Government in 2010 (Prosperity) and 2014 (New Prosperity) due to strong opposition by the Tsilhqot’in Nation and unacceptable environmental and cultural impacts. Chief Russell Myers Ross- “I am speechless at the timing of this insulting decision. It defies compassion that while our people are fighting for our homes and lives, BC issues permits that will destroy more of our land beyond repair. As a Nation, we have wasted enough time and energy in conflict. The project has been rejected twice federally. It is time to move on. As Tsilhqot'in, we are moving forward by establishing the Dasiqox Tribal Park based on our governance and values. The Provincial decision to permit further drilling is insulting. It demonstrates a serious attack on meaningful reconciliation. It is our responsibility to protect Nabas for our future generations.” Chief Joe Alphonse- "This is a typical move by the Liberal government. They are a dead political party trying to mount a dead horse and hoping to ride it to a come back." To learn more watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwjCeWF4rfM
    8,382 of 9,000 Signatures
    Created by Tsilhqot'in National Government
  • Stop Woodfibre LNG
    Howe Sound is magical. Visitors and locals alike are drawn here by its wild natural beauty, recreational opportunities, and the vibrant communities we call home. However, Howe Sound is under threat from Woodfibre LNG, which proposes to construct and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the previous Woodfibre Pulp and Paper Mill site located approximately 7 km west-southwest of Squamish. Why is Woodfibre LNG a problem? The project is owned by Sukanto Tanoto, an Indonesian billionaire that has been found guilty of tax evasion and human rights violations. LNG tanker traffic puts Howe Sound residents, Vancouver residents, and Victoria residents at risk, and the potential conflict between recreational sailors and LNG tankers has not been adequately addressed. Increased local air pollution will affect human health, particularly the elderly and kids with asthma. Underwater noise and light pollution will affect salmon migration routes, herring, and marine mammals. Locally, Woodfibre LNG will create nearly double the greenhouse gas emissions of all of Squamish. Woodfibre LNG's local and upstream greenhouse gas emissions are equivalent to adding 170,000 cars to the road. If Woodfibre LNG goes ahead, it will result in 24 new fracking wells per year in northeast B.C. My Sea to Sky is aiming to double the number of signatures we have on the Howe Sound Declaration by March 31st, so we can make Woodfibre LNG a provincial election issue. Please sign the Howe Sound Declaration now and ask your friends and family to sign too.
    11,117 of 15,000 Signatures
    Created by Tracey Saxby
  • Get The Basic Income Pilot Program Up and Running
    It is important not only to our people but to all Canadians who live under the poverty line giving those who need the financial security the motivation to make and do more allowing people the safety net allows for low income families to put better food on the table, takes the stress off some mentally and allows all canadians equal playing fields. Lets not forget that it will greatly reduce the strain on our financial assistance programs freeing up money that could be better allocated into health,education and other aspects of the government mandates. This program was attempted in the 70s and recieved great reviews and proved for some time the benefits of having guranteed income . PEI and Ontario both stated they would be rolling out pilot programs to aid in research of it and to see if it benefits in the long run . Ontario seems to be the only Province of the two taking it seriously and PEI being one of the poorest provinces in the country stated they would and now its time they do because i believe seeing impact in PEI is crucial to a national roll out of the program.
    37 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Allan Quinn
  • Investigate TD’s shady and illegal sales practices now!
    Last week, hundreds of TD bank employees blew the whistle on a toxic, predatory, and unethical sales culture within the bank. In a shocking CBC report, TD employees admitted to breaking the law by signing customers up for products they didn’t want, without their consent. Multiple sources within TD agree the problem starts at the top, with upper management pressuring bank employees to meet impossibly high targets, forcing TD employees to choose between breaking the law, or losing their job. [5] One employee described her manager standing behind her three times a day, pressuring her to sell more. Another employee said "I'm in survival mode now because it's a choice between keeping my job and feeding my family … or doing what's right for the customer." It’s time for government to step in and investigate TD. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) regulates national banks, but they only launch investigations in response to complaints. If thousands of us sign a petition calling FCAC to investigate TD, we can file the biggest complaint they’ve ever seen -- and trigger a massive investigation into TD’s shady practices. Sign the petition calling on our banking regulators to investigate TD now!
    1,323 of 2,000 Signatures
  • Tax Fairness for Indigenous Mothers
    Canada Revenue has been selectively targeting over 4000 First Nations individuals in biased and unfair collection practices. Most of the individuals affected are women who were largely earning minimum wage, working under an employee leasing program that supplied personnel to work in off-reserve Native non-profit agencies that served the urban Aboriginal population. Over three quarters of these 4000 individuals are sole support mothers with modest incomes while the overwhelming majority worked in the off-reserve non-profit sector. Legal steps to clarify a Status Indians right to tax exemption has been going through the courts since 1983 and there is a last remaining case currently before the Federal Court of Appeal. A Remission Order Application under the Financial Administration Act has been filed with the Canada Revenue Agency where processing has unfortunately been stalled. In the meantime, pursuant to an aggressive tax collection policy mandated by the former government, Revenue Canada officials have been making significant and onerous demands on these First Nations individuals. Examples of actions against these individuals include: - Seizing $23,000 of a lump sum pension from a woman with cancer who's only other source of income is CPP. - Forcing a former Native Leasing Services employee to take out a $62,000 mortgage on her home to satisfy a tax bill that started out as $10,000. - Garnisheeing the CPP of a 68 year old widow who is currently on sick leave from her job at a Native Centre. - Forcing a 60 year old Dryden area woman into bankruptcy over a $2000 tax bill that ballooned to $21,000 with interest. Canada Revenue collectors even went to her bank in an attempt to broker a loan to pay off the tax bill. - Clawing back GST and child tax credits from a legally blind woman and her husband whose tax bill is nearly $100,000 - mostly interest.
    458 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Dawn Maracle
  • Making "Universal Medicare" Universal: Calling for a National Pharmacare Strategy
    In our clinical experiences we regularly see patients burdened by the cost of medicines and unable to fill their prescriptions. We know how aware of this you are from your medical practice too. We are shocked by how medication costs are determined in Canada. Canadian physicians, residents, and medical students expect healthcare policy in this country to be evidence-based, and we have placed our trust in you to do this. We have the evidence now that a National Pharmacare Strategy would be cost effective, eliminating a long standing barrier to implementation – the belief that a universal publicly funded pharmacare plan would be too expensive. The landmark 2015 article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal builds on an already robust literature base articulating the need for a National Pharmacare Strategy. The findings of this cost-benefit analysis are that universal public drug coverage would reduce total spending on prescription drugs in Canada by an estimated $7.3 billion [link to study]. Citizens need provincial and federal buy-in for a pan-Canadian solution. As you have said, we need to do things differently. We need to bargain more effectively and revisit our relationship with Big Pharma, not accepting price inflations that are then offloaded onto third party insurers and out of pocket payers. We need to purchase smarter through national bulk purchasing strategies in order to secure lower, more reasonable drug prices. We need to use the best available evidence under the guidance of objective academic drug detailing programs and harness our purchasing power to bring costs down. During the election, as doctors of tomorrow we sought federal leadership that would return to undertaking pan-Canadian healthcare responsibilities. We have new CMA leadership from a long-serving rural physician, Dr. Granger Avery who, at the Canada 2020 Summit on a new Health Accord reiterated the need for a National Pharmacare Strategy. The CMA has identified that Universal Pharmacare is an integral component of a high performing system that cannot be ignored; it is a tenet underpinning every area of healthcare and would have the most substantial impact of any changes made to our system. With the billions saved, funds could be redirected towards home care, care of the elderly, care of Indigenous populations, and comprehensive mental health services. Consistent with the universality and equitable accessibility promised by the Canada Health Act, a National Pharmacare Strategy would be the epitome of action to fulfill Prime Minister Trudeau’s words of establishing strong national unity. As you have said, the last time a doctor was the Minister of Health was perhaps nearly a century ago. We appreciate your efforts to take steps towards lowering costs that Canadians face for their medications. This includes working to install regulatory changes to the way drug prices are set in Canada, and working with the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. It is actionable steps like this that will pave the way toward Universal Pharmacare in our future. Yet, in order to most effectively move towards a goal, it needs to be stated with clarity and conviction. The current medico-political climate is unique, Dr. Philpott. We have informed physicians in leadership roles with awareness of evidence, relationship-building capacities to forge new alliances, and abilities to mobilize changemakers. We need to be bold and “think big” to make real change happen. Thus, we urge you to draw on your courage, seize this critical time in our Canadian history and commit to a National Pharmacare Strategy. If you don’t, who will? #makecanadianuniversalmedicareuniversal Visit a recent CBC Fifth Estate episode on Canada's Drug Problem (http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2016-2017/the-high-cost-of-phamaceuticals-canadas-drug-problem) and Minister Philpott's full interview (http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/blog/full-interview-with-minister-of-health-jane-philpott). See http://pharmacare2020.ca/ for additional information. Additional Reading: - Canada is the only country in the world that prides itself on universal healthcare, yet contradictorily does not have universal medication access. Canada has 19 publicly funded drug plans and over 1000 private insurance programs: a fragmented, non-equitable patchwork that leaves many uncovered. We spend 30% more on drugs than nations with Universal Pharmacare programs! - Canadians spend more than $700 US per capita for prescription, non-prescription, and personal health supplies, whereas the average per capita expenditure for OECD countries is $500. - In a recent Angus Reid Institute national survey nearly 1 in 4 Canadians did not take a prescribed medicine because she/he could not afford it. Food and shelter costs undermine medication costs when it comes to day-to-day survival. Inadequately treated chronic disease inevitably decompensates. Hospital admission for acute disease management then culminates in hefty inpatient costs. - Our generic drug prices are dependent on patented drug prices, established as the median of seven comparator OECD nations. This list includes the four places on the globe where drugs are most expensive. - Prices for the same medicines vary depending on province or territory of residence. In order to make drug prices more appealing to provincial and territorial governments, pharmaceutical companies artificially inflate prices to present the government with a “discount price,” whilst channeling the cost burden to third party insurers (10% higher costs compared to government costs) and most significantly to out of pocket purchasers, many of whom are the working poor. - Take the price of the common cholesterol medication, atorvastatin, which is cheapest in Ontario and costs 31 cents. Compare this to that same pill in New Zealand, which costs 2.6 cents!
    33 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Dr. Kurt Deschner
  • It’s time Canada ends fossil fuel subsidies
    Canada has to take action now to end its unfair and polluting subsidies to oil, gas, and coal companies. Canada's $3.3 billion in fossil fuel subsidies undermine the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals, and they even counteract attempts to put a price on carbon. Trying to put a price on carbon while still subsidizing fossil fuel production is like pouring water on the fire with one hand, while spraying gasoline on it with the other. It just doesn't make sense. The Trudeau government can act immediately with a commitment and a plan to get rid of these subsidies by 2020. Four years is more than enough time to wind down polluter handouts. Instead of subsidies that favour the wealthy, we need public investment that helps us move more quickly to sustainable solutions. Let’s put an end to fossil fuel subsidies.
    1,225 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Alex Doukas Picture