155,000 government workers — including CRA workers, cooks and cleaners, Coast Guard search and rescue teams, and passport and immigration staff — are at breaking point, and are now striking in what could be the biggest strike in Canadian history. [1-2] Public service workers are critical to our everyday lives — they provide countless services for people from coast to coast. And like all workers, they deserve to be treated fairly. For years they have been at the bargaining table fighting for better conditions, job security and fair wages that keep up with inflation. [3] The strike is all over the news, and already the government is trying to pit the public against federal workers, blaming those going on strike for asking for too much. We need to show the government we aren’t buying it: that we expect them to come to the table and give workers a fair deal with the wages and working conditions they deserve. A rising tide lifts all boats — the fight for fair wages is everyone’s fight. If you agree, will you add your name to the solidarity statement now. Sources: [1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/psac-strike-bargaining-update-april-17-live-1.6812693?cmp=newsletter_CBC%20News%20Morning%20Brief_8816_967874 [2] https://psacunion.ca/strike-deadline-announced-155000-psac-members [3] see 2

We are a group of community members in Toronto’s west end who are feeling the effects of high inflation and soaring cost of living. High prices are making it difficult for working people to pay for housing, food and fuel. We are worried about the impact this is having on people throughout our community, and we are organizing to do something about it! We want to see action from all levels of government – municipal, provincial and federal– to roll back and control prices for basic necessities. These include rent and mortgage payments, gasoline and heating fuel, groceries and transit fares. Governments in Canada have used price controls on several occasions, to help maintain an affordable cost of living for working people. They need to do it again now! We are committed to fighting for our community through petition campaigns, meetings with local politicians, networking with like-minded community groups, public events and more. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to win lower prices! If you’re interested in fighting for an affordable cost of living, please connect with People for Lower Prices at [email protected] https://www.instagram.com/peopleforlowerprices/

Canada cannot continue to produce more oil as the world moves toward net zero. Unfortunately, the oil industry is actively lobbying for more production. This will lead to a collapse of the oil industry, leaving the taxpayers to clean the pollution they created. Please sign the petition at: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4225

Over 80% of the GHGs driving dangerous climate change are caused by the burning of fossil fuels. We need to replace fossil fuels with clean energy. Electrification is the best option to replace fossil energy. We need to expand our grid capacity and remove barriers to clean renewable generation. Without expanded interprovincial electricity transmission, provinces like Saskatchewan will not develop its world class solar and wind resources. The federal government can remove the barriers to clean energy by strengthening interprovincial transmissions by building the Clean Energy Corridor from coast to coast. This is a national project akin to building the railroad: Electric Federalism provides the path to a Net-Zero future!

We all – the desperate patients, the burned out nurses, the struggling doctors, the other healthcare workers, researchers, and administrators, even the politicians and, certainly, the voters – know that a remedy is urgently needed for the crisis in the health care system. Dangerously overstretched nurses, doctors, and paramedics, closed Emergency Rooms, the chronic shortage of family doctors, the migration of burned out medical professionals – especially nurses – to the private sector or to retirement, the failure to collect and transparently share data that reports resource levels and medical outcomes to allow Canadians to assure themselves that the system is working. These are just some of the issues that need attention and support. Canadians have long believed that healthcare is a right and are baffled that this situation has been allowed to develop. It is more than time that our elected leaders fulfill their responsibilities and solve the health care funding impasse.

We all deserve to lead happy fulfilling lives and none of us should have to worry about our most basic needs. Canada is a very rich country, yet some of our most vulnerable citizens cannot afford some of the most basic necessities of life. A large number of people on ODSP cannot afford to regularly eat and have to make devastating choices each month like whether to pay rent/utilities or to buy groceries. A shocking number of people on ODSP are homeless. We could choose to take care of the most vulnerable now and it should be an easy choice. Recipients of CERB got $2000 a month. Odsp should be at least equal to what CERB was. Let's not sweep this issue under the rug any longer. It's an atrocity that Canadian prisoners are better looked after than those with disabilities. Let's take action today and raise ODSP recipients out of poverty.

This issue was brought to my attention when learning that my Uncle Ken, who is living off of ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) due to his chronic disability of Multiple Sclerosis, cannot access affordable internet. Unfortunately, there is a significant lack of affordable internet options for those on ODSP or other similar provincial support programs across Canada.  For those who are already at a disadvantage, not being able to afford the internet leaves them more isolated and exacerbates their vulnerability. To access virtual programs and services in the community, internet service is required. The people who need these services the most are the ones who cannot afford to participate. The safety and well-being of recipients and their families rests on their ability to access information, connect with loved ones, attend support programs virtually, as well as attend medical and other necessary appointments. There are peer support, social programs and counseling services currently offered virtually and these are a lifeline to those who live alone and suffer a disability. As the pandemic has shown us, access to the internet is essential and a human right. At a time when MAID is free but the cost of living is so high, equitable access to services is essential if we are to value the lives of our most vulnerable.

Doug Ford lied. Last month he tabled a piece of legislation — Bill 23 — to eviscerate our pristine Greenbelt, breaking his promise to leave it alone. [1] This bill is an attack on the environment and democracy — all under the guise of expanding housing. [2] Bill 23 would allow Ford to take 7,400 acres of farmland and natural areas and strip environmental protections that protect wildlife, keep our drinking water safe, guard wetlands, and ensure flood protection. [3] To pave over our Greenbelt, Ford is undermining the planning power of municipalities, forgoing requirements for public meetings and overriding the ability of communities to appeal decisions. [4] And housing experts and advocates have been clear: with a focus on making money, the bill will actually limit the ability to build new affordable rental housing and jeopardize the affordable housing that exists. [5,6] All the while, corporate land developers are set to profit big from this plan. [7] Public outrage is growing — and there’s still time to stop this Bill from going through. Will you sign this petition to help show mass public support and demand Bill 23 is stopped? Sources: [1] https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/11/04/ontario-backtracks-on-greenbelt-pledge-with-plan-to-allow-housing-on-7400-acres.html [2] https://ontarionature.org/bill-23-what-you-need-to-know-blog/ [3] https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/11/10/opinion/sacrificing-ontario-scarce-green-space-sprawl-giant-mistake [4] see 2 [5] https://acorncanada.org/take_action/doug-fords-bill-23-destroys-existing-affordable-housing-builds-more-luxury-condos-scrap-it-now/ [6] https://uwaterloo.ca/news/media/q-and-experts-more-homes-built-faster-act-or-bill-23 [7] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gta-developers-own-greenbelt-land-swap-1.6648273

It takes a lot of people to counter the prevailing pressures that have gotten us to this place. Thankfully, so many people in this region are joining the call to prioritise affordable and non-profit housing. If we stay silent and fail to act urgently and boldly now, we will continue to see a loss of families and diversity in our communities. We will continue to see increasing hardship in our streets and parks. We are a wealthy province and country. Working together with purpose and courage, we can build communities that provide homes for all.

There are over 500,000 people, including families, living in Canada without any valid immigration permits and this number is increasing. In addition, 1.2 million people are on work, study or refugee claimant permits, most of whom have no opportunity to remain permanently in Canada. Permanent resident status is the mechanism through which all other rights are accessed. Undocumented people, migrant workers and refugees are being exploited in substandard working conditions, because regressive immigration and labour laws restrict their agency and leave them open to abuse. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation. Migrants experience insecure housing, abuse at work, poverty and fear. The uncertainty about the future, constant stress of making ends meet and risk of detention and deportation negatively impacts their health. Canada, like most of North ​​America and Europe, has not seen a real inclusive regularization program for undocumented people in decades. Moreover, migrants on work and study permits in low-waged industries, like care workers, farmworkers and gig-workers, have only a few tiny and difficult-to-access immigration programs to get permanent residency. The vast majority of undocumented and temporary status migrants living and working in the country are excluded from permanent residence. Together, we can change that. Together, we can win equal rights for 1.7 million people. Together we can ensure permanent resident status for all now and in the future.

Workers' rights abuses must be taken seriously by the City Council. With the upcoming municipal election, future City Council members need to be aware that this issue is one that needs to be on their agenda. The longer that the City of Vancouver takes to properly enforce its Ethical Purchasing policy, the longer it fails to support the rights of workers. For example, in 2021, the Workers Rights Consortium reported that two employees from Palm Apparel and Sewing International had died due to the companies' refusal to pay legally mandated medical benefits. One woman (and her newly born child) died due to lack of access to maternity care. The hospital told her that she would need to pay more than five months' wages for the care she and her child needed, all because Palm Apparel did not bother to pay its employees' healthcare coverage. The City of Vancouver has contracts with both Palm Apparel and Sewing International. However, due to the passive complaints-based approach, the City was not immediately aware of these infractions and therefore could not work with either company to meet the ethical purchasing policy in a timely manner. The lack of support (and seemingly awareness) for workers' rights internationally is disheartening. People should not have to die to bring attention to these abuses, and yet the City of Vancouver has not acted regardless of these deaths. The City of Vancouver must take a stronger and more pro-active approach to ethical purchasing.

Earlier this year, Premier Ford prematurely ended universal mask protections in Ontario. The result has been a catastrophe - an overburdened healthcare system, thousands of COVID hospitalizations, an increasing toll on the economy. [1,2] When school boards resisted the move, Ford stripped them of the ability to set their own COVID policies and forced them to end mask protections - needlessly infecting more kids. [3] Now, with cases still high and a fall surge looming - and in the total absence of any effective government response - school boards must be equipped to take care of their students. Doug Ford must lift the prohibition on school boards setting their own COVID policies, and allow them to reinstate masking and other protections for themselves based on conditions locally. Sources: [1] CTV: "The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and it contributes to Ontario’s growing number of health system crises," https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-science-table-to-be-dissolved-next-month-as-director-warns-that-pandemic-will-continue-to-be-a-daunting-challenge-1.6043546 [2] CIBC: "Dropping mask mandates may actually be working to prolong COVID's economic costs" https://economics.cibccm.com/cds?id=69e88cfb-7f52-4ff4-b8e9-f52fd983a1df&flag=E [3] CTV: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/03/11/tdsb-mandatory-mask-extension/