Update After 20 days on strike the HandyDART workers ratified a new contract. Over 600 workers at HandyDART in Metro Vancouver started strike action on September 3. HandyDART workers provide a vital public service, moving people with mobility issues door-to-door. They take people to and from medical appointments, for social trips and many other vital […]
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Socialist Alternative #30 This is a bumper 20-page issue! Contents include: Subscribe to Socialist Alternative! You can now subscribe to Socialist Alternative’s magazine for a modest $2 a month or $24 a year and receive each printed issue delivered to your mailbox. With an additional donation, you can become a sustainer of our magazine and […]
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Rail Strike Update, November 16 The Canadian government, with support of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), has forced the 9,300 rail workers, members of the Teamsters union, back to work. This flouts the democratic rights of workers to go on strike. The workers voted, with 99 percent in favour, for the strike. The Supreme […]
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“Economic reconciliation” is the latest buzzword being used by governments, central banks, chambers of commerce and political parties. The 2023 federal budget pledged $65 million toward “advancing economic reconciliation by unlocking the potential of First Nations lands.” This strategy claims to bring economic prosperity to First Nations by encouraging them to participate and invest in […]
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Renewable Energy Needed for Jobs and Climate BC’s NDP government enthusiastically supports the extraction and export of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). It claims LNG is a “cleaner” alternative to coal, and burning it is part of a “transition” away from fossil fuels. The reality is that LNG is actually worse than coal for global emissions. […]
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Most parents today take for granted benefits such as paid maternity and parental leave. But, like many of the benefits we enjoy today, paid maternity leave was won only through struggle. In August 1981, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) won paid maternity leave after a 42-day strike. CUPW was the first national union […]
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The town of Jasper has been consumed by fire, with 30 percent of its buildings (homes, hotels, and businesses) destroyed. Parts of this majestic park are now ash. The conditions were terrifying. A wall of flames up to 100 metres high ripped through the town. Emergency responders without breathing apparatus had to withdraw as the […]
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One year ago, after the defeat of the NDP in the Alberta general election, Socialist Alternative warned about the Alberta NDP’s fatal strategy of trying to appeal to conservatives or “to be a party for all Albertans.” This strategy failed in the 2023 general election and Danielle Smith, despite her controversial policies, became the premier. […]
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LCBO Update, July 24 The strike at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is over. The workers in the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) ratified the new agreement. Premier Doug Ford’s odd response to the end of the strike: “We learned many things with this strike — people were still able to get […]
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Trudeau’s carbon bomb has arrived. At the end of May, the first tankers started shipping diluted bitumen from the Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX). The expanded pipeline will be able to fill 34 tankers every month, compared to the previous capacity of 5 a month. All this extra fuel will add to the CO2 in the […]
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