Ford’s Second Black Eye

Court Rules Wage Cap Law Illegal Two weeks ago Doug Ford suffered the first major defeat of his time in office when the strike movement of 55,000 CUPE education workers and the threat of an Ontario-wide general strike forced him to withdraw pre-emptive back-to-work legislation. That was the first black eye. The second one came […]

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One of many solidarity rallies for CUPE, this one outside Doug Ford's office Image: CUPE

Reject CUPE Ontario’s Lousy Deal

Written by Socialist Alternative members in Ontario. “As a mom, I don’t like this deal. As a worker, I don’t like this deal.” With these words Laura Walton, the leader of CUPE Ontario’s 55,000 education workers, recommended voting yes to the offer from the Doug Ford government. Why should union members vote for a bad […]

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Union Forces Ford to Retreat

Written by Socialist Alternative members in Ontario. But The Fight Is Not Over Yet In one week, Ontario’s Conservative government went from an all-out attack on union rights to backing down. Monday, November 7 was a dramatic day in Ontario’s CUPE strike. In the morning, Premier Doug Ford’s press conference indicated he would be willing […]

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Solidarity with CUPE Workers

Written by Socialist Alternative members in Ontario. On October 30, the Ford government announced legislation that would make it illegal for 55,000 education workers in the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to go on strike on Friday, November 4. Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Education, announced the emergency legislation on Halloween but he certainly […]

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Nearly Half of BCGEU Members Reject Lousy Agreement

Written by BC Public Sector workers. Only a slim majority of BCGEU’s members voted to ratify the recent agreement with the BC government. According to the union, 71 percent of the 32,600 members voted and only 53.4 percent voted Yes. The difference between the number of yes and no votes is around 1,500 members. This […]

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BC’s Public Sector Wages: Not Enough!

Written by BC Public Sector workers. Two years ago, public sector workers, unable to work from home, were praised by the BC government as heroic, frontline, essential workers ensuring services, health care and K-12 education in the face of a deadly pandemic. Today these same workers are being offered contracts that will see their real […]

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Life of a Working Student

Written by a BC Nurse. “You have to think of school as your full-time job.” I’ve been hearing this glib piece of advice since the first year of study, usually from academic advisors. When I hear it from my own peers, it’s always those whose living costs are covered by their families. As a full-time […]

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Socialist Alternative Magazine #22

Fight For Higher Pay! Fight For Higher Pay! Realities of student life Alberta’ UPC in Crisis Health Emergency Climate Hypocrisy Rent Control Now … and much more from Canada and abroad! For printed copies, please send us an e-mail to [email protected] PDF here. Please consider making a donation to help with our costs and build […]

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Inflation Emergency: Action Needed

Inflation is soaring and devastating workers’ living standards. Every trip to the food store brings a new shock. Canada’s official inflation rate was an 8.1 percent increase in June over May, the painfully worst increase in 40 years. To add to the pain, the Bank of Canada raised its prime interest rate from 1.5 percent […]

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Public Health Care: born out of struggle

Sixty years ago, North America’s first socialist government, in the heart of the Canadian prairies, Saskatchewan, enacted one of the demands outlined in its manifesto: a free, public health care system. This new program was enacted on July 1, 1962. However, this was not without a struggle, as on the first day of its enactment, […]

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