HSAA welcomes transfer of ambulance services in Alberta
The Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which represents 750 ambulance personnel, says it is pleased with the province's announcement that responsibility for EMS services will be transferred from municipalities to the provincial health care system by April 1, 2009.

Lake City Casino workers ratify new agreement in B.C.
About 500 B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union members employed by Lake City Casinos have a new ratified contract. Employed at casinos in Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon, they voted 70% in favour. The new agreement runs until Sept. 4, 2010.

Tory whistleblower law yields nothing after first full year
One year after the Harper Conservatives put their new whistleblower protection law into force, no wrongdoing of any kind has been found in the entire federal public service. The first official report of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner was released this week.

Western premiers urged to adopt greenhouse gas strategy
The National Union is urging western premiers to adopt a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during three days of talks in Prince Albert this week. The union has also expressed disappointment that health care will not be on the agenda.

B.C. Supreme Court ruling keeps safe-injection site operating
The B.C. Supreme Court has struck down a key section of Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, allowing Vancouver's safe-injection drug site to remain open in the face of opposition by the Harper Conservatives in Ottawa. The government is studying the ruling.

CHPS delivers message on shortages to Commons committee
Canada desperately needs an effective strategic national plan to train a greater number of health professionals, not merely doctors and nurses, says Elisabeth Ballermann, co-chair of the Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat. Otherwise, modernization of the system will fail.

Protect neutrality or corporations will control the Internet
All Canadians have a stake in the emerging issue of Internet neutrality and should fight for it now before it is too late, says NUPGE president James Clancy. Telecommunications giants like Bell and Rogers will block anything that conflicts with the ability to make a profit, he argues.

Ontario paramedics escalate equal pension rights campaign
Paramedics across Ontario have stepped up their campaign for equal pension rights with police and firefighters. Unlike police and firemen, paramedics must wait until age 65 to retire with full pension. Members of the other two public safety professions are eligible at age 60.

NUPGE submission to Mental Health Commission of Canada
The National Union has presented a 14-page brief to the Mental Health Commission of Canada recommending change in four key areas - the public health care system, health human resources, community-based social services and the criminal justice system.

Tentative agreement for 3,000 public sector workers in P.E.I.
Negotiators for the province and the P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees have reached a tentative agreement for the union's largest bargaining group. The last contract expired March 31. Approximately 3,000 employees are affected. The union is recommending acceptance.

Collective bargaining for farm workers back in the spotlight
The rights of more than 100,000 Ontario agricultural workers are back in the spotlight this week with arguments being presented in the Ontario Court of Appeal.  A ruling is expected by fall on whether the workers have bargaining rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

PM asked to stop 'money for murder' trade talks with Columbia
Canada’s four major public sector unions, representing more than one million workers, have condemned the continued killing of trade union activists in Colombia and called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to halt free trade negotiations with the lawless South American regime.

Protest walks planned by disability support workers in Ontario
Frustrated by the Ontario government’s indifference to the problem of ill health in the workplace, caused by severe stress, hundreds of Ontario Disability Support Program staff members will take part in a noon hour Walk for a Healthy Workplace on Thursday, May 22.

Workers’ Compensation employees meet from across Canada
Some 40 representatives of the three largest public sector unions representing workers employed with Workers’ Compensations Boards across Canada met in St. John’s to discuss issues that impact both injured workers and WCB employees.

New developmental services law raises alarm in Ontario
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says a bill to change the way Ontario provides services for those with developmental disabilities contains a serious flaw and must be amended. The union says it is misguided to "entrench individualized funding" in the legislation.

Harper's Bill C-51 will weaken drug safety requirements
The Harper government has introduced Bill C-51, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act, which dramatically reduces safety requirements for drug approval. The National Union is urging all concerned Canadians to lobby the Harper government not to let the bill become law.

Impact of super health board in Alberta is unclear, says HSAA
The Health Sciences Association of Alberta says it will watch closely in the coming months to ensure that a provincial plan to replace regional health boards with a single new "super health board" model will not compromise the high quality of health care residents should be receiving.

Saskatchewan Party rams anti-labour bills through legislature
The right-wing government of Saskatchewan Party Premier Brad Wall has now rammed both of its anti-labour bills – introduced as a top first priority after winning power last fall – through the provincial legislature. The bills are basically pay-offs to the business community.

Jim Tait was one of the 'Four Horsemen' who founded OPSEU
Jim Tait, a longtime activist and staff rep with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, has died at age 67. He was one of the so-called "four horsemen" – along with Ron Haggett, Vic Williams and Neil Pollock – who turned OPSEU into a modern democratic, member-run union.

New Ottawa regulations will benefit brand name drug companies
The National Union of Public and General Employees says proposed new regulations on patented medicines will largely benefit brand name drug companies and should be rejected. NUPGE president James Clancy has expressed concern in a letter to Industry Canada.

NUPGE disappointed CRTC sides with Bell on Internet throttling

The National Union of Public and General Employees is disappointed with Wednesday’s decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to allow Bell Canada to continue throttling Internet access speeds to its subscribers.

Susan Ashley chosen to arbitrate P.E.I. public sector dispute
Susan Ashley has been named to arbitrate the dispute between the P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees and the province. The union's members have been working for more than 13 months without a contract. Ashley is expected to begin meeting with the two sides in June.

This Saturday is International Day Against Homophobia
International Day Against Homophobia will be observed on May 17 with what has become an annual campaign against homophobia. The theme for 2008 is entitled Homosexuality is NOT a sickness! One of the key aims of this year's campaign is to reach health care workers.

Labour groups begin $54-billion Supreme Court EI challenge
The Canadian Labour Congress has begun what could be a landmark Supreme Court case involving $54 billion in surplus Employment Insurance premiums. Supported by two Québec labour groups, the CLC is demanding repayment of the money to workers and employers.

New deal reached for BCGEU members at Lake City Casinos
Approximately 500 B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union members who work at Lake City Casinos will vote during the week beginning May 26 on a new agreement reached with the aid of a mediator. They work at casinos in Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon.

Canada's shrinking government adds to growing inequality
Thanks to deliberate policy choices by the Harper government, and by previous Liberal administrations, the role of the federal government in Canada is steadily fading away. Larry Brown, NUPGE's national secretary-treasurer, looks at the consequences of this ominous trend.

Poor care and violence common in Ontario nursing homes
New figures disclosed via a freedom of information request show that care levels have remained stagnant in Ontario’s long-term care homes, despite repeated promises by the McGuinty Liberal government to improve care and bring in minimum care standards.

Labour Rights are Human Rights international symposium
The National Union of Public and General Employees is one of four sponsors of an important international symposium called Labour Rights Are Human Rights next fall. The dates are Nov. 19-21 at the Marriott Hotel in Ottawa. Speakers will include Ed Broadbent.

First generic AIDS drugs finally headed from Canada to Africa
Four long years after legislation was passed by Canada, the first low-cost shipment of generic drugs from Canada should soon be en route to Africa to help AIDS victims. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network says the process is too cumbersome and must be changed.

N.B. and B.C. failed to protect health records of citizens
Two provincial governments, New Brunswick and British Columbia, failed to protect the personal information of citizens in incidents where tapes containing medical records were lost in transit, according to reports issued in each of the two provinces this week.

Health professionals seek action on national HR shortages
Representatives of the Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat gathered in Ottawa recently to assess public policy and labour relations issues and to map the course ahead for Canada’s health professionals. The big issue is a national shortage of human resources.

NAPE hopes deal could be public sector bargaining template
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees has signed what it calls an exceptional first contract for union members employed by the province's multi-materials stewardship board. The union hopes it will be a template for other employee groups.

NUPGE urges federal Liberals to stop the biofuel Bill C-33
The National Union is urging federal Liberals to use their muscle to stop passage of Bill C-33, which would establish higher targets for the production of biofuels. The bill is of dubious benefit because of a negative impact on the environment and food production, NUPGE says.

Two public sector unions challenge collective bargaining limits
An important court challenge has been launched to broaden collective bargaining rights for federal public employees under the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA). Limits imposed by the act are being contested under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

OPSEU members observing Injured Workers' Day on June 1
June 1 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Injured Workers' Day, an event that began in 1983 when more than 3,000 workers gathered at the Ontario Legislature to participate in public hearings on workers' compensation and to make the point that injury should not mean poverty.

This Mother’s Day please give hope to African Mothers
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is encouraging Canadians this year to help African mothers struggling with the ravages of AIDS. While honouring our own mothers, the occasion can also be used to provide hope to two African communities in need.

Union waits for third party in Prince Edward Island dispute
After 13 months without a contract, the P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees is calling on the province to appoint a third party to settle their dispute. President Shelley Ward says conciliation broke down weeks ago and there is no reason for the province to delay any longer.

NSGEU VON home support workers ratify tentative contract
Home support workers with the Victorian Order of Nurses have ratified a tentative agreement in four areas of Nova Scotia. Joan Jessome, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, says the vote again demonstrates that collective bargaining works.

Ed Finn: still fighting the good fight after all these years
If anyone qualifies as a tireless warrior on the left of Canadian politics, it is surely Ed Finn, activist, unionist, writer, author, journalist and, half a century ago, publisher and political leader. Now 66 years in the work force, Finn is still going strong as he nears his 82nd birthday.

MGEU wants WCB coverage extended to entire workforce
The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union is urging the government of Premier Gary Doer to extend Workers Compensation Board coverage to all workers. The act dates back to 1917 and excludes many occupations created since then, the union says.

Speak up for a universal child care solution in British Columbia
The New Democratic Party has embarked on a Raising B.C. child care tour across the province this spring with the support of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union. Members are urged to attend a public forum May 6 in Victoria.

May Day celebrates the achievements of unions worldwide
The National Union of Public and General Employees is pleased to join with millions of workers in annual May Day celebrations around the world. On the first day of May the achievements of more than a century of trade unionism are rightly celebrated and honoured.

CSSBA makes proposal for $3.5 million Surplus Bonus Fund
The Community Social Services Bargaining Association has developed a proposal to distribute approximately $3.5 million in bonus payments in British Columbia. A formal response is expected from the Liberal government of Premier Gordon Campbell by this fall.

Union will make omnipresent BlackBerry a bargaining issue
Canada's largest federal public sector union, in a move that could spread across the work world, says it's time to make BlackBerry communications devices an issue at the bargaining table and for employers to pay for their growing intrusion into the private lives of workers.

Layton calls for tougher worker safety standards in Canada
Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton says Canadian workers need tougher labour and safety standards and more resources to enforce workplace health and safety. Canada continues to have one of the highest workplace fatality rates of any OECD country, Layton says.

B.C. auditor general red flags costly privatization scheme
In a scathing review of one of British Columbia's flagship privatization schemes, B.C.'s Auditor General has identified critical lapses by the Campbell Liberals, calling into question the financial case to justify the $1-billion plus contract with American giant EDS.