Latest News and Updates
Hate Must Be Challenged Every Day and in Every Way: OFL Statement on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia – May 17, 2013
posted on May 17, 2013OFL STATEMENT May 15, 2013 Hate Must Be Challenged Every Day and in Every Way OFL Statement on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, May 17, 2013 For the second year in a row, Ontario’s LGBTQ community and its allies are celebrating historic victories for the rights and protections of transgender people as part [...]
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Workers’ Rights Should Know No Borders: OFL Statement for South Asian Heritage Month – May 2013
posted on May 3, 2013OFL STATEMENT May 1, 2013 Workers’ Rights Should Know No Borders OFL Statement for South Asian Heritage Month – May 2013 Across Ontario, workers are joining the South Asian community in recognizing May as South Asian Heritage Month. However, this year’s celebrations are dampened by news of the April 24 collapse of a Bangladesh garment [...]
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Without Justice, No Fallen Worker Can Rest in Peace: OFL Statement on Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job – April 28
posted on April 24, 2013OFL Statement April 24, 2013 Without Justice, No Fallen Worker Can Rest in Peace OFL Statement on Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job – April 28 Thousands of workers, friends and families of those killed and injured on the job will gather at ceremonies across Ontario this weekend to memorialize [...]
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Bullying Only Thrives in the Shadows: OFL Statement on the Day of Pink, Anti-Bullying Day – April 10, 2013
posted on April 9, 2013OFL STATEMENT April 10, 2013 Bullying Only Thrives in the Shadows: OFL Statement on the Day of Pink, Anti-Bullying Day – April 10, 2013 Last year, the Ontario government passed historic anti-bullying legislation, but the issue of bullying, and its traumatic consequences, remains a daily concern in the lives of too many people. The impact [...]
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Peter Kormos: Warrior for the Working Class
posted on April 3, 2013Warrior for the Working Class Peter Kormos (1952-2013) Peter will be honoured with a Memorial Service at Pleasantview Funeral Home and Reception Centre in Thorold at 1 p.m. on May 11. Welland MPP Peter Kormos – a one-of-a-kind socialist cowboy and a stalwart in Ontario’s New Democratic Party for 23 years – hung up his [...]
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Precarious Lives are the Legacy of Systemic Racism: Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – March 21, 2013
posted on March 20, 2013OFL STATEMENT March 20, 2013 Precarious Lives are the Legacy of Systemic Racism: OFL Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – March 21, 2013 The legacy of Canada’s colonial history and current trends towards cuts to jobs and social programs continue to deliver a double blow to people of colour and [...]
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Statement: Women Rise As Unions Rise: OFL Statement on International Women’s Day – March 8, 2013
posted on March 7, 2013OFL STATEMENT March 7, 2013 Women Rise As Unions Rise: OFL Statement on International Women’s Day – March 8, 2013 As millions of women around the world observe International Women’s Day, the Ontario Federation of Labour will proudly celebrate the role that unions have played in elevating the living standards of all women in Canada. [...]
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Statement: Celebrating History Through Action: OFL Statement in Support of Black History Month – February, 2013
posted on January 31, 2013OFL STATEMENT February 1, 2013 Celebrating History Through Action: OFL Statement in Support of Black History Month – February, 2013 As millions celebrate February as Black History Month, they will also be marking an important milestone in the movement to abolish slavery: the 100 year anniversary of the passing of abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Born into [...]
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Rising Together Against Violence Against Women: OFL Statement in Support of One Billion Rising – February 14, 2013
posted on January 17, 2013OFL STATEMENT January 17, 2013 Rising Together Against Violence Against Women: OFL Statement in Support of One Billion Rising – February 14, 2013 The Ontario Federation of Labour is joining with people around the world in a global movement to demand an end to violence against women and girls. One million workers in Ontario are [...]
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OFL Statement for December 18, 2012 International Migrants Day
posted on December 17, 2012OFL STATEMENT December 18, 2012 Canada’s Exploitation of Migrant Workers Lowers the Bar for Every Worker OFL Statement for December 18, 2012 International Migrants Day Only days before the international community celebrates International Migrants Day, Canada’s Conservative government quietly introduced new rules stripping migrant workers of benefits they pay for. On December 10, International Human [...]
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OFL Statement for December 10, 2012 International Human Rights Day
posted on December 7, 2012OFL STATEMENT December 10, 2012 Canada’s Human Rights Reputation is Fast Becoming a Myth OFL Statement for December 10, 2012 International Human Rights Day This year, as the global community recognizes December 10 as International Human Rights Day, many Canadians struggle with a vanishing sense of pride in Canada’s once renowned reputation as a leader [...]
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OFL Statement for December 6, 2012 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
posted on December 5, 2012OFL STATEMENT December 5, 2012 Rising Together Against Violence Against Women: OFL Statement for December 6, 2012 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women As Ontarians gather in cities and towns across the province to remember the women victims of gender-based violence, Ontario’s labour movement is beginning to build for a global [...]
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OFL Statement for International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2012
posted on December 3, 2012OFL STATEMENT December 3, 2012 Ontarians with Disabilities Hit the Hardest by Government Cuts: OFL Statement for International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2012 December 3 marks the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities. According to the UN, persons with disabilities make up 15 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of [...]
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Honouring Lost Lives, Seeking Justice for the Living: OFL Statement on the Transgender Day of Remembrance, November 20, 2012
posted on November 19, 2012OFL STATEMENT November 20,2012 Honouring Lost Lives, Seeking Justice for the Living: OFL Statement on the Transgender Day of Remembrance, November 20, 2012 Since 1999, November 20 has been recognized as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is a day to reflect on the lives of transgendered people who have been killed due to [...]
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OPEN LETTER TO PREMIER: Labour Ends Talks with Government; Refuses to be Political Pawn
posted on October 24, 2012FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 24, 2012 Dear Premier McGuinty, Two weeks ago, Ontario’s labour leaders approached your government, in a gesture of good will, with the end goal of supporting local settlements while circumventing draconian legislation like Bill 115. Unfortunately, your government undermined these discussions before they could get started. First, your crass political decision [...]
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In Memoriam: Charles Roach (Activist+Artist+Musician+Lawyer+Revolutionary)
posted on October 4, 2012Charles Roach September 18, 1933 − October 2, 2012 Equality and civil rights advocates across Canada lost an incredible community activist and friend with the passing of renowned lawyer Charles Roach. Charlie never shied away from a cause. For more than 50 years, he led the fight against systemic racism and defended the most vulnerable in [...]
Read MoreLabour-Community Alliance is the Only Way to Challenge Inequality: OFL Statement on Labour Day, 2012
posted on September 3, 2012OFL STATEMENT Labour-Community Alliance is the Only Way to Challenge Inequality OFL Statement on Labour Day, 2012 Just days before the Canadian workers celebrated their proud labour history, Ontario’s labour movement and more than 90 community groups and non-profit organizations released an unprecedented report that reverberated through the media from one end of the country [...]
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Letter to South African President Jacob Zuma: Justice for Striking Workers
posted on August 24, 2012August 24, 2012 President Jacob Zuma President of South Africa Union Buildings Private Bag X1000, Pretoria 0001 South Africa Sent by letter mail and emailed to president@po.gov.za. A .PDF version of this letter can be downloaded from this link. Dear President Zuma: Subject: Call for a Full and Independent Investigation into Police Shootings of [...]
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Labour Federation Presidents: Premiers should fight back against Ottawa’s low-wage schemes (Op-Ed in the Halifax Chronicle Herald)
posted on July 26, 2012[Read the original op-ed in the Halifax Chronicle Herald] July 26, 2012 It has become clear that the federal government, supported by a number of employer organizations, has a plan for transforming Canada’s labour market in ways that will profoundly hurt Canadians. It’s a four-prong strategy which includes the dramatic expansion of the Temporary Foreign [...]
Read MoreLetter to the Premier: Compensation for Occupational Disease Victims and Survivors
posted on June 25, 2012Dear Premier McGuinty: I am writing to bring your attention to a serious attack on Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) compensation benefits for victims and survivors of occupational disease. This is an issue of grave concern to the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), the injured worker community, and indeed many Ontarians. By way of [...]
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No More Broken Promises! OFL Statement on National Aboriginal Day, June 21, 2012
posted on June 21, 2012After years of inaction on critical Aboriginal land and resource matters and its refusal to protect the sacred burial sites of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation on Big Trout Lake, the Government of Ontario finally showed signs of conceding. In March 2012, the McGuinty Government relented to public pressure and issued a temporary stop to all mining activity on KI land, but the moratorium didn’t apply to Toronto-based God’s Lake Resources, which staked its claims early enough to get in under the wire.
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Open Letter to Québec Students:
posted on June 6, 2012On behalf of over one million workers in Ontario, I am writing to you to express our strongest solidarity with your movement to stop tuition fee hikes and maintain a high quality, accessible post-secondary education system in Québec. We salute your movement’s determination to continue in the face of an intransigent government and violent police crack-downs.
Read MoreHarassment Forces Some Workers to Choose Between Their Safety or Their Job: OFL Statement on Sexual Harassment Awareness Week, June 1-7, 2012
posted on May 31, 2012Studies show that the majority of working women will experience some form of sexual harassment throughout their working lives; however the harassment experienced in the workplace is not solely limited to sexual harassment. Harassment on the basis of race, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity/expression and various other forms of personal harassment, compounded with harassment due to gender can make the workplace, and indeed society, dangerous and even lethal for many vulnerable workers.
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