Graduate students at Queens University say they are going on strike because they can no longer afford rising costs-of-living in Kingston, Ontario given what the city’s biggest employer is paying them.

The strike began last week after a breakdown in negotiations with the employer. The union, PSAC 901 Unit 1, which represents graduate student workers, including research assistants, and teaching assistants, is seeking fair wages, tuition minimization, enshrined protections against discrimination and guarantees from their employers about addressing the University’s impact on housing.

The Union Local represents around 2,000 workers at the university.

Jake Morrow, PSAC 901 President, says the union had been bargaining with the school for around a year, but the school’s offers failed to address their concerns so thoroughly that negotiations veered into being “disrespectful.”

“In terms of monetary packages, what we’ve been getting from the employer is just disrespectful low offers for the value we bring to the university,” Morrow told PressProgress.

Morrow said the amount graduate students make each year does not cover the cost of living in Kingston.

“I’m making $23,000 this year, minus the $8,000 that we have to pay back in tuition,” Morrow said. “That’s $15,000 I make in a year to work for Queens University.”

The financial constraints on graduate students are made worse by the cost of housing, which for graduate students can be on or off campus.

“Queens is not just the largest employer in Kingston Ontario, it’s also the largest landlord and landholder,” said Morrow. “The rental market in Kingston is set by Queens University.”

Morrow said people living in graduate student housing will receive a 10.5% increase in their rent in September, and then will receive another 7.5% increase the following year. Even if graduate students were renting from the school directly, Morrow noted many of them were renting a property owned by a professor or administrator at Queens.

“It’s a company town through and through,” Morrow said. “The university has exacerbated the cost of living crisis in Kingston, Ontario – full stop.”

Kingston’s city council recently called a food insecurity emergency in the city, after public health officials reported one-in-three people in the region had experienced food insecurity.

“Last year, PSAC 901 gave out $100,000 in gift cards for emergency food funding,” Morrow said. “We are seeing members accessing food banks, we are seeing members who are experiencing homelessness, the food insecurity problems are outrageous.”

Morrow added that the undergraduate society’s food bank on campus primarily services graduate students.

“Last year there was a $100 million donation to the school of engineering… 40% of graduate student workers who access the food banks on campus are engineering students,” Morrow said.

Morrow said striking workers have received lots of support from the community and other unions. Postal workers and other unions on campus showed up to bolster the PSAC 901 strike. Morrow added that the Kingston District Labour Council is also showing them support.

Despite a strong display of solidarity for the strike, this has not stopped some faculty members from attempting to circumvent the strike.

“We heard about a department head in mechanical and materials engineering who was pressuring bringing post-docs to take on scab labour and encouraging our Unit One members to continue working and scabbing,” Morrow said. “Our members asked us for support, so we showed up with 300 people and we circled that building and we let that professor – that department head – know we were there and there’s no more labs in that building going on.”

On top of this, there are already non-unionized undergraduate students also working as TAs at Queens.

“There are certain departments that have undergrad TAs,” said Morrow. “They are not currently unionized, but through this process – the longer this drags out – the more undergrads I’m talking to about unionizing.”

In addition to their other demands, PSAC 901 is looking for enshrined protections for its members against caste-based discrimination. However, Morrow says that Queens has not moved to add this to the collective agreement.

“Queens is incredibly reluctant to add the words ‘and caste’ to the list of protected grounds of discrimination and it is entirely unclear why.”

“Queens likes to hold up itself as this place of specific values, but it betrays them at every step of the way,” Morrow said. “It put out a statement saying it wouldn’t divest from the Israeli genocide, but started with a land acknowledgement.”

“That’s what Queens University is.”

Morrow said that union members are ready to go, and that Queens wasn’t prepared for their strike.

“People with families are struggling to feed their families and that’s what we’re fighting for and that’s what we’ll win,” Morrow said.

In response to questions from PressProgress about the union’s concerns, Queens University provided a link to a blog containing press releases about the strike.

“The work of PSAC 901 Unit 1 bargaining unit members is highly respected and the University remains committed to reaching an agreement that both parties can ratify,” says the most recent press release.

The post Why Kingston, Ontario’s Rising Costs-of-Living are at the Centre of a New Strike at Queens University appeared first on PressProgress.

The federal government is providing about $20-million in funding to support British Columbia’s forestry sector, part of Ottawa’s effort to bolster the economy amid the Canada-U. S. trade war.

Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says it’s more important than ever to support the sector, which is subject to American duties on softwood lumber and now faces the additional threat of steep tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Holt government introduced new legislation Wednesday that would cancel a travel nurse contract with Canadian Health Labs. The contract was signed by Vitalité in 2022 as the health-care system faced dire staffing shortages.

The federal Conservatives and NDP won’t say how or if they’re vetting their candidates’ claims to Indigenous identity — even though both parties went after a Liberal MP last year over his shifting statements about his background.

The Liberal and Green parties did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MP Randy Boissonnault — who served as employment minister in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet — quit the post late last year after facing weeks of questions about his claims of Indigenous identity and his business dealings.

Both Conservative and NDP MPs called for Boissonnault’s resignation and raised concerns about the Liberal party’s statements about his identity over the years.

Boissonnault apologized for his statements about the nature of his family’s background and told a House of Commons committee in December 2024 that he is not Indigenous.

Asked whether the Conservative party has its own guidelines for verifying the Indigenous identities of candidates, Conservative party director of communications Sarah Fisher said the party does not comment on its vetting practices and is “proud to have Indigenous leaders running for our party.”

Asked the same question, the NDP said the party’s “vetting process is thorough and ensuing accuracy is something we take seriously.”

Neither the NDP nor the Conservative party explicitly said that their vetting processes examine claims to Indigeneity.

Veldon Coburn, an associate professor with the Indigenous Relations Initiative at McGill University, said in an interview parties should be verifying candidates’ claims to Indigenous identity because they speak to the candidates’ “honesty and integrity.”

“They might check off boxes for inclusion, but in reality are not including us whatsoever if the voices are more that of a charlatan,” said Coburn, who has spoken out extensively on false claims to Indigeneity.

“I think it’s critical that they take this seriously and are transparent about what sort of claims they accept from individuals that are candidates.”

Story by Alessia Passafiume

The post Main political parties won’t say how, or if, they’re vetting Indigenous candidates appeared first on APTN News.

The cost of redeveloping the former Bay building in downtown Winnipeg has risen more than 50 per cent, and some of the amenities that were planned have been scaled back or removed altogether.

Postmedia Network Canada Corp., operator of the flagging chain of English-language Canadian newspapers and clickbait websites, yesterday announced the appointment of former Alberta Conservative premier Jason Kenney to its board of directors.

It’s a revealing commentary on the state of affairs in Canadian media nowadays that the acquisition of Kenney’s services actually lends a little lustre to Postmedia’s tarnished reputation, the result of a variety of factors including “highly illiquid” shares last seen trading at only a penny over a Loonie, plummeting revenue, and a business model that emphasizes right-wing commentary instead of quality news coverage.

Notwithstanding having been run out of politics in 2022 by the “lunatics” of his own United Conservative Party’s base – his term, not mine – perhaps Mr. Kenney’s cranky views of Canadian history, especially his obsession with defending the reputation of the country’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, can do something in this nationalistic moment to get Canadians to forget that Postmedia is two-thirds owned by a U.S. hedge fund, and almost entirely owned by foreigners.

New Jersey-based Chatham Asset Management acquired the company in 2020. When the Jersey Boys took control of Postmedia, the New York Times reported in July 2020, “the company … cut its work force, shuttered papers across Canada, reduced salaries and benefits, and centralized editorial operations in a way that has made parts of its 106 newspapers into clones of one another.”

The deal raised Postmedia’s foreign ownership “to a dizzying 98 per cent,” Canadian Dimension reported in 2023, with 66 per cent held by Chatham. 

So who still believes Postmedia is Canadian-controlled? Even fewer Canadians than in 2016 when The Tyee asked that question in a headline. 

Kenney’s association with a large Calgary law firm, Bennett Jones LLP (in the news lately for the statement of defence its lawyers filed on behalf of the Alberta Government in response to the wrongful dismissal lawsuit by former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos) and his service on the board of ATCO, may also lend a little respectability in corporate circles to his presence.

But while Postmedia’s commentary nowadays almost exclusively supports the federal Conservative Party and its various provincial franchises, which do business under a variety of names, whoever chose the latest additions to the company’s board was paying better attention. 

At the same time as they were appointing Kenney, who is likely to have an in with a Conservative national government in the event federal party Leader Pierre Poilievre emerges later this year as prime minister, there is also a new Liberal on the board. 

Either way, bean counters associated with both parties are sure to take a close look at the controversial Trudeau-era newspaper subsidies that are helping to keep Postmedia afloat. Poilievre has vowed to kill the program.

Appointed at the same time as Kenney was Terrie O’Leary, a former chief of staff to Liberal Paul Martin, back in the days when he was finance minister a few years before he became prime minister of Canada. That should cover the possibility Prime Minister Carney doesn’t go down in history as Canada’s shortest serving prime minister. (To do that, he would have to serve as PM for fewer than the 68 days managed by Sir Charles Tupper in 1896.) 

Recent polls actually suggest that a Carney victory might actually be possible, much to the consternation of most Conservatives – although not necessarily Mr. Kenney, who might see in such a circumstance an opportunity to revivify his seemingly hopeless prime ministerial ambitions. 

“On behalf of the Board,” said Postmedia Chair Peter Sharpe in a news release, “we look forward to their many contributions and support in driving long-term value for Postmedia’s stakeholders.”

It’s likely to be a long drive. Postmedia’s net loss in the first quarter ended November 30, 2024, was $24.5 million, as compared to a net loss of $10.6 million in the same period in the previous year, the company reported.*

No joy at U of A law school for Danielle Smith

“It was a packed room of 150 future lawyers tonight at the University of Alberta answering their important questions about our legal system, our province, and the US trade dispute,” Premier Danielle Smith’s X account cheerfully chirped on Monday.

Alas for the premier and Justice Minister Mickey Amery, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but not the U of A’s law students even some of the time. They are said to have schooled the premier on what they thought of Bill 26, her government’s probably unconstitutional anti-trans legislation. By all accounts, it was not a pleasant experience for the premier. 

So far, a recording of the session has not emerged, although that is bound to happen sooner or later. In the meantime, the priceless photo above, which has been circulating all over the Internets, pretty well says it all. 

*It beats me why Postmedia’s first quarter would end on November 30. But then, nothing about that company, including its continued survival, makes any sense. DJC 

The post Former AB premier Jason Kenney named to Postmedia board of directors appeared first on rabble.ca.

Municipal elections are set for this fall, and in Montreal, a major shake-up is underway. Valérie Plante has announced she won’t be seeking re-election as mayor, leaving an open race for the city’s top job. Over the weekend, members of Projet Montréal chose a new leader, Luc Rabouin. He joined us to discuss his vision for the party and the future of the city.

What started out as an agreement to sell a cell phone to a buyer using a popular buy and sell website, ended up with the victim bear-sprayed and robbed of their phone.

The victim and the purchaser made arrangements to meet in a parking lot near Upper Gage Avenue and Stone Church Road. Upon arrival, the victim noticed that the suspect had arrived with another male. After a brief discussion, the victim gave the phone to the suspects to inspect, however they proceeded to run away on foot with it. The victim gave chase, but was halted when one of the suspects sprayed him with bear spray.

The suspects were described as the following:

Suspect 1: male youth, black complexion, medium build, brown curly hair, wearing a white and black hoodie, black pants and a black backpack.

Suspect 2: male youth, 18-20yrs, black hoodie, black pants, thin build.

Buy and Sell Exchange Zone

The robbery and assault took place less than a five-minute drive to a safe exchange zone established by Hamilton Police. In 2021, Hamilton Police created a “Buy and Sell Exchange Zone” for the public to utilize for safe transactions. It is located in the visitor’s parking area of the Hamilton Police Mountain Station located at 400 Rymal Road East and it is monitored by cameras.

Anyone with any information that could assist officers with this investigation are asked to contact the on-duty Division 3 Staff Sergeant at 905-546-3886. Additionally, to provide information anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says plans for cleaning up abandoned or inactive oil wells are to be made public in two weeks.

The day after New Brunswick’s Liberal government tabled a budget with a $549 million deficit, the Opposition Progressive Conservatives had virtually nothing to say about it.

Manitoba's tourism industry hopes to capitalize on a decline in the number of travellers heading to the U.S. New numbers show fewer people made trips south of the border in February compared to the same month last year.

In 1987, Canada was caught up in a debate over a free trade agreement with the United States. Economist John Crispo, an outspoken FTA supporter, warned that failing to ratify it would make Canada an “economic basket case.”

In 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney called an election to get a mandate to sign onto the agreement. The Liberals and NDP opposed it, but the Conservatives won a majority with 40 per cent of the vote. The U.S. and Canada ratified the FTA later that year. A subsequent 1994 free trade agreement included Mexico.

In early 1988, before the election, I met eminent economist Kenneth Boulding at a meeting in the U.S. With Crispo’s words still bugging me, I asked about Canada becoming an economic basket case if we didn’t sign on and for his opinion of the FTA.

Boulding answered, “If you want to know how well off you are, imagine that you go to bed and wake up the next morning to find the whole world has disappeared except for Canada and an ocean around it. Would you lack for food? Not when you are one of the bread baskets, not basket cases, of the world. Would you lack for resources — minerals, energy, lumber, fish? Would you lack an educated workforce capable of making everything from clothing to refrigerators and cars?”

That thought exercise reminds us of our true wealth. Canada is a nation rich in resources and skilled and educated people with a diversity of backgrounds and ideas and should be the envy of the world. But globalization renders us vulnerable to the consequences of war, hostilities and shifts in priorities and makes us poor — even though its initial justification was to reduce the kinds of conflicts the world had just endured in two global wars.

I later heard Larry King interview Mulroney on CNN. King chided him for the economic slump Canada was experiencing. Mulroney replied that it wasn’t his fault, that he couldn’t control the global economy. So why do we embrace the global economy? The prime minister’s job is to protect people in Canada and our economy, not hand over control to global forces.

Donald Trump’s election and subsequent actions reveal how vulnerable we are to the vagaries of an unruly leader who couldn’t care less for the wellbeing of people or the state of the planet. His administration during its first term negotiated the most recent North American free trade pact, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Now he’s tearing that up, recklessly imposing tariffs, then backing off and re-imposing them — sending stock markets spinning and creating economic hardship beyond U.S. borders.

We need global alliances, now more than ever, but we must also become more self-reliant. We need to reduce barriers to interprovincial trade and create an integrated renewable energy grid. Our governments must prioritize Indigenous rights, title and governance. We need to make sure our communities are resilient in the face of a warming climate, and we must protect our natural wealth, especially water.

Any trade agreements we join must prioritize human and environmental rights.

The billionaires and oligarchs who benefit most from global trade don’t care about countries or borders; those get in their way as much as regulations and public institutions. Their consumer-capitalist economic system facilitates and relies on global trade — in part to exploit low-cost labour and lax environmental and human rights standards.

Current trade also exacerbates the climate crisis. About 40 per cent of global shipping is to transport coal, oil and gas. As Forbes reports, “Shipping emits over 1 billion tons of carbon a year, making it the sixth-largest emitter in the world after China, U.S., India, Russia and Japan” — and that’s increasing rapidly. Curtailing fossil fuel use would substantially reduce emissions from burning the fuels and from shipping, a win-win for the climate. But it would cut into enormous industry profits and, according to current economic thinking, profits are a higher priority than health and survival.

What’s happening in the U.S. shows how quickly things can fall apart — rules and institutions, checks and balances, international agreements, governing processes that people have long taken for granted. We need to learn from it and come together to protect what we have while continuing to strive for better.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington. Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

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The donation will be used for Cape Breton University buildings, infrastructure or scholarships.

Whether or not Hudson's Bay Company will have to undergo a full liquidation or will be able to keep some stores afloat is still unknown — the indebted retailer has received another extension from an Ontario judge that will push the decision to the end of the week. 

Global sea levels rose faster than scientists anticipated in 2024. For the first time, NASA reports the main driver wasn’t melting ice sheets and glaciers, but rather the expansion of warming ocean water.

The New Brunswick government has cancelled a major nursing contract with an Ontario staffing agency by tabling legislation that also shields the province and its officials from being sued.

In tabling Bill 7 on Wednesday, New Brunswick Health Minister John Dornan said in a statement that the contract was “unfair to taxpayers and had a significant impact on the overall budget for the Department of Health.”