Cozy, comfort food is the best food, and decidedly one of the best things about the weather getting colder. Cassoulet is a perfect example.

Arctic Predator explores the life and crimes of Ed Horne, who was convicted of sexually abusing Inuit boys while he was a teacher in Nunavut from 1971 to 1985.

"It feels like going back to the old ways." Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian became the latest leader to criticize healthcare oversight changes.

Li-FT, the lithium company working to open a mine east of Yellowknife, is acquiring a set of NWT lithium projects from fellow exploration firm North Arrow.

Environment Canada has issued winter weather travel advisories and snowfall warnings for the National Capital Region as heavy snowfall is expected Monday afternoon and into the night.

Ulukhaktok may see blizzard conditions starting on Christmas Eve and lasting throughout Christmas Day, Environment Canada says.

At approximately 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, RNC officers responded to a report of an assault in progress on Springdale Street in St. John’s.

Upon arrival, police located the 53-year-old male suspect and he was arrested.

The man was charged with assault with a weapon, two counts of uttering threats, resisting arrest and breach of court order.

The accused was held in the city lockup to await a court appearance.

On December 13, the federal government did what many expected and forced striking Canada Post employees back to work. If anyone needed confirmation of the Trudeau government’s utter contempt for workers’ rights and free collective bargaining, this latest back-to-work order is further proof. 

At the press conference announcing the government’s decision, Minister of Labour Steven MacKinnon again invoked his powers under s. 107 of the Canada Labour Code and requested that the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) order union members back to work if the Board determined no agreement could be reached expeditiously. As anticipated, the CIRB confirmed the parties were at an impasse and ‘paused’ the strike until May 22, 2025. 

Frustrated members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) maintained picket lines until the last moments at locations across the country.  

Prior to the government stepping in, federal mediation had been suspended on November 27 when it was determined that Canada Post management and the union remained too far apart. 

Now with the strike in its fourth week and business organizations continuing to call for intervention, the government obliged and once again brought the hammer down to smash a strike. 

In the days leading up to the Minister’s announcement, however, there seemed to be some movement toward further negotiations. In a package of counter proposals, the union indicated that it was willing to moderate on some issues, including long standing efforts to equalize conditions between members in the urban and rural/suburban bargaining units. This was apparently not enough to encourage Canada Post to withdraw its demands for concessions related to part-time work and pensions, paving the way for an eventual back-to-work order. 

According to reporting from The Globe and Mail, intervention was necessary in this case because the labour Minister believed the strike had “proven too disruptive to the Canadian public.” Of course, strikes are inherently disruptive and it is frequently the level of disruption that determines a union’s leverage. A strike that allowed business to continue as usual would not be terribly effective. Nevertheless, the Liberal government has seemingly disregarded the fundamental role that strikes play in our industrial relations system and is further facilitating employers’ slow and steady withdrawal from the ‘post-war compromise’ between labour and capital. 

This is the fifth time this year that the Liberals have intervened to end a high-profile strike in the federal jurisdiction. 

Back in May, at the behest of then-labour minister Seamus O’Regan, the government pre-empted the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference from exercising its right to strike by instructing the CIRB to “investigate” whether the national railway system contained essential services. The Teamsters and rail companies had already negotiated a “maintenance of activities” protocol, agreeing that no such essential services existed. Nevertheless, the government’s overreach delayed negotiations and prevented rail workers from striking until later in the year. 

Then, in late June, the government attempted to use s. 107 of the Code to end a strike by aircraft mechanics at WestJet. In perhaps one of the most striking instances of labour militancy this year, members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) continued their job action and forced the airline to capitulate to their demands. While the Minister had directed the CIRB to begin the process of arbitration, his directive was silent on the status of the AMFA’s strike, a loophole that the union took full advantage of. 

In August, CN Rail and CPKC locked out their workers following the CIRB investigation into essential rail services. The Teamsters’ picket lines were barely erected before MacKinnon directed the CIRB to end the strike and impose arbitration. The government had apparently learned its lesson from the WestJet fiasco. 

Finally, in November, port workers in British Columbia and Quebec were the next targets of the government’s new favourite weapon to end strikes. Striking members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on the west coast and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Montreal and Quebec City had strikes and lockouts snuffed out via the now infamous s. 107. 

This brings us to the case of Canada Post. Throughout the negotiations and strike, the government continued to indicate an intention to remain on the sidelines and encouraged the union and Canada Post to reach an agreement on their own. Such assurances are now cold comfort. 

Unlike the various interventions recounted above, however, with Canada Post the government did not request an order for binding arbitration. Instead, the Minister opted to convene an industrial inquiry commission to study why Canada Post and the CUPW have been unable to reach an agreement. This commission is set to issue a report to the Minster, Canada Post and the union by May 15, 2025, just ahead of the possible resumption of strike action. Until negotiations restart next May, union members will work under their previous collective agreements while receiving an additional 5 per cent wage increase. 

The commission should consider the impact that continual government interference has on labour relations across the federal jurisdiction, though I wouldn’t count on it. When employers expect that the government will neutralize workers’ power by ending strikes, the former feel little compulsion to bargain in good faith. Moreover, as Teamsters Canada national president François Laporte recently argued, employers may be locking out workers with the intention of securing government intervention, a truly perverse outcome. 

Most importantly, the establishment of an inquiry commission at Canada Post allowed for an immediate intervention to end the strike, while pushing resolution until May, when workers’ strike leverage is weaker. But it may also provide some cover as the government heads to court to defend its previous actions against the rail and port workers. That the Liberals allowed the strike to continue for as long as they did, and refrained from imposing arbitration, may save them from further legal troubles. Time will tell. 

It’s important to keep in mind that as egregious as these recent government interventions are, they are part of a broader pattern of restricting workers’ collective freedom and autonomy. When it comes to CUPW, in particular, Conservative and Liberal federal governments have frequently resorted to back-to-work legislation, most recently in 2018 and 2011. But the issue of government interference goes back much further than this, to what the late Leo Panitch and Donald Swartz characterized as the “permanent exceptionalism” of governments forcing strikers back to their jobs, despite the formalization of union rights. 

In fact, the frequency with which governments resorted to back-to-work legislation to end lawful strikes declined in the dozen or so years leading up to the Supreme Court’s recognition of the right to strike, largely because the number of strikes and person days lost to work stoppages also fell precipitously during this period. When the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the right to strike in 2015, this didn’t appreciably change the frequency of back-to-work orders. Governments continued to intervene to end strikes, but less often than they did when workers were exercising their strike muscles more frequently in the late 1970s and 1980s. 

In some ways, then, the constitutional right to strike is more symbolic than material. As labour law scholar Eric Tucker has argued, our liberal political order prioritizes individual freedom above collective rights and thus has a difficult time incorporating the latter into its legal regime. 

The number of strikes and the ability of workers to maintain them is a question of class power and, unfortunately, the balance of class forces has tipped decidedly in the favour of employers over the past 40 years. Workers who have the strategic power to cause significant economic disruption by striking, and thus the potential to extract meaningful concessions from employers, face the coercive power of the state, though this has taken more opaque forms under the Trudeau Liberals this past year. 

Through its various interventions, the current government has affirmed that profit takes precedence over what limited rights workers have managed to secure. Challenging governments through the courts, while it can at times allow unions to achieve short-term relief, is ultimately insufficient. Fighting back against government interference requires building the collective capacity of workers to resist, a long-term project that should now be a topic of discussion at union meetings across the country.

Recent Class Struggle Issues

• December 16 | Reviewing The State Of The Labour Market – November 2024
• December 9 | Federal Government Will Pocket Billions In Pension Funds
• December 2 | Manitoba’s NDP Government Gets A C+ On Worker Safety
• November 25 | Canada Post Workers Are Fighting An Employer-Led Race To The Bottom

Justice Critic Helen Conway-Ottenheimer says the province needs to speed up legislation to allow for a police oversight committee.

The Law Enforcement Oversight Commission Act made it to the House of Assembly but didn’t get past the first reading before the House closed earlier this month.

Conway-Ottenheimer says Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the last jurisdictions without a police oversight board, which would oversee policy, procedure and accountability of the RNC and RCMP.

“One of the functions that these boards look at, it does deal with priorities for policing. It deals with allocation of resources within police departments and, importantly, is discipline of police officers. But what a civilian body does, it ensures that there’s that accountability, that level of transparency and openness to ensure that there is trust,” she told VOCM News.

With a $500-million budget, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) managed to deliver the BMO Centre expansion this year on time and on budget.

It’s a December Saturday morning so cold even gloved fingers go numb after 10 minutes, and Shawna Thibodeau is handing out bags filled with socks, pocket warmers and protein bars to the people spending their holidays on Ottawa’s streets.

“How about a free breakfast?” she asks, offering gift cards to a nearby café in the downtown core. “Would you like some cigarettes, too? Or sage for smudging?”

The suspension last month of nearly all private refugee sponsorships in Canada has blindsided community groups who have helped resettle thousands of people in the decade since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led the global charge to help those fleeing Syria.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a Nov. 29 news release that the decision was made “to provide more certainty to refugees abroad and sponsors in Canada.”

Rev. Don Beyers knows the holidays will be particularly difficult for some members of his congregation.

This will be the first Christmas since the fire that ravaged Toronto’s St. Anne’s Anglican Church in June, destroying the 116-year-old building’s Byzantine-style dome and religious murals by Group of Seven artists. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

A trio of independent agencies funded by the Yukon government say civil servants are mucking about with the agencies' budgets. The heads of all three offices have written to the Legislative Assembly's members' services board to complain.

Canada’s decreasing dollar may not be great for the economy, but the exchange rate is welcome news for the film industry hoping for U.S. productions to choose Canada as a filming location.

Set to be completed in 2022, the 253-hectare, 120-megawatt solar farm on what is now a canola field on the west side of the airport lands was touted as one of the largest at an airport anywhere in the world.

Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory for Toronto and its surrounding regions, with periods of heavy snow expected to cause messy driving conditions on the roads.

The Department of Health and Community Services is providing a list of mental health supports and services available to those who need support over the holiday season.

The Provincial HealthLine can be reached at 811. This is also for those who are experiencing a mental health crisis. The Federal Suicide and Crisis Line can be reached at 988. 

A 24/7 text line that connects individuals with a trained, volunteer crisis responder by texting HOME to 741741. The service is free, confidential, and provided by Kids Help Phone. Telephone and text support for children and youth is available 24/7 through Kids Help Phone.

The Hope for Wellness Helpline offers immediate help to all Indigenous people across Canada.

Mobile Crisis Response Teams are located in St. John’s, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Twillingate/New World Island, Corner Brook, Stephenville, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Labrador City. To request a mobile visit, residents can call 811 or 911.

The Lifewise Warm Line can be reached at 1-855-753-2560. There is a First Responder Warm Line at 709-237-4180.

Doorways Mental Health Walk-in Clinics are also available and the Recovery Centre is available to anyone 16 years of age and older who is intoxicated or experiencing withdrawal from alcohol or other drugs. Free naloxone kits are publicly available at more than 150 sites across the province. 

The Provincial Opioid Dependence Treatment is available to support individuals, family members and health providers who are seeking information and support regarding opiate use. 

Provincial Mental Health and Addictions Systems Navigator are available across the province. 211 is available to access services from community, social, health and government services.

From elections to diplomatic tensions, the stories that help make sense of what comes next

The City of Mount Pearl, the RNC, and provincial government are all joining forces to create a community safety plan for the municipality.

It comes after a series of violent attacks in the city last month that saw several young people arrested and charged.

In a statement to VOCM News, the province’s justice and public safety department says it plans to create a situation table to look at community-based approaches to crime prevention.

The campaign is set to consult with stakeholders in the community to create public safety initiatives.

Last month, the City of Mount Pearl held a community meeting, bringing out over 200 concerned residents, many of whom were frustrated with the lack of action from all levels of government.

Ontario Provincial Police say a 37-year-old woman was fatally struck by a vehicle on Queen Elizabeth Way in Oakville on Sunday.

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger, forming the world's third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels.

Chief Tyler Bates joined the Brandon Police Service as their new Chief in mid-October, this being just one of the highlights of 2024 for the members of the Brandon Police Service and the community.

Brandon had been without a permanent police chief since Wayne Balcaen retired on June 23rd to pursue the seat of Brandon West for the PC government in last year's provincial election.

Chief Bates moved to Brandon from Regina, where he has served as the RCMP’s Chief Superintendent of Saskatchewan’s South District.   Chief Bates comes to Brandon with 30 years of dedicated service in the RCMP, including the first 19 years of his policing career in various capacities across Manitoba.  In many ways, he saw moving to Brandon as a return home.

But there were other new additions to the BPS that is worth noting, including adding more officers through the Police Cadet Program.

"There are a lot of promising and encouraging things about the work that's taking place with the Brandon Police Service that make a daily contribution to the safety of our city, and are things worthy of highlight," shares Bates. "Of note would be the expansion of our cadet program downtown.  So, when we talk about services that provide assurance to the public, that provide a visible presence with respect to safety, our cadets have made a tangible impact with respect to the downtown."

"Having that presence and expanding that program I feel is definitely an asset and a highlight of the work that's taking place at the Brandon Police Service," adds Chief Bates.

Bates says the BPS will be continuing to look at the cadet recruitment program for areas of growth within their force.  "They are definitely eyes and ears on the ground for the Brandon Police Service and is a benefit to our agency in terms of that tiered policing service that we provide."

Another highlight for the BPS is their ongoing pilot project with respect to Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS).  

"We're in the process of transitioning away from paper to digital evidence management," he explains. "For example, if we have a criminal incident whereby, we're completing documents and court packages for justice, they're transmitted not through a photocopy and hard copy paper, but they're transmitted electronically."

He adds this particular piece, and the work that is ongoing, is a prelude to the future adoption of body cameras on their police personnel. 

"Both of these pilot projects will operate on the same platform," notes Bates. "So, in terms of the Digital Evidence Management Systems pilot, it will be instructed to us and provide us information."

In terms of the platform that we'll be using in terms of the future adoption of body cameras for our police personnel, "when we have a preparedness and a readiness to initiate a pilot project associated to body cameras for our officers, the safety that that's going to provide, both to the public and to police personnel, cannot be overstated," adds Chief Bates.

The provincial investment into the Brandon Region is another highlight for Bates. 

"Through criminal forfeiture, for example, we've received funding this year for retail theft prevention and work that pertains to an escalating problem within the province of Manitoba. and we're happy that there's recognition that this just isn't within the perimeter, that's it's affecting only the city of Winnipeg but that there's an appetite and a willingness to invest in preventative measures as it pertains to the City of Brandon."

Please listen to more with Brandon Police Chief Tyler Bates below as he shares more on each of these topics, as well as his holiday greeting to residents, business owners and visitors to Brandon.

A 37-year-old man has accumulated a number of tickets after a traffic stop in St. John’s on Sunday night.

RNC officers stopped the vehicle on Ropewalk Lane. The driver was found to be operating a motor vehicle with a false license plate, operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license, and operating a motor vehicle without a valid insurance policy and was ticketed for each infraction.

The driver’s vehicle was impounded.

One of the most exciting events that took place in Deloraine-Winchester is the opening of their new aquatic centre.  That Grand Opening took place in August and residents and visitors to Deloraine enjoyed their own water park the remaining the summer months.

Economic Development Officer, Glenn Schellenberg, says their fundraising efforts actually started later in 2023 for that project, with the Canadian Elite's Wrestling coming to town!  

"That was a fantastic show and the same fundraising committee that put that on last year is doing that again in early 2025," shares Schellenberg. "So, we're looking for some more great entertainment. The kids had a blast! That was an absolutely fantastic show! So, we're kicking off 2025 with that."

The fundraising committee brought more entertainment to Deloraine in 2024 with illusionist, Chris Funk.

"It had clearly been a very long time, if at ever, that such a spectacular show. Everybody had a great time with Chris Funk to do his magic for us."

Schellenberg says the grass roots fundraising efforts and support from the community has been overwhelming.  Between applying and receiving grants, hosting local fundraisers and receiving donations from residents and businesses, the committee reached their goal in good time.  In addition, their corporate sponsor Tundra Oil and Gas donated a sizeable monetary gift, granting them the title rights to the aquatic centre.

The Tundra Oil and Gas Aquatic Centre in Deloraine officially opened August 15th, 2024.

Another highlight of the year has been the Deloraine-Winchester Summer's Market which continued to expand as the summer months went on. "I always talk about friends coming together and sometimes that may be the only time when they're able to do that. It's really a community and family-spirited event that we have here every Thursday evening in the summer."

"As we roll in to the new year now, we're really just catching our breath because it's been a whirlwind yar and the end of the year is upon us. It's amazing actually how quickly time flies!"

Please listen to more with Glenn Schellenberg below as he shares more on the highlights of summer 2024!