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Canada: Ontario could fine striking teachers C$4,000 a day

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Hands off Workers Rights held a rally outside the Ministry of Labour on University Avenue in support of the education workers. 1 Nov 2022Getty Images

The government of Ontario has passed a controversial law that could impose a fine of C$4,000 ($2,900; £2,600) a day for workers who go on strike.

To pass the bill, the government invoked a special clause that allows it to bypass constitutional challenges.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) responded with defiance, saying workers would strike, regardless.

The legislation would also allow for a C$500,000 a day fine against the union itself.

CUPE represents some 55,000 education workers, including educational assistants, custodians and administrative staff.

The union originally asked for an 11.7% annual pay rise for its employees across the board, but sources told local media the ask had been dropped to roughly 6% during last-minute negotiations.

The government countered with an offer of 2.5% for workers making less than C$43,000, and 1.5% for those earning more. The average inflation rate is 7%.

Union leaders have called for “province-wide political protest” starting on Friday after the government introduced Bill 28 – which enforces the daily fines for a four-year period.

They have promised to pay the fines of those on strike.

“Our members will not have their rights legislated away,” said Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. “Now’s the time to stand up for ourselves and public education and that’s just what we’re going to do.”

The Ontario Public Services Union – another union representing some 8,000 workers – said its members would join the picket line in solidarity with CUPE counterparts.

“Bill 28 isn’t just an attack on education workers’ collective bargaining rights, it is an attack on all workers’ rights,” its president JP Hornick said.

The Toronto District School Board said its schools would be closed for in-person learning for all students for the duration of the strike action.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said the measure is necessary because “shutting down classrooms would have an unacceptable impact on students”.

The country’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, phoned Mr Ford on Wednesday to describe his plan as “wrong and inappropriate”.

Bill 28 has been introduced via a rare legal manoeuvre called the notwithstanding clause, even though Mr Ford’s government acknowledges it breaches the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.

The clause empowers provincial governments to override portions of the charter for a five-year term as long as they are “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”. Mr Ford also invoked it to pass legislation limiting third-party political advertisements ahead of the 2022 provincial election, which he won.

In 2018, he said he would use it to drastically cut the size of Toronto’s city council, but a court ruling giving him wide authority on matters of municipal policy meant he did not need to use it.

It was used in 2019, when Quebec passed a law barring public servants from wearing religious symbols like crosses, kippahs, turbans or hijabs.

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RCMP arrest second suspect in deadly shooting east of Calgary

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EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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26-year-old son is accused of his father’s murder on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

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RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART strike continues after talks break with no deal

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VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.

Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”

However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.

McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.

He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.

The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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