People picket on Parliament Hill after more than 155,000 public sector union workers with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) began a strike April 19, 2023. (Blair Gable/Reuters)
More than 155,000 federal public servants are on strike after the federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) failed to reach a deal before a Tuesday evening deadline.
The national PSAC president announced at a Tuesday evening news conference the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday.
“We are still a ways apart, but we’re staying at the table because we’re still hopeful and our goal is still to get to a tentative agreement,” said Chris Aylward.
“Our members are prepared to fight for a good, decent, fair collective agreement.”
Federal public servants across Canada to go on strike
Federal public servants across the country will go on strike after failing to reach a deal. The union says with nearly a third of all federal public service workers on strike, Canadians can expect slowdowns or a complete shutdown of services nationwide.
Picket lines will be set up at more than 250 locations across the country Wednesday morning, PSAC said in a Tuesday news release.
Eight are planned across Ottawa-Gatineau, where the federal government is the biggest employer.
A PSAC worker holds a flag on a picket line near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday morning. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Aylward said he would not disclose details of what is being discussed at the bargaining table, but said the union will remain on strike until its key issues are addressed.
In a news release Tuesday night, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said it has “done everything it can” to reach a deal.
“The government has presented a fair, competitive offer to the PSAC and responded to all their demands,” it said.
“Even though there is a competitive deal on the table, the PSAC continues to insist on demands that are unaffordable and would severely impact the government’s ability to deliver services to Canadians.”
The federal government also released a series of backgrounders after the strike announcement Tuesday, including one outlining its bargaining position.
The first group, labelled the Treasury Board group by PSAC, includes workers spread across nearly 30 departments and agencies.
The second group, represented by PSAC and its subcomponent, the Union of Taxation Employees, includes Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers.
Of those workers, about 47,000 are considered essential and, although in a legal strike position, will continue to report to work. The government defines an essential service as a service necessary for the safety or security of the public, or a segment of the public, at any time.
A strike could affect a range of services, including processing of income tax returns and passports. The federal government has compiled a list of what’s affected by a strike.
President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier on Parliament Hill in November. Fortier has a news conference scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to her office. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Workers and services involved
Negotiations between the federal government and PSAC’s two groups each began in 2021. The union declared an impasse with each unit last year.
In January, PSAC announced strike votes for the Treasury Board group due to a disagreement with the department over proposed wage increases that are outstripped by the rate of inflation.
Strike votes for this group happened from Feb. 22 until April 11, while strike votes for the CRA group were held from Jan. 31 until April 6.
The union didn’t share how many members voted in favour, but has said the support was overwhelming.
PSAC leadership said Monday all workers in a legal strike position would strike Wednesday if the union didn’t reach an agreement with the federal government by 9 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Chris Aylward speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Monday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Aylward said last Wednesday most members make between $40,000 and $65,000 a year and are struggling with the high cost of living.
The Treasury Board last shared an offer to increase wages by nine per cent over three years, a total that mirrors the recommendations of the third-party Public Interest Commission.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
